Hi C.,
I tend to read non-fiction and poetry when I have time, but really love fiction. I feel behind in my reading, too, so I only have a few (and tried not to go too "dark")...Some moms already made some great suggestions, so I'll just make a few based on what you like:
"Eat, Pray, Love", by Elizabeth Gilbert;
"Reading Lolita in Tehran", (loved it) by Azar Nafisi;
"The Kite Runner", by Khaled Hosseini;
"Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden;
"The Law of Love" (complete w/ companion CD of music), or "Like Water for Chocolate", by Laura Esquivel;
"The Time Traveller's Wife" was highly recommended, as was "The Red Tent", and "Water for Elephants" (haven't read yet!);
"Galileo's Daughter", by Dava Sobel;
"The DiVinci Code" by Dan Brown;
"The Venetian's Wife" by Nick Bantock, as well as his Griffin and Sabine series;
"Possession", by A.S. Byatt;
"Seabiscuit", by Laura Hillenbrand;
"Ahab's Wife,(The Star Gazer)", by Sena Jeter Naslund (one of my favorites);
and my own personal favorite historical fiction book, "The Mists of Avalon", by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
"Through a Glass, Darkly" was one I liked years ago- can't remember the author.
There are so many wonderful books out there...Above all, if you're building a library, you'll definitely want to put classics in there (too many to list), stories and works your kids will read again and again.
Have fun!