Top Ten Books I’d Want On A Desert Island!

 

Top Ten Books I’d Want On A Desert Island!

 

Every once in a blue moon I get a bug up my butt to do a Top Ten Tuesday post. This is a rare thing indeed, but occasionally I find I need a break from the monotony of book cover reveals and reviews. (To keep me on my toes.)

Anywho, Top Ten Tuesday is a feature that was started a few years ago by the awesome blogger team at “The Broke and the Bookish” and (to be honest) it’s an awesome one. BUT…I don’t always want to follow their schedule. For instance, today’s TTT is “Ten Places Books Have Made Me Want To Visit.” An interesting question indeed (one I might just work on later) but not one that spoke to me today.

However, when I started scrolling through their page of past subjects I ran across one I have thought about more than once. “What are the top 10 books you would bring if stranded on a desert island?” So I decided to run with it. BUT…I didn’t want to live in the logical. So I devised a set of rules. Well, one rule actually…

I am NOT allowed to bring anything survival related.

(ie: cookbooks, books on how to build a boat, how to start a fire with nothing but your hair and and a prayer..etc etc etc) 

And after a few hours of contemplation. (And by hours I mean 20 minutes while sitting in the carpool lane) THESE are what I came up with.

What do you think? or better yet… Name YOUR top 10! 

 

My Top Ten

 

Do I really need to explain this one? Ok…good. Moving on.

 

My favorite book (EVER!!) is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It is the one book I reread every year, without fail. But over the last year (thanks mostly in part to the digital geniuses at Pemberly Digital) I find myself just as fascinated with Austen’s other stories. In short…they have become a rather large (if totally geeky) part of my life. I don’t want to give any of these stories up, so I’m going to bring them all. In one nice (read: heavy) edition. Plus, love stories can keep you warm at night right?

 

 

 Ok, before you start giving me crap about bringing such a sad book to such a sad place…let me explain. When I made this list I first jotted down the things I would “mentally” need to survive. One of those things was hope. And while The Bible could provide hope in a more spiritually sound way, “The Book Thief” provides hope in a more humanistic way. You know…beating the odds. Showing compassion in the face of great evil. That sort of thing. Plus, I think the book is just flat out amazing, and I learn something new about myself each time I read it.

 

 

 So, you remember when I mentioned needing to “mentally” survive? This book falls into that same realm of thought. I think in order for me to survive I need to be reminded of WHY I need to survive. TBH is a FANTASTIC book for that. This book evokes such true emotion from me that it’s impossible for me NOT to feel alive while reading it. Yes, I also feel distraught, and sometimes unbelievable angry, but it’s those emotions that will keep me moving. Love is worth surviving for. The characters in this book prove that and I will prove that by reading this book over and over until my husband finds me. At which point he will scold me for bringing THIS book instead of a book that he deems “helpful.” Pffft. Helpful, shmelpful. 

 

 

This book has the amazing ability to transport me into another land, and let’s be honest…when my ass is getting burnt because my grass skirt has seen better days, I’ll want to be ANYWHERE else. It’s also fun, and creative, and reads like a movie in my head. All wonderful things. In my opinion.

 

Number 1: I’m a total fantasy whore. There wasn’t a chance in hell I wasn’t going to find some sort of anthology to bring along. Second: Stephen King, Robert Jordan, Robert Silverberg, Terry and Lyn Pratchett, Terry Goodkind, Orson Scott Card, Ursula K. Le Guin, Tad Williams, George R.R. Martin, Anne McCaffrey, and Raymond E. Feist. Need I say more?

 

 

So, this ISN’T one of my favorite books, but it IS my 10 year old sons. And since he found something awesome in it (that ultimately spawned his love of reading) I am determined to love it too. A few years of reading it over and over should just about do the trick right? Right? 

 

In the words of Goldman himself: this is a story that has everything: “Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles.” Also, it makes me laugh. I have a feeling I’ll need to laugh. A lot. So that I don’t hang myself with a banana leaf after reading The Bronze Horseman.

 

Yeah, yeah…this books make zero sense. I really don’t care. Yes, it is the LAST book in a trilogy, but I FREAKING LOVE IT. I refuse to leave my house (indefinitely) without it. I’m a lunatic. I’m also in love with Warner. Who will be spending some quality time on the island with me.

 

 

You can NEVER go wrong with Sherlock. He is one entertaining bloke. He is also a genius. I’m hoping it will rub off on me and I’ll find a way off the island. If not, I’ll have fun reading his over-analyzation of everything. We’re kindred spirits that way.