Sheesh, you got me going now...
Nicholas Evens does a good novel - The Horse Whisperer, Smoke Jumper, and The Divide were good reads.
Nicholas Sparks will pull your heart out, squeeze it, and gently hand it back to you along side a box of tissues. His books dive more into the human condition.
A classic like Call of the Wild by Jack London should be on everyone's bucket list.
I hear Harlan Coben writes a good novel and I know Jodi Picoult has written several really good books. I can't read those unless I'm in the mood to dig deep.