[S4B]

Yes I know a book thread but I have a good reason.

I like to do themed displays and suggestions at work and I would like to do one that is called Desert Island Books and I'd like to know what book you would take to a desert island and why. (You can choose more than 1 but don't give me a huge list)

As with Desert island Discs you get the complete works of Shakespeare and the bible (and in the interest of equality I will throw in the Koran and any other religion's sacred text)

So let me know and I may send the best choices (in my opinion) a free book.

I would have to take

Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
Secret Garden

oh and for humour value The Dangerous book for Boys as it tells you how to build a raft!

[pinkunicorn123]

Hmm....a tough one.

P&P as already stated is an obvious choice.
I might be tempted to include a few Mitch Albon, a JK Rowling is an good one if there is no chance of rescue - the series would keep me more than occupied...
Much as i hate to say it, i would probably take Russel Brand's Booky Wook, maybe even Peter Kay.
I dont know, so many to choose from and im selecting the silly ones - i will come back to this tomorrow i think.

[Bonanzoid]

Animal Farm, by George Orwell - a classic, whilst been hugely influential and gripping at the same time. A very worthwhile read.

[Zoot]

I think I would take:

War of the Worlds - H.G Wells (my favourite book of all time)

A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawkins (I have never read this, and i've heard it's a struggle to get through, but I'd want something to keep the brain ticking over)

Now i've been racking by brains to decide a third one, but actually I think my third wold be a hard back blank sketchpad, so I could write/draw my own stories. Is that cheating?

[MK Chris]

Howard Sounes - Fred and Rose
Carol Anne Davis - Children Who Kill
Michael Bilton - Wicked Beyond Belief
Robert Keppel - Signature Killers

Who says I'm weird?

[Boboff]

Something really big, so you could light fires.

Book choices change with time I think as they reflect who you are at a point in time.

Judith Kerr When Hitler stole Pink Rabbit for pre-teen
Catcher in the Rye & To Kill a Mockingbird for teen
Jude the Obscure and Return of the Native for Twenty Somethings
I think Niall Williams for Late twenties and early thirties.
Finish up late thirties with Grisham, Lee Child, John Harvey, Peter James, Harlan Coben, all for interest, John O'Farrell for humour, and Tory Hayden for Cries. Irvine Welsh for reality checks, Tess Geritsen for Spirit, and J K Rowling for escapism.

If you suffer from Irritable Bowel then Chris Moyles and Jermemy Clarkson can be recommended, as is Steve Lowe and Alan McCarther's "is it just me or is everything shit"

I know taking whole a whole Authors work is not what you asked but hey you run a bloomin book shop, how hard can it be !

[pinkunicorn123]

Something really big, so you could light fires.

Book choices change with time I think as they reflect who you are at a point in time.

Judith Kerr When Hitler stole Pink Rabbit for pre-teen
Catcher in the Rye & To Kill a Mockingbird for teen
Jude the Obscure and Return of the Native for Twenty Somethings
I think Niall Williams for Late twenties and early thirties.
Finish up late thirties with Grisham, Lee Child, John Harvey, Peter James, Harlan Coben, all for interest, John O'Farrell for humour, and Tory Hayden for Cries. Irvine Welsh for reality checks, Tess Geritsen for Spirit, and J K Rowling for escapism.

If you suffer from Irritable Bowel then Chris Moyles and Jermemy Clarkson can be recommended, as is Steve Lowe and Alan McCarther's "is it just me or is everything shit"

I know taking whole a whole Authors work is not what you asked but hey you run a bloomin book shop, how hard can it be !

Harper lee and Grisham ar good choices indeed. Was considering Clarkson myself actually...

[pinkunicorn123]

I like the 'everything's (not) shit' series.
I have general ignorance too - hoorah for QI

[Boboff]

One of the blokes who wrote the everything is shit book, his Dad used to Drink in the Pub we ran in Plymouth. He was called Mike the teacher, as he was called Micheal and he was a Teacher in Tavistock. The sign on the front of the book, which is of a road sign, is on the approach to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, on Tavistock Road.

* me I am a boring twat of late, I need to get out more.

[Nicola_Red]

Obviously I have to second To Kill A Mockingbird! Another one I would suggest is The Dice Man. Sophie's World might be good too cos it's one you can read over again and get different things from it. After all, "desert island books" would not simply be books you like but ones you could happily read over again and not tire of. Some other people have mentioned books I've read and enjoyed (Russell Brand's is a case in point) but I can't imagine myself reading it repeatedly.

[Bruvva]

One of those choose your own adventure books, if I'm stuck on an island, I want maximum re-readability.

[S4B]

I'm loving all of these

My comments so far

Bonan, fab choice, it's in!

Zooty - I may well add a sketchbook, what a clever idea

Topher - Yes you are weird, are you planning the perfect murder?

