Sunday 5 October 2008

Desert Island books

Imagine you were stuck on a desert island for 18 months...
What books would you take?
This is the sort of delicious quandry I can daydream indecisively about for ages.
But a friend of mine, Olly Hicks, is departing in a few weeks to row round Antarctica. This lunatic, courageous, epic solo expedition will take about 18 months to complete. A while ago I promised I'd help out with his on-board 'library' (makes it sound like a relaxing cruise!). And so, in a bit of a rush last week, I delved into Amazon and ordered these books:

- The Penguin History of the World: JM Roberts
- Withnail and I; the screenplay (Andy's choice as this kept him entertained as he walked from London to Istanbul)
- For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ernest Hemingway
- The Unequalled Self: Samuel Pepys (Ben's choice)
- Blackadder, the whole damn dynasty
- East of Eden: John Steinbeck

I wanted books with substance, to keep Olly entertained and curious for those long, lonely months. What would you have chosen?

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4 Comments:

Blogger Asher the Basher said...

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller - Because it's still interesting to read a 2nd time and figure out how all the pieces fit together.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy - because it's an award-winning novel also about global warming.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel - Because what else would you want to read about when you're trapped in a boat than a novel about another individual trapped in a small boat.

5 October 2008 at 21:45  
Blogger Nick said...

Damn, I was going to say Catch 22 as well, as a useful reminder that things don't always have to make sense.

So maybe In Patagonis, by Bruce Chatwyn - for the same reason.

7 October 2008 at 02:43  
Blogger Mark said...

A short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson.

8 October 2008 at 22:00  
Blogger Alastair said...

ps - wish I'd bought him Papillon too...

10 October 2008 at 08:24  

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