If you could take one book with you to a desert island, which one would you take?

[Rick]

i've thought about this for a bit. It is really hard to decide on one. Great Gatsby, no wait, Ironweed, no wait ...

[Leslie]

I guess my answer depends on how long I am going to be on the island -- I assume a pretty long time... so I'll pick The Complete Works of Charles Dickens. Plenty to keep me going & several that I know for sure I can read over and over!

[Amber]

I'd take The Fall of the House of Usher and other tales by Edgar allan poe as it is my first ever short story collection I ever read by him and enjoyed.

[[deleted user]]

I agree, Leslie. That or Shakespeare. I don't love any author/book enough to chose a short book to read over and over again!

[Leslie]

I have a new gadget that uses solar power to power a flashlight & can charge (at least partially) an iPod, cell phone, or Kindle -- if I could take that to the desert island along with my Kindle, I would have a lifetime's worth of books!

[Shirley]

Leslie wrote: "I have a new gadget that uses solar power to power a flashlight & can charge (at least partially) an iPod, cell phone, or Kindle -- if I could take that to the desert island along with my Kindle, I..."

Now that would be really handy! I'd probably go with the Shakespeare option, but that would be more than one book, so I don't know if that's cheating!!

[dely]

After reading "Into the Wild" I think I would bring a book about edible roots, berries, herbs and so on at least I can survive!

If there is abundance of food then I would bring surely The Bhagavad Gita or the Bible. Something religious so I can die peacefully.

[Greg]

Depressing to consider as I love people, but if I could only take just one, I'd probably take the Bible - if I couldn't have people in my life anymore, I guess it would be best to get close to God. If I could take another book, I guess I'd take The Oxford Anthology Of English Poetry because that book contains numerous favorite authors (Shakespeare, Donne, Gray, etc.), and it's so long it could bear many, many re-readings as I crouched in my little cave. Another possibility would be Walden as I'd be spending a great deal of time with nature for company.

[E.A.]

I would take Pride and Prejudice love me some Mr. Darcy! XD...

[Paula]

Leslie wrote: "I guess my answer depends on how long I am going to be on the island -- I assume a pretty long time... so I'll pick The Complete Works of Charles Dickens. Plenty to keep me going ..."

This would be my pick as well!

[Angela M]

@Rick, I was thinking of The Great Gatsby, too, but I've read it several times and it's a pretty short book. I would have to go with The Complete Works of Shakespeare.

[Diane S ☔]

Would take the collected works of Faulkner. Would probably take many re-reads to understand all of them.

[Angela M]

Wouldn't it be great if we could all be on the same island ? From the choices here , we'd have some really good books to share .

[Terry ~ Huntress of Erudition]

I think I might need to have the Bible with me if I was stuck on a deserted island. I would of course read it for moral support, but also, to quote the Bible, "There is nothing new under the sun". There is intrigue, horror, fantasy, adventure, some chick lit type stories, heartwarming family tales, etc. The Bible contains the original versions of many stories that have been popular for ages.

[Ensoleillé]

I don't think I read the perfect book yet although if pressed for a answer the secret history by Donna tartt might be one

[Terry ~ Huntress of Erudition]

I'm all set to go then, since I'm reading "The Secret History" right now!

[LauraT]

A VERY long one!!! THe whole of In Search of Lost Time? Or all Anthony Trollope's novels?
Something like that!!!

[Genia]

Raftbuilding for Dummies.

[Gail]

I like the idea of taking a book of poetry. That way, you get the writing of a variety of minds rather than just one. I could see myself getting fed up with just one author - they'd start to get on my nerves, no matter how much I loved them. Although if I had to do with one author, and if I could go with the complete works, I'd go with Henry James.

[Bunny]

I would take

[Shirley]

Bunny wrote: "I would take "

Bunny, please can you link to the book title, so that people using the app can see which book you mean?

Many thanks.

