Over at Froggaritaville's Bookcase, Froggy has come up with a fun meme, Friday's Fab Five. The questions are a lot of fun, and I like reading the answers in her comments - I end up adding quite a few books to my TBR list. (Like I need more... :)
One of her questions is: What one book you would have with you if stranded in a desert island?
This got me thinking about a surprisingly in-depth conversation I had with my husband and parents about a similar question.
What 5 books would you take with you if you were to be stranded on a desert island? (And I always wondered, why can't it be stranded on a tropical island?)
Anyways, the point of the conversation was that those 5 books say an immense amount about the type of person that you are. So think carefully before you comment...not only do you have to read these books over and over again, they'll probably be your only link to any life, and your only source to sanity if you're all alone. Not to be doom-saying...
My 5 picks:
1. North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell
Not only is it my favorite book, but it has just about everything. The characters actually grow, the romance is fabulous, there's mystery, tragedies...a few comic moments, and it is a thoroughly satisfying read. Yes, it's a classic, but for those of you who can't handle them, this might change your mind. Particularly if you catch the movie first.
2. New Arabian Nights, by Robert Louis Stevenson
I am the only person I know who loves this book this much...Stevenson has such a particular way of writing that I can't even imagine teenagers getting past the first page or two. So - not for the faint of heart, and if I found a new favorite then this is probably the one to go from this list...but the fact is, it's on it.
3. Tisha, by Anne Purdy and Robert Specht
An incredible true story, filled with all the emotional elements of a great novel, and written in this century? Absolutely.
4. Something by Charles Dickens
I realize this is vague. And while Charles Dickens is an excellent author, his largely depressing works aren't probably the things you should read while stranded. However, he has a couple of works that I particularly enjoy. If I found myself grabbing books to go and just couldn't bring myself to take a Dicken's book, then I'd probably grab Under the Greenwood Tree, by Thomas Hardy, which is another classic, but on more of the humorous (and short) side.
5. This last spot is a hard one to fill. In the end I'd probably pick The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare, although I'm tempted by both The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi, and The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery. All of them are enjoyable reads - Speare's book is my favorite YA book, and Avi's is one of my favorite juvenile reads. The Blue Castle is a sweet love story that's an easy read. All of them would be welcome among my large classics that I insist on toting to this island.
What are your picks?
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