Boboff, other than Grisham, Hardy and Hayden have you been browsing my bookcases at home? You have the same taste as me, new peter James coming soon and it's amazing!

Lottie - "run out of loo roll"? Who says you get any to start off with? I love the Julian Clary too! and QI is a wonderful idea!

Nicola - Dice Man and Sophie's World! Excellent!

Bruvva - hmm

Thank you all, keep them coming!

[Bruvva]

Oh OK - Songs of innocence and experience by William Blake and Goblin Market and other poems by Christina Rossetti.

Also, The Collector by John Fowles.

[S4B]

Better although I'm not completely disregarding your original comment.

[TIAL]

It's not my favourite book - but probably the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It's great escapism, takes ages to get through and you'd identify with the main characters being someone in unknown terriroty. It has a great re-readability factor too.

[MK Chris]

Topher - Yes you are weird, are you planning the perfect murder?

Nope, just intrigued by true crime.

[Bonanzoid]

An enjoyable book written by arguably one of the most influential and controversial characters of the 20th century - Che Guevara's Motorcycle Diaries.

[Andy B]

Um any of the books written by Bear Gryhlls or Ray Mears would do..also I'm sure there's a "What to do....."handbook for what to do if you happen to find yourself stuck on a Desert Island...sad I know but I don't like being on my own so would find a way to escape or survive for ages!

[Sunny So Cal]

Jude the Obscure and Return of the Native

Good choices! Also Far from the Madding Crowd by Hardy and Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
I also like the P&P choice but I'd like to add Emma to that as well for sheer fun.
In addition, Great Expectations and for the darker days, Wuthering Heights.
Lastly, if we're adding J.K. Rowling to take up time on said deserted island, I'll add Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. She's known for her monster page counts.

[ladbroke]

True crime books, and serial killer books. They really intrigue me, just trying to understand their minds and their rationale for their crimes. Other than that it'd have to be half a dozen copies of Razzle, I mean you're gonna have needs and urges! Some of them have stories in them you know!

[MK Chris]

True crime books, and serial killer books. They really intrigue me, just trying to understand their minds and their rationale for their crimes.

Howard Sounes - Fred and Rose
Carol Anne Davis - Children Who Kill
Michael Bilton - Wicked Beyond Belief
Robert Keppel - Signature Killers

Topher - Yes you are weird, are you planning the perfect murder?

Nope, just intrigued by true crime.

I've been interested in stuff like that for a long time. In 1995, when Rose West was convicted on 10 counts of murder, I was 12 years old... I read so many newspaper reports that I couldn't sleep at night! Things like that have always intrigued me, what makes people like that tick. Since then I've read more about the Wests, Ted Bundy, John George Haigh, John Wayne Gacy, John Christie, Harold Shipman, Ian Huntley, to name a few.. don't get me wrong, it makes for disturbing reading, but I much prefer reading factual things than fiction and crime is the most interesting thing to read for me.

[Zoot]

True crime books, and serial killer books. They really intrigue me, just trying to understand their minds and their rationale for their crimes.

Howard Sounes - Fred and Rose
Carol Anne Davis - Children Who Kill
Michael Bilton - Wicked Beyond Belief
Robert Keppel - Signature Killers

Topher - Yes you are weird, are you planning the perfect murder?

Nope, just intrigued by true crime.

I've been interested in stuff like that for a long time. In 1995, when Rose West was convicted on 10 counts of murder, I was 12 years old... I read so many newspaper reports that I couldn't sleep at night! Things like that have always intrigued me, what makes people like that tick. Since then I've read more about the Wests, Ted Bundy, John George Haigh, John Wayne Gacy, John Christie, Harold Shipman, Ian Huntley, to name a few.. don't get me wrong, it makes for disturbing reading, but I much prefer reading factual things than fiction and crime is the most interesting thing to read for me.

I was interested about the West's too, I was at college at the time and saw it happen on my doorstep. I think I posted this before -

[S4B]

Ooooh I LOVE Emma as well Sunny. Never got into Gabaldon though. true Crime does sell incredibly well - strangely 50% of the people who buy it in my store seem to be ladies over the age of 70!

[MK Chris]

I was interested about the West's too, I was at college at the time and saw it happen on my doorstep.

Yeah, you mentioned that Zoot. Must have been very weird.

To me, the Wests are the most intriguing of all, due to the nature of the façade they managed to pull off for so many years, the utter callousness with which they treated their children (some of whom ended up dead with the numerous other bodies), their methods of making poor unfortunates trust them and the hiatus in between when the discovered bodies died (which, to me, just means that there are quite a few bodies that were never found.)

[Yudster]

You're going to be like a pig in muck when all the Josef Fritzl books hit the stands.