Which 5 books would you take with you to a desert island?

[Kate]

I hope this discussion hasn't already been done here...don't think so. I saw it on another group and thought it would be fun do to here.

Here's my list...no explanations from me, but feel free to use explanations on your lists.

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
The House of the Spirits by Isabele Allende
Moby Dick by Herman Melville

[Kristen]

All 5 Shopaholic Books - they'd remind me of my favorite past time! LOL

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

The Secret Life of Bees

Sufficient Grace A Novel

Loving Frank A Novel

Where the Heart Is

Ice Bound A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole

[Leah]

Oh boy... I've always said that if my house would burn down, the only thing I would miss would be my books, and there are 100's of them! I don't know how I'd narrow my choices down to just five!

Um....
1.Definitely a collection of Oscar Wilde's plays; he's my favorite author hands down.
2. The Grapes of Wrath.
3. Any Vonnegut book.
4. A collection of Emily Dickinson's poetry.
5. Buddhist Scriptures.

That was really hard....

[Tera, First Chick]

The Collected Works of CS Lewis (I know it's kind of cheating but it's all in one book so I'm counting it!)
My Scriptures
Gone With the Wind
East of Eden
Collected Works of Jane Austen (I'm Such a Cheater!)

[Tahleen]

1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. A Wrinkle in Time
3. The Giver
4. Walk Two Moons
5. A Walk in the Woods

[Christi]

The Cider House Rules
The World According to Garp
Gone With The Wind
The Red Tent
The Lies of Locke Lamora (because it's next on my TBR pile and I want at least 1 I haven't read)

[Holli]

Gone With The Wind
Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsch
Book of poetry by Emily Dickinson
The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser
Collected Works of Shakespeare

[Lori]

Mine would be Gone With the Wind, Catch-22, The Collected Works of Shakespeare, War and Peace, and The Kennedy Women.

The first two are two of my favorites books that I could re-read a million times. And the middle two would take me forever to read and even longer for me to understand. And the last one would just take me a long time to read.

But I guess if it was purely books that I loved and couldn't stand to live without, Gone With the Wind, Catch-22, The Fountainhead, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Little Prince (or maybe the Complete Short Stories of Hemingway).

[Cyn]

LOL at the "collections" books...are we supposed to pick long ones to last awhile?
It is Friday and my mind is fried...I can't even remember what book I read last night! Maybe I already AM on a desert island somewhere??? Nah...if I were, my toes wouldn't feel so cold! ;)

[Leah]

Kelly Jo wrote: "Too funny, ladies! I agree that it is an awfully hard question to answer! I do have a few questions: Are we stranded on this desert island? Are we alone?

* Riverside Shakespeare (there's enough..."

Kelly Jo,

For your Dicken's book, definitely Nicholas Nickleby-- his best work, I believe.

[Dolly]

I think I'm going to do like Tera and cheat a little:
Lord of the Rings series (including The Hobbit)
CS Lewis Narnia Series
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Five People You Meet In Heaven
The Forgotten Soldier

I would want to mix it up a bit

[Sheila , Supporting Chick]

This is an interesting question, and as I've been sitting her thinking about it (and since I've been a member of this group) I have come to realize that I am not a big book re-reader. There is so much out there that I want to read, and so much new stuff coming out all the time, that I'm starting to think why re-read anything. I'd rather just keep expanding my horizons and reading something new.
The only book that I do re-read is the Bible, so I guess that would be book #1. For book #2 I think it would be a blank notebook and a pen, for writing my own thoughts and experiences on the island. For #3 I guess I had better take some all inclusive "How To Survive if Stranded on a Desert Island" book, or if this was a 4-star hotel type desert island where I did not have to worry about survival things, then book #3 would probably be a history of said desert island, or a guide to birds or plants or fauna of said island, since I love to read and learn about places I visit. Then for #4 and #5 I guess I would just grab what ever caught my fancy that I had not read yet, but I would make them long books or collected works (good idea Tera!) to get the most bang for my buck!

