Five Must Have Books

[narya]

So why are you bringing those particular books? Some of you suggested practical references for surviving in the wild. I think perhaps I'd bring a book that discusses navigation in the part of the world I'm in, along with some maps, if I decide to build a raft and leave. Which reminds me of the classic retort to "What would you bring to a desert island? - A boat!"

For the rest of you, are you bringing books that you would like to read for the first or second time if you had some enforced spare time, or books that you have been reading over and over for many years and would be happy to do so a few more times?

[Primula Baggins]

I picked books I've read many times, that are worlds I revisit more than words I reread, and that are full of people I care about. And they're books I've felt this way about for years. I don't expect that I will ever stop loving any book that I loved at 12 or 22 and still love at almost 50.

Oh, and the Bible—that's different; much is familiar, but it's got depths I've never explored. I didn't pick it for religious reasons, though of course it would not be so familiar to me or feel quite so important if I were not a believer.

I wouldn't take a book I'd never read to a desert island as one of only five books. Too much risk that I wouldn't be able to love it. But with Tolkien or Austen—I can literally open the book on any page and fall into the story.

[vison]

LOTR, Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen . . . . at this point my mind goes blank . . . . but I'm pretty sure of the first 4.

Maybe MacBeth, but no, I want amusement. Hm. Let's see . . . Kristin Lavransdattir by Sigrid Undset. No. "The Horse Knows the Way" by John O'Hara. "The Doctor's Son" by John O'Hara. No!!!! I know: The Love of a Good Woman, by Alice Munro. (Or all Munro's books, bound into one . . . )

I figure you'd pretty soon learn what was safe to eat and what wasn't, etc. Wing it, eh?

[Primula Baggins]

How could I forget Kristin? Holy cow, I haven't read that in years. That would definitely be a strong candidate. Maybe it would bump Islandia, which I haven't loved quite as long (and wasn't named after, and didn't read from at my grandmother's funeral).

I have to read it again soon.

[Sassafras]

Ah, I was waiting for that question.

My assumption is that all basic needs are already taken care of (food, shelter, first aid etc) .... therefore no need for medical books or books on survival skills.

So, my books are primarily to satisfy the soul and the heart and all have been read many times. LotR the most, of course, but I think one could spend a lifetime with Tolkien or Shakespeare and still not plumb all of the depths.

LotR: for obvious reasons.

Oxford book of English Verse: poetry from 1250 -1950 includes personal favourites like Shakespeare's sonnets, Wordsworth, Elliot, Dylan Thomas, Yeats etc. Sadly, no American poets though.

Complete Shakespeare: although if limited to one single work, I suppose I would choose 'Hamlet'.

Silmarillion: (see above)

David Copperfield: seems I'm not alone in choosing this Dickens. It's a comfort novel. Well known and much loved ..... Although a strong case could be made for 'Great Expectations'.


Interesting to see how much we introverts overlap.

[Lurker]

Reasons:
Bible - for religious reasons of course
The Lexus and the Olive Tree - to remind myself this is the "world" I left behind.
The Takeover - I just love this book. I can read it over and over again.
The Pillars of the Earth - I love architecture and a little bit of history, maybe this will inspire me to make a very nice hut.
Suduko - to occupy most of my time, of course.

Like Vison, I'll just wing it with regards to food, getting off this island stuff since if I bring a book on Survival I will just get frustrated if some of the stuff in the book are not available in the island and thus, the book will be useless and will be toilet paper after a week. At least the hunting and gathering will occupy my time.

[WampusCat]

Tough choices!

I'd take:

The Bible
LotR
Complete annotated Shakespeare
Ingathering: The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson

I'm undecided on the fifth one. Possibly a compendium of world mythologies and religions. Possibly a dictionary. Possibly a book of photographs of the lost Glen Canyon titled "The Place No One Knew." Possibly a book of folk songs. Any number of books on prayer and contemplation and silence. Possibly a collection of Far Side cartoons.

Argh! I think I'll lock myself in my library and never leave.

[Padme]

If you were cast away on a desert island, what 5 books would you wish you had with you? (Assuming you have a decent pair of reading glasses, as well.)

Remember, this is for edification, not toilet paper! For that you need a Sears Catalog.

I'm still trying to decide what goes on my list: Bible, LOTR, a good home medical text, Oxford English Dictionary, Casino Royale ... hmmmm....

I'd cheat because I'd want a good solar powered lap top with a screaming fast net connection.

