If you could only have five books...

[Adam Phillips]

 

I didn't know if The Bible is allowed so I left that one out of my list

 

It's your stack of books to swim ashore with after your shipwreck; there ain't no "allowed." So bring it.

[pmdacey]

As usual I  seem to be an outlier in my tastes.  I am assuming that when the question was poised as five books, it meant five books, not five multi-volume series.  I also decided to just choose books that I return again and again anyway.

 

• Any collection of stories by Ray Bradbury
• The Best of Philip K. Dick (I was introduced to his writing and science fiction in general by my sixth grade teacher with his story The Second Variety)
• The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories and Other Stories by Gene Wolf
• Otherwise by Jane Kenyon
• Close Range by Annie Proulx

And just because I didn't want to leave them off my list --

• The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall
• The Tattoo by Chris McKinney (If you know Hawai'i you cannot miss this book)

[Adam Phillips]

 

 I am assuming that when the question was poised as five books, it meant five books, not five multi-volume series.  I also decided to just choose books that I return again and again anyway.

 

 

Actually, my friend who brought the challenge said you could count a multi-volume series as one work. I said that in the original post. It's because she had a couple of series she wanted to get in that way. So, if you want to rethink your list, be my guest.

 

Btw, I love the Annie Proulx short stories in Close Range, and in Bad Dirt as well.

[methodwriter85]

My 5:

 

1. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

 

2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

 

3. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

 

4. Americana by Hampton Sides

 

5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

[TetRefine]

A lot of people seem to be picking books you'd find in the 'High Literature' section of a bookstore, so I guess my list is a bit "dumbed down".

 

1.) The Godfather, by Mario Puzo

2.) Red Storm Rising, by Tom Clancy

3.) A Separate Peace, by John Knowles 

4.) Sleepers, by Lorenzo Carcaterra 

5.) Vortex, by Larry Bond

 

Ironically, I first read A Separate Peace as a 10th grader in English class and thought it was one of the most uneventful, plot-less books I had ever read. It was only after having read it again in college that I came to see the beauty and tragedy of Gene and Finny. 

[joann414]

The Bible

Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Exodus by Leon Uris

Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

[Randomness]

In no particular order:

 

Byzantium, Stephen R Lawhead

The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart (the best of the series)

Murder at Willow Slough, Josh Thomas

The Persian Boy, Mary Renault (or expand to include the rest)

Bulfinch's Mythology, Thomas Bulfinch

 

I own all of these and have re-read them (or more properly re-read sections of them) often.

History, mythology, adventure, romance, what more can you ask for? 

Desert Island, here I come!

[Headstall]

Wow! What a dilemma...I had to leave this thread because I found it impossible (like most of you, I am sure) but I am back to try and put forth a list. When I look at my library, I feel guilty of a betrayal for even considering such a thing. Reading has been my life since before school entered into it. I should say first that I am omitting the classics, otherwise I couldn't do this. Here goes...

 

Trinity--Leon Uris

Necroscope series(all 13)--Brian Lumley

Earth Children series ( I named one of my dogs Aylah)--Jean M Auel

Outlander series--( I defy anyone not to love Jamie Fraser)--Diana Gabaldon

Lives of the Mayfair Witches series (Lasher is a character like no other in fiction)--Ann Rice

 

I can't believe what I have left out...I noticed some honorable mentions so I will partake of that option as well...

 

Night Runner series--( love the gay heroes)--Lynn Flewelling

Lord of the Rings and Hobbit--JRR Tolkien

Harry Potter series--JK Rowling

Wheel of Time series--Robert Jordan

Authors: Dan Brown, David Eddings, Belva Plain, Ann McCaffrey, Terry Brooks, Piers Anthony, Cassanda Clare, Terry Goodkind, Margaret Weis/Tracy Hickman, Wilbur Smith(a revelation), Guy Gavriel Kay...

 

Ok..I guess I embellished, maybe even cheated...but I did give a top five enen though it was incredibly painful....Cheers...Gary

Edited September 2, 2014 by Headstall

[Adam Phillips]

A lot of people seem to be picking books you'd find in the 'High Literature' section of a bookstore, so I guess my list is a bit "dumbed down".

 

1.) The Godfather, by Mario Puzo

2.) Red Storm Rising, by Tom Clancy

3.) A Separate Peace, by John Knowles 

4.) Sleepers, by Lorenzo Carcaterra 

5.) Vortex, by Larry Bond

 

Ironically, I first read A Separate Peace as a 10th grader in English class and thought it was one of the most uneventful, plot-less books I had ever read. It was only after having read it again in college that I came to see the beauty and tragedy of Gene and Finny. 

