Desert Island Books

I was thinking recently about the old "Desert Island Discs" concept but applied to books instead. What I discovered kind of surprised me. Here I was thinking that I was an infinitely practical person. But my choices revealed something altogether different. I discovered that I am really an idealist. My choices, slim volumes mostly, really affected my life for better or for worse. The practical person, who revealed herself in the person of one of my friends, would choose, say: The Holy Bible, the Encyclopedia Britanica, The Oxford English Dictionary.

Those are great practical choices but they didn't come immediately to mind. If I truly found myself stranded on a desert island with the few hundred pages below, I'd probably be suicidal.

In no particular order:

A Room of One's Own. I still feel very strongly about this book and cling to my writing freedom, and my right to it, like it's my own personal manifesto. I know that I have been slightly selfish about my personal time and activities and sometimes this takes a toll on my personal relationships. I can only apologize; I can't change. Well, I don't think I want to.


The Awakening. This book, in its exploration of marriage, identity and motherhood put its indelible stamp on me in high school and (many, many) years later, I still wrestle with these same issues and don't know that much has changed for women. I still feel bound by expectations, both societal and biological, that I'll become a mother. What am I waiting for? Read this book and you'll see... well, maybe don't read it so you can go blissfully ignorant into various life stages.


Breakfast at Tiffany's. I recently saw the movie again. Not as lovely as the book but it was a treat to find it on in the afternoon. Holly Golightly is the quintessential floater. There is something that tugs at my soul about her approach to life, not having really felt a sense of belonging to anyone or any place.

Anna Karenina. I'll simply say that I went through a dark, Russian period. I mean: Crime and Punishment, Notes from Underground, etc. I think I spent pretty much an entire week in college reading this book. I skipped classes, barely showered, camped out in my BF's room and read while he wrote German essays in a little, perfect bound, college rule, old school, black and white classic notebook. While I don't recommend bailing on life for a week, it was Boston in the dead of winter...

Oh ~ and I would definitely sneak some romance novels into my life raft because I'm a lifelong romance reader. I'd take some Rosemary Rogers. Surrender to Love was the first romance I ever read. I found it in a box of books that were going out for donation. I was 12 years old and it totally rocked my world!