[Tish]

A Thousand Splendid Suns
Cold Mountain
To Kill a Mockingbird
Nowhere Else on Earth
Rapture of Canaan

[Tera, First Chick]

Okay so I know who to bring to my Island!
I cant believe I didn't think of a survival guide or a journal!!
Sheesh Sheila you nailed it.

[Tressa]

A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Stand
Lonesome Dove
The Accidental Tourist
The Ruins (So I wouldn't feel so bad about being stranded on a beautiful island as opposed to some vine-strangling ruins.)

[Dolly]

I keep hearing about A Thousand Splendid Suns. Is that book that good?

[KrisT]

Dolly - A thousand splendid suns is very good. (even better than Kite runner in my mind) give it a try.

I think this is too hard. I want so many books and only a few that I would read over and over and i would long for new reading material even with my favorites. Oh well, here goes:
The complete Shakespeare
The complete Jane Austen
The complete Charles Dickens (yeah I know i am pushing it) so
a pencil/pen and my glasses.

[Heidi]

I have to say my list resembles my "re-read" list posted on another page....

The Stand - Stephen King
The Lord of the Rings series - Tolkien
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Collected works of Robert Frost
"How to kill, skin, de-bone and slow cook your dinner over an open pit with just a bookmark"

[Holli]

That's funny Heidi!!! :)

[Heidi]

That title was just for you Holli... :)

[Holli]

And I very much appreciated it too!

[Kate]

This is a great way to create a "must-read" list...I'm writing down the books on your lists that I haven't read.

[Laura]

I agree with a poster that I am not a big big re-reader however there are two books I have Re-read:
Outlander ( a time travel romance that is like no other)
The Sunne In Splendour (Sharon K Penman)
On the not re-read list:
Accidental Tourist
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Many Lives, Many Masters
Any suggestions for good time travel novles?

[Tera, First Chick]

I've heard good things about the Time Travelers Wife but I havent read it yet although I plan on it. I think it was Holli that really recommended it?

[Holli]

I love that book....it takes a bit to get into it and sometimes if you over think it you get confused...you have to read it with a mind that's just open to the experience of it. I've read it a second time and picked up on so many more aspects of it.

[Kate]

Agh! This question is SO HARD!! Only five books?! I am going to try:

Straight Man by Richard Russo
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
Music for Torching by A.M. Homes
Empire Falls by Richard Russo

Two Russo books, I know, but I can read them over and over and not get bored. I might do the last Twilight book, just because I am addicted to that series.

[LinBee]

My anthology of Shakespeare with all his works.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Cell by Stephen King
My Lord of the Rings book, with all three books.
My Annotated Chronicles of Narnia.

[Samantha]

I would definitely take a book of survival techniques. Or I would take the top five worst books ever (I'm thinking of that book by Nicole Richie) and I would rip them up and somehow use them to build a raft or a shelter. BUT if there were no escaping I would like to have:

1. The Prophet by Khalil Gibran
2. Tao Te Ching
3. East of Eden
4. War and Peace (it will occupy me!)
5. Into the Wild by John Krakauer. For what not to do when in the wild.

This is interesting because it's not a question of what are your favorite books, but what books you would need in this situation, to inspire or comfort or entertain.

[Gloria Clark]

Clan of the Cave Bear
Ivanhoe
Collected works of Shakespear
Collected poems of Carlos Williams Carlos
The Dictionary (wht can I say)

[Dorie]

Pride and Prejudice
The House of Mirth
The Time Traveler's Wife
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (I suppose they will never be able to combine all of them into one book, so I'll have to pick one)
And either Gone with the Wind or Outlander for some romance

[Lori]

Dorie, The answer is Gone With the Wind. Always. Gone With the Wind or a pile of gold? Gone With the Wind. ;)

[Dorie]

Lori - I've decided to scrap HP and the DH and bring them both instead. Desert island with no Rhett Butler? You are right - what was I thinking??? :)

[Tressa]

Lori, good to see another Accidental Tourist fan. It's one of my all-time favorites.

Yes, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a a must-read for anyone who loves good literature and strong female characters. Mariam is one of my top five favorite literary characters ever. You'll never forget her.

