The Reading Challenge Group discussion

It had to be asked eventually...

If you knew you were going to be stranded indefinitely on a deserted island, what 3 novels would you take to keep you company?

I'm asking for NOVELS here, so no Raft-Building For Dummies allowed. ;)

My picks would be A Tale of Two Cities, Jane Eyre, and Rilla of Ingleside, since those are the novels I re-read the most and can't imagine living without. What about you?

I would take Books of Blood, Vols. 1-3, The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales as they are both pretty good short story collections, and my coby tablet which is filled with tons of ebook novellas and full books that I could read that were already downloaded onto my aldiko ereader.

Amber wrote: "I would take Books of Blood, Vols. 1-3, The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales as they are both pretty good short story collections, and my coby tablet which is f..."

It might be difficult to use an ereader on a deserted island. ;)

Mine doesn't use the internet faye.

Amber wrote: "Mine doesn't use the internet faye."

I meant the battery.

I'd prob use it until the battery was low then save it for when I got to go home and charge it. I would not be on that island forever.

The House of the Spirits, because it's a beautiful book
Life of Pi, because (maybe) it would inspire me to stay hopeful of the situation
and, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, even though I've not read it - I think it's kind of a big deal? ( (; )

The Yearling
A Separate Peace
Dracula

wow seriously difficult question!

Les Misérables
The Three Musketeers
North and South

would seriously try to sneak 2 more Gone with the Wind and Ready Player One. I know I am not suppose to have more than three but indefinitely on an deserted island, I want to take a box of books and nothing else!

This is really difficult to answer! I'm not that fond of re-reading books (just too many out there I haven't yet read) so this is a real stretch for me. I'd have to say:

The Outsiders
Shantaram
A Handmaid's Tale

Mayme wrote: "The House of the Spirits, because it's a beautiful book
Life of Pi, because (maybe) it would inspire me to stay hopeful of the situation
and, [book:Moby-Dick; or, The Whale..."

Haha, I love your theme!

As of this moment: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, Pride and Prejudice, All Creatures Great and Small.

Melissa wrote: "As of this moment: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, Pride and Prejudice, All Creatures Great and Small."

James Herriot! Excellent choice. :)

This is one of the toughest questions. Ideally I want take my kindle with a solar-powered battery.
If I had to choose 3 paperbacks then....
1,Harry Potter Boxed Set
If I am not allowed to have the entire set then, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2, My Family & Other Animals It will remind to be curious about my surroundings so I'll know how to escape.
3, Perfect Skin This is my go-to 'feel good' book.

Diana Gabaldon's The Fiery Cross, Anne Rice's The Witching Hour and Stephen King's The Stand. Three chunky books that'll keep me occupied for quite a while.

A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Fault in Our Stars
Pride and Prejudice

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
T. S. Eliot Poems - T. S. Eliot

THE CHOICE!

Yes man, by Danny Wallace,
The Hundred year old man who climbed out a window and disappeared, bt Jonas Jonasson
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone.

If I'm stranded I'm going to need to keep in good humour.

Faye wrote: "Mayme wrote: "The House of the Spirits, because it's a beautiful book
Life of Pi, because (maybe) it would inspire me to stay hopeful of the situation
and, [book:Moby-Dick;..."

(;

Susan wrote: "Yes man, by Danny Wallace,
The Hundred year old man who climbed out a window and disappeared, bt Jonas Jonasson
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone.

If I'm stranded I'm going to need to keep i..."

How did you find "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared"? It's been sitting on my bookshelf collecting dust - can't quite find a reason to, or not to, read it.

Susan wrote: "Yes man, by Danny Wallace,
The Hundred year old man who climbed out a window and disappeared, bt Jonas Jonasson
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone.

If I'm stranded I'm going to need to keep in good humour."

Good plan!

Okay, I've made my decision...

1. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - I just love it too much
2. Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky
3. War and Peace - because being stranded on a desert island might actually force me to read it.

Got to be long classics to re-read:

War and Peace -Tolstoy
Parades End - Ford Madox Ford
A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth.

Hope I'd notice a ship sailing by!

John, I admire your 'chunkster' reading!

Holly - only because it's 'stranded indefinitely'!

If it were 'stranded for a week' it might be a Maigret, a Wodehouse, and an Alexander McCall Smith!

I'm tempted by a few of the classics, but the ones that come to mind might be a bit sad to be stranded with, so:

re-reads The Screwtape Letters and Raising the Stones.
Finnegans Wake because I could probably read it several times without understanding it.

If I could take any fiction (instead of just novels), I'd take a collection of short stories, Shakespeare (so we could be silly acting out scenes), and The Screwtape Letters.

Mayme wrote: "Faye wrote: "Mayme wrote: "The House of the Spirits, because it's a beautiful book
Life of Pi, because (maybe) it would inspire me to stay hopeful of the situation
and, [bo..."

I loved it. It not only progresses in present time, but jumps back to give the old man's history. I found it hilarious and unpredictable. It's a book that's well worth a reread.

