After all that effort I went to in my head I thought I'd share the list with you.
1. The Regeneration Trilogy - I AM NOT CHEATING, PROMISE. I have this trilogy in one book (which is a beast) so it is only one book and not three. I love Pat Barker, you all know I love the First World War, and I love anything that is linked to shell shock/neurasthenia. This trilogy is brilliant and I would happily read it over and over again.
2. The Woman in White - I think I've made my love for Wilkie Collins clear on numerous occasions now. This was my first foray into his writing and will always be my favourite. It's a good size, a good story and wonderfully written. Plus Marian is just a total babe.
3. Bleak House - I have not read this Dickens but I have seen a brilliant BBC adaptation. I think a Dickens would be great as a reminder of home (albeit a slightly skewed version of home) and long enough to keep me going for a bit.
4. To the Lighthouse - it's short but oh so dense. Another one of my favourites (definitely my favourite Woolf) and one I can re-read and interpret differently every time.
5. The Complete Works of Shakespeare - is this cheating? I think not, I have the complete works in one book so technically... I adore Shakespeare, always have and probably always will. I can re-read his plays and take different things from them each time. There is something for every mood - romance, comedy, tragedy, history, sheer unadulterated violence (I'm looking at you Titus). I know this is a cliché choice but, for me, it is clearly the most obvious choice. To demonstrate quite how much I loveth the bard and how obvious it is: for my birthday the other week my best friend bought me Shakespeare postcards and my sister got me a poster on which the entire text of Much Ado About Nothing is written (have you seen these?! They are awesome). So now my room is practically a homage to Willy-Shakes.
I would love to hear what your desert island books would be and whether it is a difficult decision or an easy one. TELL ME!
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| This would obviously be the view from the desert island. |
Hahahaha, as soon as I saw the post title I went 'The Complete Works of Shakespeare' because yes. Just yes. (Also I haven't read anywhere near all of them yet, so NEW STUFF!)
ReplyDeleteI always struggle with this kind of thing because there are stories that I carry with me always and THOSE are basically my favourites but I sort of don't need the physical books because I know them already? But then you couldn't take ALL NEW books because what if they suck? I overthink these things...
Exactly, new stuff that you just know will be good because, well, it's Shakespeare!
DeleteThat is a good point. I'm not sure how many times I'd be able to re-read Wilkie until it came to a point when I was saying the lines before the characters. Unless you then decided to do one-woman re-enactments to the natives? Could work. It is a tricky one!
Big books are definitely better books on a desert island, I think (she says knowledgably, as if she has been on a desert island and can offer insightful wisdom on the subject). Think about it - you read Shakespeare, you read Wilkie, you read Dickens, you intersperse all these things with lots of lying around on beaches, swimming, eating coconuts and building tree houses (SHUT UP SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON IS A REAL THING) and then by the time you've finished them all YOU CAN START AGAIN. I'd probably throw in The Count of Monte Cristo somewhere, that'd do the same job and has so many nuances and little plot threads that I could probably read it ten times over and still not quite have grasped everything.
ReplyDeleteThe bigger the better in this situation I think. I reckon you've got this whole thing planned, I'd like to be stranded with you. Particularly if there are tree houses involved! I've not read The Count of Monte Cristo but perhaps I should, then I can add it to the running for 'desert island books'.
DeleteI'm glad to see The Woman in White on your list. I actually started reading it a couple of years ago, but the terrible e-book I was reading was totally off-putting. I just received my beautiful new Penguin English Library edition of it last night, and I hope to read it before the year is out. I would also include Dickens on my own list, but I'd go with Great Expectations or A Tale of Two Cities. I'm due a re-read of both.
ReplyDeleteI tried to read The Moonstone on kindle but found that off-putting too. I'm sure the Penguin English Library edition will make it a much more satisfying reading experience for you! I was going to go with Great Expectations because of my love for Joe Gargery but I thought I'd go for something different. Basically the option could just be 'A Dickens'. Except Oliver Twist because I found that a tad boring...
DeleteI really want to read The Woman in White. It's been on my radar for a while but I've not had the chance to read it. Soon darn it, soon!
ReplyDeleteI loooove the idea of making a desert island list. Oh my gosh, so hard to choose though! Some of my very faves would HAVE to be there. To Kill a Mockingbird, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Catcher in the Rye. Can I have ALL of Dicken's books too please? ;)
Read it! It is the best book EVER! I'm also thinking of doing a readalong for a Wilkie if you're interested. Maybe The Moonstone.
DeleteIt was really fun to do actually but so much brain work involved in the decision process! I forgot about To Kill a Mockingbird, that'd be a good one. If you found a complete works of Dickens then, yes, you can :)