2) The Stand - Stephen King (February 29, 2008)* (Although a newer, longer version than the one I read before.)
This massive book follows the story of the end of the world as we know it. There's a type of superflu with a 99.4 percent mortality rate, and most of the people in America die. The survivors group themselves into two camps: the ones that follow Mother Abagail, and the ones that follow Randall Flagg. We see the struggle for life that everyone goes through, from loneliness to health problems and hunger.

King writes such a masterful story that even though I read it twenty years ago, I stayed up late for a week trying to find out what happens. There are flaws of course, and some characters are given short shrift in their development and leave taking, but it is fun to read. I'll probably re-read it in a year or two. It's that kind of book.