[Alison]

1. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
2. The Kite Runner
3. Wise Blood A Novel
4. The Fountainhead
5. The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Set

(I hope whoever caused me to become stranded is
cool with box sets!)

[Leslie]

Only 5 Yikes!!

1. The complete works of Jane Austen
2. The Chronicals of Narnia
3. The Complete Works of Agatha Christie (or some sort of HUGE compliation of hers)
4. Vol. 1 & 2 of Sherlock Holmes (its a double decker)
5. The Complete Winnie the Pooh Collection

but gee couldn't I just get a kindle and be able to "check out more" I am too greedy!!

[Liz]

I would take the complete Shopaholic series!

[Katie]

(in no particular order)

1. The Sun Also Rises
2. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
3. The Giver
4. How to Expand Love
5. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

[Andrea]

The Complete Works of Shakespeare has always been my top pick. Drama, comedy, characters and oh the language... Defintely something to be read repeatedly.

Now if I had a power source for my Kindle, I actually could get the complete Jane Austen and Charles Dickens in a portable package. Plus I'd add the complete works of Roberston Davies and a Norton or Oxford Anthology of Poetry.

The selection actually has to be somewhat portable then:
Persuasion by Austen
What's Bred in the Bone by Davies
Nicholas Nickleby or Pickwick Papers by Dickens
Plus the Complete works of Shakespeare and the poetry anthology.

I suspect that a desert island, might actually be the best way to get through the complete work of Charles Dickens.

[Liesl]

Atlas Shrugged
Les Miserables
Tully
Valley of the Dolls
The Baseball Encyclopedia

[Tahleen]

I guess Shakespeare is a great collection to have on a desert island... after all, I bet The Tempest would give you some kind of hope!

[Catamorandi]

If I were stuck on desert island, I would want to read:

The Bible
The Complete Works of Shakespeare
Thesaurus
The Book Thief
Water for Elephants

[Wanda]

1. The Bible
2. Three Cups of Tea
3. The Shell Seekers
4. The House at Pooh Corner
5. The Complete Chronicles of Narnia - an all-in-one book

[Tera, First Chick]

Liesl I have never read Valley of the Dolls but have always been intrigued by it. Good to know it made your top 5. BTW you have a beautiful name.

[Lori]

Tera, I read Valley of the Dolls and it was actually pretty good. Go buy it.

[Allison]

1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
2. I have a huge book, the complete works of C.S. Lewis...that would occupy me for like..a year.
3. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
4. Twilight (for a feel good read)
5. Crime and Punishment (I really don't want to read this, but if I actually did-it might be worth being stuck on a deserted island for awhile, I would feel a great sense of accomplishment)

[Roseanne]

Sleep Toward Heaven by Amanda Eyre Ward I love the twists and turns this book took
Don't Die On My Shift by William Sayers I have been trying to find and read this book for years hopefully if I am deserted on an island it will magically appear
Love Stories In This Town by amanda eyre ward her new book of short stories, I love her writing
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner,my Neices favorite author, I just want to understand him
Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson, it's funny

[Katie]

I'm a retired attorney, so situations like this bring up so many questions. In fact, I question everything. Who is with me? How long will I be there? What are my food and water sources? We like to camp, so I know the basics of pitching a campsite.

There are very few books I've re-read, as there are so many books out there, and so little time. Of the books I've re-read, or would want to take with me are
Lonesome Dove, Gone With The Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird, or The Reader. Of those, I'd probably take "Lonesome Dove."

New books I would take are:

Collected books of Jane Austin

Collected stories of Eudora Welty

The Kite Runner

A Thousand Splendid Suns

War and Peace

[K.S.R.]

I'm with Sheila. I don't re-read a lot of books, and bringing a journal along with lots of pens would be number one, next to the Bible, Dammaphada, Book of Mormon and . . . lets see, that's four . . . a survival guide book!

Very boring, probably, but those books would give me hope and help me keep my sanity. That is unless, of course, some of you were there! Then we could trade books in between having a luau!

[Dana]

In no particular order:
- Desert Islands and other Texts
- The Birth of Modern City Planning by Camillo Sitte
- Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
- Selected Writings of Gertrude Stein
- The Diamond Age: A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer