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Desert Island books

The Desert Island

1) Making Primitive Tools
2) Boatbuilding for Beginners (or dummies)
3) Navigating by the Stars (because I'm an optimist)
4) Basic Survival Skills (because I'm a realist)

That done I'm left with 6, 5 to read, and one to use for lighting my campfire.

5) Blank notebook for writing MY next book. (Which might actually get finished under these circumstances) ;)
6) Inspirational book (I can't remember the name of it right now darn it, but it has daily items and is very soothing).
7-9) One book each by: Jim Butcher, Dick Francis, Robert B. Parker

10) (FOR BURNING) The House of Seven Gables (Nathaniel Hawthorne). I was forced to read this in High School and the prologue was so long I couldn't even FIND the first chapter and I seem to recall a description of the velvet that went into a set of drapes that went on for so many pages that I couldn't remember why the character had walked into the room in the first place! I simply DO NOT have the patience for that.
 
i mysteriously got excited right now. so let me have some fun.

1--one philosophy book.
2--a collection of fairy tales. Ruzi, thanks for reminding me of that. OR A collection of humour/jokes.
3--one world history book.
4--one book from jame joyce,
5--The dreams/romance of red mansion
6--Dictionary ---incase i finised all the books and have nothing to do or in case i make a mistake in SPELLING when write something.
7--A collection of science--its development and things that related with human society.


leave out the collection of science. :(
 
8--Rememberance of Things Past by Proust

kinda boring with the list of books. I decide to bring a robot or the little boy in A.I with me.
 
I've just thought of another book I can't stand to have instead of the Ben Elton one - 'Elise ou la vraie vie' Claire Etcherelli. I had to read this crappy book as part of my A level French and hated every bit of it. If I was stuck with that book on my island I would certainly find a way to escape! :p
 
If I were stuck, I'd use the time I had to *write* a book. It'd be a rollicking (but rambling) piece with disgusting details of life in solitude.

I'd try and make it funny too. :)

Oh well, in between reading the fearsome Book of the New Sun by Wolfe. I dunno when I'll get to it in non-desert island scenario. It's been sitting in my TBR for ages...

ds
 
I think I would have considered teaching myself spanish. :D Therefore I would have needed 10 books to help me do that. I only know of 3 myself at the moment, so all recommendations would be appreciated. :)
 
I didn't think about that. It would be a great opportunity, to give audio books a try. :)
Thanks Marge. :D
 
Marge said:
Surely you wouldn't need 10 books, though a couple of audio books might be handy ;)
Click to expand...
How are you going to power these audio books? I imagine there is no electricity and batteries do run out.
 
If you had to be marooned on a desert island for an unknown length of time, with only yourself and five books for company, what books would you take? They can be fiction or non-fiction, but each book must be only one volume (so you can't take the 22 volume OED or all eleven books of the Wheel of Time and count them as one).

Oh and you might be there a while, so to avoid the onset of boredom you might have to read some of the books more than once... just something to bear in mind :)
 
on a desert island? hope it wouldn't be for a long time but i would enjoy one month stay very much :)

i would take with me these 5 books... only five?? :(

  • "The bible" for my moral & spiritual survival
  • "Blindness" by José Saramago because it's my favourite book
  • "Les miserables" by Victor Hugo because of its being so a complete book and because i find it extremly poetic
  • "Robinson Crusoe" by D.Defoe for not give up all hope
  • a dictionary, to find out new words and to solve hundreds of curiosities

here you are, my companions :D
 
I'd take:

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, because it would probably be about the only time I would be able to get through the darn thing :p

An encyclopedia, because I like learning about new things

A book of crosswords, because I love doing crosswords, and it would keep me occupied.

A crossword dictionary, so I don't end up tearing my hair out :D

and

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (another lengthy volume that I would like to get through one day)

P.S 1000 posts wooo!! :D
 
I like the idea of taking the dictionary and encyclopedia with me, hadn't thought of those. I'd take:

1. Encyclopedia (ok I cheated here...)
2. Passing Time in the Loo
3. Magician by Raymond E. Feist (my favourite book, always good to re-read).
4. The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton (throw-back to childhood)
5. Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin (a novel I haven't read before).

OK so number 2 may seem really random and bizzare, but it's not really. It's a fantastic book that has more than 300 books condensed into it, fiction and non-fiction, classics and new stuff, plus loads of quotes, short biography's etc. It would take a long time to get through it all!
 
This is perhaps one of my favorite questions to ponder...though its usually put to me with a 3 book limit. My list would be fairly similar to Celeste's.

1. The Bible-for my Spiritual Strength and Sustenance
2. Webster's Dictionary (one with Foreign Words and Phrases).
3. Robinson Crusoe-I figure, if I'm stranded on an island, why not read about someone on an island? I might get some nifty ideas!
4. Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe-lots of great stories and poems to read here...though they might scare me a bit during the night hours!
5. Lastly (sigh) I think I should take along John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion--the most thorough doctrinal exposition about the Christian faith.
 
I think my ten would be:
1. The Bible
2. The Iliad
3. The Odyssey--these 2 because they're such foundations of literature.
4. The Complete Short Stories of Hercule Poirot-by Agatha Christie
5. Institutes of the Christian Religion-by John Calvin, great exposition of Christianity.
6. The Oxford Book of English Verse-lots of the best poems to enjoy!
7. Robinson Crusoe--need I say why?
8. A Passion for Books, A Booklover's Treasury-this book has lots of stories, quotes and essays about books and booklovers...this would provide lots of good thoughts to escape the loneliness!
9. A Dictionary
10. Either Don Quixote, or a "book" of all of my Girlfriends emails to me, as I would miss her more than anything else in the world...indeed, I'd trade her for all 10.
 
Read CDA's comment in the "do you dream about books?" thread and was vaguely reminded of this thread. Bumped for folks who have never seen the thread to enjoy.:)
 
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