[Pink]

I don't think there's any one novel that would satisfy for long enough on a desert island, not even something complex. I'd probably take my complete works of Shakespeare, or else a copy of the bible, as I'd like to read both of these in their entirety, but never seem to find the time in real life.

[Greg]

Genia wrote: "Raftbuilding for Dummies."



LOL!

[Madison]

The Harry Potter series (It would be hard to choose just one,but if I had to,it would be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)

[Pink]

Greg wrote: "Genia wrote: "Raftbuilding for Dummies."

LOL!"

I missed this answer before...great reply Genia!

[Bionic Jean]

I agree with Leslie. And add in all Charles Dickens's letter too please. I have his complete works in 36 volumes, but they aren't included.

[Paulfozz]

Either Robinson Crusoe or Treasure Island would be appropriate… but it's a difficult choice. I might pick Small Gods by Terry Pratchett as that has been a firm favourite for re-reading, or perhaps The Lord Of The Rings, which would keep me occupied.

The complete works of Dickens would be great but not in one book? It would be a BIG book and a mite difficult to read! ;-)

I think a guide to the wildlife of whichever island I'm on would be best… if it showed also what was edible or medicinal then that would be perfect! ;-)

[Bionic Jean]

As an ebook perhaps, Paul? Solar-powered of course... :D (I'm liking your final choice though.)

[B the BookAddict]

I'm with Greg in that I'd take The Oxford Anthology Of English Poetry.

[Bionic Jean]

We're going to have to prebook quite a few different islands here ...

[[deleted user]]

Lord of the rings would be a good choice. Nice and long plus when you got bored of the story you could go back and actually read the songs (unless me and my boyfriend are the only ones that skip them...)

You could even learn Elfish

[Shirley]

Heather wrote: "Lord of the rings would be a good choice. Nice and long plus when you got bored of the story you could go back and actually read the songs (unless me and my boyfriend are the only ones that skip th..."

Ha ha, no, I skipped them too!!

[Sigourney]

If the Harry Potter series could count as one book then I'd take them - I'm sure there will be an all in one edition at some point!

[Greg]

Bette BookAddict wrote: "I'm with Greg in that I'd take The Oxford Anthology Of English Poetry."

:)

[Paulfozz]

Shirley wrote: "Ha ha, no, I skipped them too!! "

And me. :-)

If it counted as a single 'book' then one that would keep you occupied for some time is the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography… all 60 volumes of it!

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/23/boo...

[Gail]

Actually, I would really like to take the Complete Oxford English Dictionary - I love finding out about word etymologies and how their meanings have changed over time, and the various current meanings a word can have.

[Shellie]

Hunger Games

[Duane]

I would take The Count of Monte Cristo for 3 reasons.
1 I haven't read it.
2. It's very long.
3. Everyone says it's great.

[Evelyn]

Genia wrote: "Raftbuilding for Dummies."

I want to be on Genia's island!

[LauraT]

Evelyn wrote: "Genia wrote: "Raftbuilding for Dummies."

I want to be on Genia's island!"

Great idea!!!

[Robin P]

I would take Possession. There's so much in it, it can be read many times.

[B the BookAddict]

@Robin Very true. One of my favourite books.

[Tawallah]

Since I can only take one book- The Holy Bible. It definitely can be a re-read, provides encouragement and has multiple genres.

[Leslie]

dely wrote: "After reading "Into the Wild" I think I would bring a book about edible roots, berries, herbs and so on at least I can survive!..."

That is so practical dely! A Wilderness Survival guide or something like that would also be helpful :)

[Alannah]

Wow, a really tough choice but I loved reading all your answers.

[Summerdale]

U.S. Army Survival Guide would be my logical answer. But for entertainment I'd choose The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Charbel]

The dictionary. It contains every other book that's ever been written (and yes I did steal this answer off of MASH, in case you're wondering :D).

[Mariana]

The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxset of course!

[Lee]

The Passage

[Heather]

I would have to go back to my life long favourite... The Power of One & Tandia

It was just going to be The Power of One, but as I have found the two books are published together, it would be rude not to take both!