How about 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime', any of the 'No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency' books, or Bill Bryson's superb 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' (the last one isn't a novel, though).
'A Prayer for Owen Meany' is one of my all-time favourite novels
It is quite long - and some people find it takes a long time to get going.
For something shorter and easier to get into, most of Carl Hiassen's novels are excellent.
I just love books - my favourite part of the working day is my bus journey in the morning, armed with some great reading material.