I just started reading Advise and Consent by Allen Drury (1959). I'm not sure if the book is popular outside of the United States, or not.
I also picked up Tai-Pan by James Clavell (1966) about the founding of Hong Kong, this one is on deck. Next I am going to finishShogun; I got about 2/3 of the way through that one. In fact, I have a couple dozen books I started but never finished: among them, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.
Let me know if you're on goodreads.com and you want to see my books I've read/want to read/am reading.
I'm actually really plowing thought A&C. I usually take forever to read books, particularly long books with complex plots. Hence, why it took me a helluva long time to read The Lord of the Rings.