Imagine you are weightless, floating in the ocean, surrounded by tiny little sea horses... no wait even better you're in the middle of a sweltering desert island, the white-hot sun on your face. Just you and one loan palm tree. Totally destitute. After weeping bitterly over the loss of everything you had in this world, you suddenly realize this isn't entirely accurate. "I am miraculously still in possession of my five favorite books of all time!" You shout to the palm tree you will eventually name Roy. "Man, being stuck on this desert island doesn't seem half so unfortunate now! I suddenly feel very optimistic about my future." Never mind how your books managed to outlast the apparent catastrophe that landed you in this forgotten nothingness. What five books did you bring? Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Desert Island: Part One
"One of the world's tiresome questions is what object one would bring to a desert island, because people always answer "a deck of cards" or "Anna Karenina" when the obvious answer is "a well equipped boat and a crew to sail me off the island and back home where I can play all the card games and read all the Russian novels I want." - Lemony Snicket
Imagine you are weightless, floating in the ocean, surrounded by tiny little sea horses... no wait even better you're in the middle of a sweltering desert island, the white-hot sun on your face. Just you and one loan palm tree. Totally destitute. After weeping bitterly over the loss of everything you had in this world, you suddenly realize this isn't entirely accurate. "I am miraculously still in possession of my five favorite books of all time!" You shout to the palm tree you will eventually name Roy. "Man, being stuck on this desert island doesn't seem half so unfortunate now! I suddenly feel very optimistic about my future." Never mind how your books managed to outlast the apparent catastrophe that landed you in this forgotten nothingness. What five books did you bring?
Imagine you are weightless, floating in the ocean, surrounded by tiny little sea horses... no wait even better you're in the middle of a sweltering desert island, the white-hot sun on your face. Just you and one loan palm tree. Totally destitute. After weeping bitterly over the loss of everything you had in this world, you suddenly realize this isn't entirely accurate. "I am miraculously still in possession of my five favorite books of all time!" You shout to the palm tree you will eventually name Roy. "Man, being stuck on this desert island doesn't seem half so unfortunate now! I suddenly feel very optimistic about my future." Never mind how your books managed to outlast the apparent catastrophe that landed you in this forgotten nothingness. What five books did you bring? 
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15 comments:
Tough call but I brought:
Jane Eyre- my favorite book of all time.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People- I figure if I had a good deal of time to study this book I would be highly effective.
To Kill a Mockingbird- Another best book of all time.
Dracula- dito above.
and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- I know, I know but I can't help but leap joyfully onto that Harry Potter bandwagon. I love magic. And the sixth book is probably my favorite.
Hmmmm. Difficult. I'd have to go with:
1. Encyclopedia Britannica- that counts as one, rather large volume, I don't care what you say!
2. Screwtape Letters- by CS Lewis. By far the most wisdom and insight ever crammed into one short volume.
3. Twilight- so I could ritualistically burn one page each day, bringing me boundless pleasure on a daily basis.
4. The Brothers Karamazov- by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Not only is it timeless, it's also very long.
5. Building a well equipped boat and crew for Dummies- paperback edition, in case there are no porti-potties on the island.
That's easy...
1) "How to eat fried worms",by Thomas Rockwell. Good eats!
2)"Pride and Predjudice", by Jane Austin.
3)"All these things shall give you experience", by Neal Maxwell
4)"Children of the Self-Absorbed: A Grown-Up's Guide to Getting over Narcissistic Parents", by Nina W. Brown
and 5)"The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook" by, Martha Davis
I like to live on the edge...of sanity....
I love the picture of your girls.
Tough question! So many good ones out there.
1. "Royal Scandals: The Shocking True Stories of History's Wickedest, Weridest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes and Emperors" by Michael Farquar (I think I've read that 4-5 times)
2. "Mansfield Park" by Jane Austen
3. "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen
4. "The Wives of Henry VIII" by Alison Weir
5. "The Boelyn Inheritance" by Phillipa Gregory
I have to pick? Are they all soggy from the calamity? Cuz that would suck!
1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
2. Something by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
3. Some giant behemoth version of all seven of the Harry Potter Novels (I know there is no such thing yet, but mark my words, there will be someday! and if it didn't sink me to the bottom of the ocean as I floundered to the safety of my desert isle, it is fate that I should read it for the rest of my life.)
4. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, because I would need something to cheer me up and Nazi Concentration Camp musings are good reading during times of trouble.
5. The Book of Mormon
Awesome- I now have around fifteen more books I need to read. By the way Shana, "The Hiding Place" is another one of my favorites, and among the best books ever written. And why didn't I think of The Book of Mormon! Duh!
1. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
2. The Wump World by Bill Peet
3. Blanket of Comfort by Annalisa Hall
4. SAS Survival Handbook by John Lofty Wiseman
5. My Quad (Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price) hehehe.
I have been stressing about this question for a week now, and I guess it's time to post my finals, even though I am not completely satisfied with only narrowing it down to 5:
1. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, my favorite book of all time.
2. The Dangerous Book For Boys (I know, I know, it's for 'boys eyes only' but the Daring Book For Girls teaches about hand clapping games and what not. I'd rather know how to make a battery out of nickles than a friendship bracelet if I'm gonna survive in the wild.)
3. The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown by Betsy Byars for some good laughs.
4. The Lord of the Flies, so I can be grateful I'm not in THAT situation...
5. My quad for spiritual uplifting.
There. It's done.
I think this post is very discriminatory for those who've never learned to read.
Can you bring picture books or tech manuals?
Oops. Once again, the above snidery was not Shana but your's truly.
If you never learned how to read, you should enroll yourself in the Zoolander's School of Kids Who Don't Know How To Read Good.
Or a tech manual about how to blog under your own identity!
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