 

Re: "high literature," I figure a lot of people thought since they were gonna be there for a long time, they should have some stuff that would make them slow down and work a little harder when they read. 

 

Also, A Separate Peace almost made my list, I don't care about the jokes people make about it. Too many English teachers assign it to high school students, most of whom couldn't possibly appreciate it, and I guarantee high school students weren't the intended audience.

[Krista]

My Five:

 

The Bible

Infernal Devices Trilogy - Cassandra Clare

Hunter's Horn - Harriett Simpson Arnowe - Local Author, I read the story every fall.

Catcher in the Rye - J.D Salinger

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 

[zaf89]

Hunter's Horn - Harriett Simpson Arnowe - Local Author, I read the story every fall.

I adore that book, especially as a Kentuckian. Great choice. 

[Never Surrender]

Harry Potter (series) by JK Rowling

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne (you can buy the complete collection in one book) 

Regeneration by Pat Barker

My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult

 

yep im fairly uncultured, and totally unashamed    no classics to be found here!

[Cole Matthews]

Strangely enough, I was challenged on Facebook to compile a list of books that had affected me the most. I kept it only fiction and while the original list had ten books, here's my list for the desert island.

 

The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe

The Hobbit

The Foundation (series) by Isaac Asimov

Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King

The Miss Marple books by Agatha Christie

 

i just looked at which books are the most tattered in my office!

[Aditus]

Wildlife of the Carribbean by Herbert A. Raffaele and James W. Wiley (in the hopes it were a Carribean Island)

Art Formes of Nature by Ernst Haeckel (If I can have some pencils and paper too I would try to copy some of the creatures)

The Silmarillion by J.R. Tolkien (I had finally the time)

Italian Journey by J.W. Goethe

Das große Buch der Vollwertküche (A cook book)

[JamesSavik]

If I could only have 5 books...

 

I would find and murder the tyrant that made such a idiotic rule.

 

I'm up to 3-5 books a WEEK.

[Kitt]

If I could only have 5 books...

 

I would find and murder the tyrant that made such a idiotic rule.

 

I'm up to 3-5 books a WEEK.

Why can't you like a post twice or three times!!!!!  Go get him James!

[Tommy_B]

1. The Bible (with Hebrew & Greek translations included)

2. The Complete Works of Ayn Rand

3. I don't actually know the name of the series, but you can find them in old bookstores in Berkeley. Written in 1960's & '70's on like how to make clothes, build a cabin, skin a deer, etc for when civilization collapses.

4. The Complete Works of C.S. Lewis

5. The Power of Positive Thinking by N.V. Peale

[JamesSavik]

1. The Bible (with Hebrew & Greek translations included)

2. The Complete Works of Ayn Rand

3. I don't actually know the name of the series, but you can find them in old bookstores in Berkeley. Written in 1960's & '70's on like how to make clothes, build a cabin, skin a deer, etc for when civilization collapses.

4. The Complete Works of C.S. Lewis

5. The Power of Positive Thinking by N.V. Peale

 

Maybe you are thinking about the Foxfire Books?

 

http://www.foxfire.org/thefoxfirebookseries.aspx

[GrimIsaac]

If I could only have five books, or even book series, I would die

**chooses his phone**

[JMH]

The five I would pick

 

1. J.R.R. Tolkien: Middle Earth Books (Each year at summer camp I would go through all the books during rest time)

 

2. Robert Jordon Wheel of Time: (Because the number of books and how long they are would be able to keep me entertained for quite a while)

 

3. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's: Pendergast Series (Because the main character would be my idea of the perfect boyfriend)

 

4. James Clavell Shogun/Gaijin Series (Enjoyed the books so much I was read both them in less than a week.  Bad part was my older brother (who has dyslexia)  was reading them at the same time so when he found out I had already finished them he had the twenty-one year old's equivalent of a two-year-old's temper-tantrum and gave me the silent treatment for over a month.

 

5.Martin Buber: I and Thou (A book of religious philosophy dealing with one's relationship with god compared to all other relationships an individual can have with other people or objects) 

[Zombie]

this is just like the weekly radio show Desert Island Discs that's been running for 72 years!

 

The Barchester Chronicles, Anthony Trollope
The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle
The Complete Miss Marple, Agatha Christie - the World's thickest book! http://mentalfloss.com/article/21779/worlds-thickest-book
Collected Short Stories, John Wyndham
David Sedaris... or Bill Bryson... or David Sedaris... or - aaaarrgh!
 

[sexyinaf]

1. The Hollows - Kim Harrison

2. Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter - Laurell K. Hamilton

3. "The Raven" - Edgar Allan Poe

4. Dracula - Bram Stoker

5. Tuck Everlasting - Natalie Babbit