BOOK-A-HOLICS discussion

IF YOU WERE STRANDED ALONE OR KNEW THAT YOU WERE GOING TO BE ALONE FOR A LONG TIME IN THE WILDERNESS,
WHAT 6 BOOKS WOULD YOU MAKE SURE YOU HAD TAKEN FOR SURVIVAL AND SANITY??

My current list of books to bring:

1. The Bible

2. Walden: Or, Life in the Woods By Thoreau

3. Call of the Wild, London

4. War and Peace Tolstoy and/or complete short stories

5. Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L'Amour

6. How to Survive Anything, Anywhere by Chris McNab

Those are good choices Gigi,
anyone else wanna give it a shot.
I know it requires deep thought and possibly may cause a headache but I think it will be worth it.
wes

This is hard and I know as soon as I submit this, I am going to think of six other books I would want to bring along. But....here is my list:

1. "Straight Man" by Richard Russo. This book is a necessity because it makes me laugh.

2."The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. It is long, it is good and it is one of the few books that I can read again and again.

3. Any one of David Sedaris' books (sort of cheating, but I would take any one). Again, if I am stranded alone, I am going to need to laugh.

4. "Suite Francaise" - a book about the struggle of people to survive during times of war.

5. "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving. A book that makes me believe in miracles (including that I would be rescued).

6. U.S. Army Survival Manual. Goes without saying this would be necessary to survive.

1. I'll get my cheat out of the way early: The Jerusalem Quartet by Edward Whittemore (consists of Sinai Tapestry, Jerusalem Poker, Nile Shadows, and The Jericho Mosaic). These books have it all: adventure, history, humor, devastation, love, longing, life, and death. Every time I come to them, I come away with something new.

2. Dune by Frank Herbert. I love this book. I love its big, rich tapestry and I love its characters, and I always get caught up in the story again.

3. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, because as Kate points out, laughter is important.

4. The Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart. It's kind of another cheat, but at least these really are collected into one volume. Stewart's take on Arthurian legend is my favorite, hands down. I've never read a fantasy novel that reads more like historical fiction. These characters live and breathe, and the setting is amazing.

5. I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves. If you're going to cheat, cheat big, I guess, but honestly, how could you just take one or the other? It's intrigue and cunning and politics and history and some of the most wonderful characters to ever see print.

6. The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett; it's light and breezy and has some of the finest banter ever put down on paper.

Great Question!
1. Theopholus North
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. I Heard An Owl Call My Name
4. The Vicar of Christ
5. The Bible
6. Twelve Sharp ( to make me laugh)

Excellent Topic!! Because 6 are way easier to pick than just one. I have an entirely impractical list, but one I know I would read over and over.

1. My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok.

2. Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood.

3. Middlemarch by George Elliot or, I suspect, anything by Elliot. Although I could semi-easily swap in P&P or Wuthering Heights. Middlemarch is just fresh in my mind and LONG enough to suffice!

4. My Friend Flicka (or either of the other two)

5. Charlotte's Web

6. The Federalist Papers -- something to keep my brain more thoroughly occupied!

Ah yes pointing out the flaws in the system, Beware people Gigi she looks for loopholes.
lol
wes

When I thought about this question, I asked, "which books could I reread over and over again?" At that point this became less of a question of narrowing then of identifying six books that truly fit the bill. I aimed for huge, sprawling texts, more often than not, about which I could reflect anew with each reading.

I'm also working under the understanding that a text on island survival is included in my luggage:)

1. The Riverside Complete Shakespeare-Is that cheating? It's all one book. Just a very big book...

2. Confederacy of Dunces-Because that book never stops being funny and entertaining.

3. All The Pretty Horses-Some of you mentioned basking in the beauty of certain books' language. This would be my book for that.

4. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle-Huge, multilayered, I get something new from it every time...deep and meditative.

5. Herodotus-Histories (Grene translation)-Sprawling...great storytelling, really, intricate and re-readable.

6. Aristotle-The Nicomachean Ethics-Because even on a desert island I'd want to try to live the right way.

I doubt that I would survive with just 6 books on a secluded island even if I take 6 very big books with me, like the complete works of Shakespeare or Agatha Christie. After a while I would get bored. I think my biggest problem is that I am not the kind of person who rereads books :-)
I might survive a year with just six books but then those six books had to be the complete works of Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, Jules Verne and some other authors who wrote many books.

Ok, here goes:

1. The Stand by Stephen King
2. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
3. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
5. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (if a series is possible. If not then #7- Deathly Hallows)
6. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

1. The Bible
2. Survival Guidebook
3. The Hobbit
4. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
5. The Complete Poetry of Emily Dickinson
6. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

topic reopened

Wow that's a hard question, I'm going to have to think long and hard about this. My list is likely to include the complete works of Tolkien (I will create a compendium of them all if I must), complete works of Edgar Poe but after that I get a bit stuck...uhmmmmm

The Complete Works of Shakespeare
Don Quixote by Cervantes
Bleak House by Dickens
Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe
Paradise Lost by Milton
Complete Works of Dante

Great choices, Jim! I might have to agree with you on some of those:

The Book of Mormon
Don Quixote by Cervantes
Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
The Bible
I can't even decide on the last one :(

Tom Brown's Wilderness Survival Guide

Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove

George R. Stewart's Earth Abides

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird


The Arabian Nights

William S. Burrough's Junkie

oof! Just six books huh?
well they'd have to be six books I haven't read yet.
I'll take the top five on the New York Times best seller fiction list and a journal with a set of colored pens.

hmm, lets see. Books 1 and 2 of the Drizzit Do urden Collectors Edition omnibus.

Richard wrote: "hmm, lets see. Books 1 and 2 of the Drizzit Do urden Collectors Edition omnibus."

Is that from the Dark Elf Trilogy or a bigger collection? I have read those 3 and just borrowed The Legacy. Hope to read it soon. Not sure if they would be in my six books ... will have to give that some thought.

Indeed. the Dark elf legacy and the Ice wind dale one. Glad their starting to combine them. lol I would like to take several series but were limited.

Exactly! It made me curious so I looked into his books to see what order they're in. I'm sure you know this, but the 2 sets are part of a bigger set of at least 16 books (I had no idea!!) about Drizzt. What a wonderful character!! Looks like I have more reading to do.

Yep. And another book comes out in October with him on another adventure. I'm glad their combining books. Could barely find them in order when I was in high school.

Oh this is tuff...

1. The Bible
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. Sherlock Holmes
4. Chronicles of Narnia
5. Gone With The Wind
6. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

Last one for some fun!

This list may change after I get to read some of these books but the first and last will be there forever!