I would take my e-reader and a solar charger. Okay, I get that's not playing by the rules, but I feel it is way too stubborn to pretend that dropping us in a desert island would erase our knowledge and technology. By that token, we shouldn't even be able to take books, since they're a relatively new invention in human history. And what if our favorite novel only exists in eBook format due to it being self-published? :P

But anyway, I'd take some of the books I've never had time to sit down and really digest:

Ulysses by James Joyce
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

1. Paper Towns by John Green because it taught me a lot about how I see people and it would help me keep a good perspective and not lose hope.
2. A copy of the Psalms but NOT one of those tiny copies. I want it big enough to read lol. This would also keep my hopes up and be comforting.
3. The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis because I would actually be able to sit down and just read it and really grasp all of it if I was separated from the rest of the world.

You all have really interesting picks! It's cool to see what comes to everybody's mind. :)

1. Middlemarch - George Eliot
2. Finnegan's Wake - James Joyce
3. Persuasion - Jane Austen

P.S. Holly pleeeeease read War and Peace. I know it's dauntingly long but it's a pretty easy read and it's absolutely absorbing. I said to myself I'd give it 100 pages and if I didn't like it I'd abandon it but I devoured it in a week!

Well I would take

1. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (just like Holly I believe being stranded in an island will help me read it finally!!)
2. Ponniyan Selvan - Kalki ( This is a book in Tamil, which is my mother tongue and I am still not fluent when it comes to reading. So deserted island will definitely motivate me to read it, not to mention improve my fluency!!)
3. A big fat notebook with several pens and pencils - to write my own novel. After all a deserted island without any distractions, except for the adventure that it brings with it, is definitely the best place to work on your dream book!! Hahaha

3? Oh my. That's a hard one. Let's see:

1. The Soulforge by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman The Soulforge. Reason being that Raistlin is one of my all time favorite characters. I could read his story a hundred times and still cry.
2. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss The Name of the Wind. I think there's a lot of tiny details in that book that could keep me entertained for quite some time. Plus, there's a moment in the book that I can't get over.
3. No Return by Zachary Jernigan No Return. This is a very recent addition. Funny thing, this book got 4 stars from me, but it's so incredibly complex that I could read it a billion times and walk away with a different feeling. Plus, it's insanely imaginative and would keep my brain working. It'd almost be a book to study; break it down and examine all the meanings the author was conveying. It'd definitely take up a huge chunk of time.

as much as its a cheat I would only ask for phone as it has my kindle on it and all my ebooks.

BUT if I had to pick 3 books it would be Forever by Judy Blume, Carpet People by Terry Pratchett and Lord of the Flies

The Valley of Horses - Inspiration to keep me going since I'm stranded and alone.

World Without End - It's just that good.

The Hundred year old man who climbed out a window and disappeared - Laugh out loud funny. I'd want to remember to laugh every once in a while.

Aitziber wrote: "I would take my e-reader and a solar charger. Okay, I get that's not playing by the rules, but I feel it is way too stubborn to pretend that dropping us in a desert island would erase our knowledge..."

Sorry, Aitziber, trying to answer a silly question with logic just doesn't fly. :P

Srividya wrote: "3. A big fat notebook with several pens and pencils - to write my own novel. After all a deserted island without any distractions, except for the adventure that it brings with it, is definitely the best place to work on your dream book!! Hahaha "

Ohh, I like that idea!

Tale of the Body Thief
A Shepherd Looks At The 23rd Psalm
Little Women

A Prayer for Owen Meaney, Pale Fire and Morte D'Urban.

Any three longgggg books that I haven't read yet.

Faye wrote: "It had to be asked eventually...

If you knew you were going to be stranded indefinitely on a deserted island, what 3 novels would you take to keep you company?

I'm asking for NOVELS here, so no R..."
His Dark Materials, Essential Dalai Lama, Outlander

Tfios,The book thief, and the quran.

Amy wrote: "as much as its a cheat I would only ask for phone as it has my kindle on it and all my ebooks.


same :-)

plus 3 BIG books that I haven't yet read.

If I was stuck on an island then I would take:

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Nuclear Time by Oli Smith

I would take these definitely if I were stuck on an island:

1. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
2. The Kybalion by The Three Initiates
3. Anthem by Ayn Rand

1) War and Peace
2) Eugene Onegin or Jane Eyre, since they're my favourite classics.
3) One of the following: Harry Potter (and Prisoner of Azkaban, if not all), ASOIAF, the Chronicles of Narnia.
I never could choose three *anything*. Never.

1) My family and other animals - Gerald Durrell
2) Duncton wood - William Harwood
3) Consider Phlebius by Iain Banks

But my list would probably change daily.....

Wow, if I were choosing books I've read already ?
I'd probably pick Lonesome Dove , Prince of Tides and Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All .
They're all 3 pretty hefty and you could re-read them several times without getting tired of them .

If I were picking ones I haven't read yet, I'd pick Les Miserables , A Suitable Boy and Bleak House ,only because that's 3 I have always wanted to read ,but just never gotten around to yet .

Flowers in the Attic
Any Harry Potter book
The End of Alice since I have yet to finish it

my current book love - nice and chunky and full of details to tease out and devour.

not my favourite Jane Austen, but still quite good, and one of the longer ones.

This book won a squillion awards last year, and well deserved. I really love it. I could read it over and over.

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure This is one of my favorite books ever, It's tied for first with Good Omens :)

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch Again this is one of my top books. You can never have too much humor when you are stranded on an island.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower With this book I could kinda relate to the MC, especially when I first read it and was having problems. Also it doesn't hurt to have a picture of Emma and Logan (my 2 favorite actors) with me on an island