Being an English major I have a great excuse to read a lot of wonderful works of literature as well as some less literary works in my spare time
I would highly recommend Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Hours." The style of his prose matches that of Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway", the book that "The Hours" is centered around. It's a marvelous read.
I would also recommend Edith Wharton's "Summer." If you've read "Ethan Frome", think of it as the "hot" version of that
I also adore anything by Thomas Hardy--"Tess of the D'Urbervilles", "Far From the Madding Crowd", and "Jude the Obscure."
As for less serious reading, I recommend the two Bridget Jones books. Great for a laugh.
