The Corrections
I'm currently reading The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen, based on the recommendation from a friend -- not the Oprah controversy. (Generally, if the O word or the R word are attached to a novel, magazine, film, whatever, I'll avoid it. With the exception of The Color Purple, which was outstanding.) Wow. It's funny in a "Jesus, these people are more dysfunctional than my family" way and very well written. I very rarely indulge in fiction, usually I can be found reading the dry, but essential science/nonfiction books. On occasion I make exceptions. And I was glad this time around.

From Amazon.com: "Jonathan Franzen's exhilarating novel The Corrections tells a spellbinding story with sexy comic brio, and evokes a quirky family akin to Anne Tyler's, only bitter. Franzen's great at describing Christmas homecomings gone awry, cruise-ship follies, self-deluded academics, breast-obsessed screenwriters, stodgy old farts and edgy Tribeca bohemians equally at sea in their lives, and the mad, bad, dangerous worlds of the Internet boom and the fissioning post-Soviet East."

There's a somewhat large focus on sexual hang-ups and idiosyncracies (which, now that I think of if, makes me wonder about the sexual status of my anonymous friend who recommended it. ;), and if you can get past that, it's a worthwhile read.