Comment DRAGONLANCE! (Score 2) 1244
Any of the old DragonLance novels from about 20+ years ago are wonderful.
I spent many a long hour reading plenty of those fantasy fiction books, and as much as I hate to admit it, some of the stories were so vivid and compelling that they brought a tear to my eye during the tragic finale here or there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dragonlance_novels
The Chronicles
+ Dragons of Autumn Twilight
+ Dragons of Winter Night
+ Dragons of Spring Dawning
+ Dragons of Summer Flame
Legends
+ Time of the Twins
+ War of the Twins
+ Test of the Twins
Lost Histories
+ The Kagonesti (A Story of the Wild Elves)
+ The Irda (Children of the Stars)
+ The Dargonesti
+ Land of the Minotaurs
+ The Gully Dwarves
+ The Dragons
Meetings Sextet
+ Kindred Spirits
+ Wanderlust
+ Dark Heart
+ The Oath and the Measure
+ Steel and Stone
+ The Companions
Preludes
+ Kendermore
+ Brothers Majere
+ Darkness and Light --- This one was HILARIOUS! I hadn't laughed my arse off whilst reading before I came across this book.
Anything with Elminster in it, anything with Drizz't Do'Urden and the Avatar series (NOT the movie) are also strongly recommended.
I seem to recall coming across a bittorrent of some poorly-scanned versions of these books but I can't say for sure if it is still around.