Really I can't decide which books....

If I could combine authors it would help. Tolkien would be one. Homer would be one. The Austin sisters would be one…(maybe)… oh and the Tibetian Book of the Dead...would be one, Shakespear would be one...Dickens would be one...I've read the Oxford book of English verse already and might take it just to point out parts that Tolkien used in his work. I don't know who I would be pointing it out too....Wilson maybe.

Can I have more than five?

[Maria]

Some of you would "wing it" on the edible plants part? Yikes. No thanks. Although, I do know the methods for taste testing plants and probably could wing it without killing myself- why put yourself through that trauma? And I have an edible wild plants book for North America at home, and not only is it good for identifying the plants, but some of them you have to process in certain ways to make them edible. Poke greens comes to mind, off hand. You have to boil them in two or three changes of water before they are safe to eat, if I remember right.

I'd take the I Ching, for a semblance of someone to consult.

The blank journal for a sanity check.

The Bushcraft book and the medical book for obvious reasons.

I didn't bother with fiction, because shortly I would have read it so many times as to be sick of it. Not much point. I'd rather remember my favorites with kindness rather than hate to ever pick them up again.

However...a massive encyclopedia might be nice to have on hand.

[Primula Baggins]

Well, to me the question is more fun if we assume that physical needs are going to be met. Otherwise, yes, you'd want all kinds of references.

I would want to be accompanied by my two Boy Scouts, that's for sure. "You boys lash up your mama a nice palapa and bring her some lemonade, hear? Then get started on dinner. . . ."

[MaidenOfTheShieldarm]

Hmm.

LOTR by Tolkien (No surprises there.)
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
Good Omens by Messieurs Gaiman and Pratchett (If I'm on a desert island, I need something funny.)
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by (guess who!) William Shakespeare. I think I'd want either the Arden or the Riverside, too, so I could have fun and interesting footnotes and commentary.

I'm not sure about the fifth. Being a former Civil War buff, I'm tempted to say my giant Civil War book that went with the Ken Burns documentary, however that could be a passing fancy since I'm reading The Widow of the South right now. I'm also tempted to say that I'd bring Jonathan Strange but I'm not entirely sure if that's the answer either. So I guess that leaves me with four and a mysterious fifth.

Oxford English Dictionary

All 20-odd volumes?! I have a deep and somewhat unexplained love for the OED. Can I come visit your island?

[narya]

Oxford English Dictionary

All 20-odd volumes?! I have a deep and somewhat unexplained love for the OED. Can I come visit your island?

Actually, I had a "micro" edition in which four pages were printed on each page. It came with a magnifying glass, and was shrunk down into two volumes.

[Teremia]

narya, I was seriously considering the OED, too! After all, it gives you quotes from all sorts of literary works......

[narya]

I didn't realize how special it was until I read The Professor and the Madman, about its making.

[MaidenOfTheShieldarm]

I didn't realize how special it was until I read The Professor and the Madman, about its making.

Ditto. That was the book that really started the fascination for me, and then I went on to spend far too much time lost in the OED itself. I'm going to be one sad camper when I leave school and no longer have access to the online edition. Have you read the other book Winchester wrote about the OED?

[Faramond]

The four biggest books I could find plus a book about building a raft out of big books.

[Primula Baggins]

Best answer yet.

[WampusCat]

I'm pondering changing one of mine to "Godel, Escher, Bach" so I'd have something for my brain to chew on. But it would probably drive me crazy to read about Bach fugues that I couldn't hear. May I assume the island doesn't have fully loaded iPods and the means to recharge them?

[narya]

I'm pondering changing one of mine to "Godel, Escher, Bach" so I'd have something for my brain to chew on. But it would probably drive me crazy to read about Bach fugues that I couldn't hear. May I assume the island doesn't have fully loaded iPods and the means to recharge them?

I hear Bach fugues in my head all the time. I suppose you could make a marimba out of wood slats or bamboo, but unless you have a partner, it would be difficult to play a good 3-or-4 part fugue. And one of your precious books would have to be the Well Tempered Klavier or Art of the Fugue or something similar.

And I never did make it through G-E-B the Eternal Golden Braid. Perhaps I should try it again

[Teremia]

I loved Gödel, Escher, Bach! I found it about twenty years ago, and was amused and amazed by it. I used to bring some of the illustrations and puzzles into class, to start people's minds going on slow days.