Which Five Books Would BookEnds Want if Stranded on a Desert Island

  • By: Jessica Faust | Date: Jul 12 2018

There are days when we all wish we could be stranded on a desert island with just our favorite reads to get us through.

Thank you reader for this question:

Which five books would you want if you were stranded on a desert island?

Jessica Faust 

  1. The Long Winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder–because you must have one tried-and-true favorite
  2. Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng–because I need something I haven’t yet read, but that’s sitting in my TBR
  3. The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien–because I’ve never read it, but I should, & my dad’s loved it
  4. I Feel Bad About My Neck, Nora Ephron–because if I’m trapped on an island I will definitely need to laugh
  5. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen–I debated this or Little Women, but this is what I’m in the mood for now

James McGowan

I’ll be stealing some of JF’s categories

  1. Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt– a tried and true favorite
  2. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel– something I haven’t read yet, but that’s sitting on my TBR
  3. War Storm, Victoria Aveyard– cause that’s a hell of a series, and I need to finish it
  4. The Martian, Andy Weir– because I’ll need to laugh. I’ll also need some inspiration on how to be creative enough to save myself
  5. You think I can get an ARC of the next two books in the Red Rising Saga? I can’t be cut off from seeing how that series shakes out

Jessica Alvarez

  1. Something Wonderful, Judith McNaught–one of my all-time favorites
  2. the entire Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling–okay, I’m cheating since that’s a lot more than 5 books, but they’re escapism and they’re big, so they’ll take up a good amount of time (which I’ll have plenty of while stranded)
  3. Wilderness Survival for Dummies, John Haslett and Cameron M. Smith–I don’t glamp, let alone camp, so I’d be in trouble out there. Hopefully this book would help me.
  4. All these Beautiful Strangers, Elizabeth Klehfoth–maybe partly evidenced by #2 on the list, I love a boarding school book, and I’ve been hearing a lot about this one.
  5. Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer–maybe this one would be too close to reality while stranded, but it’s one I’ve been meaning to read.

8 responses to “Which Five Books Would BookEnds Want if Stranded on a Desert Island”

  1. Emry says:
    July 12, 2018 at 1:47 pm

    As an author, an island would be perfect to have all those splendid hours to write all those novel ideas… The first five could easily take me to the day of rescue…

  2. AJ Blythe says:
    July 12, 2018 at 8:46 pm

    At the moment, I’m a bit like Emry, an island with no interruptions (except for the pesky monkeys – I always imagine there would be monkeys on my deserted island) sounds like bliss at the moment.

    But if I could read uninterrupted (pausing for another moment of wishful thinking) I am going to grab Jessica A’s idea and list series (I figure the rules have now been broken so embrace them).

    The entire series of the following:
    – Dick Francis’ books (okay, technically not a series but shhh)
    – Harry Potter
    – Anne of Green Gables
    – David Eddings’ Mallorean (extended to include all associated 13 books) series
    – narrowing the last one down is rather tricky. On the basis my kindle would run out of power very quickly (thereby eliminating many of my cozy series) I’ll pick Jenn McKinlay’s Cupcake Bakery series

  3. Fiona M Marsden says:
    July 12, 2018 at 10:51 pm

    I would probably take Lord of the Rings because it’s so dense I could spend months in there. Totally agree with the Harry Potter series. Maybe Persuasion by Austen because I love a reunion romance, a compendium with a selection from Georgette Heyer and similar for Agatha Christie because they are my prozac reads.

  4. Bryan Fagan says:
    July 13, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    This is tough. Without analyzing it to much…..how the hell did I get stranded on a desert island? How much did I drink that night?……

    As from all that and why I would have books with me to begin with I think it’s safe to say I might……strong word here – Might…..choose the following:

    1) IT – Nothing like a little campfire nighttime reading.
    2) Boy’s Life by Robert R. McCammon – Beautiful writing.
    3) The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde – The man was a genus.
    4) How to get off an island if you’re stranded. – Okay, I made this up. But there has to be one out there somewhere.
    5) Dempsey’s Grill – The debut novel by Bryan Fagan. A comedy/romantic adventure that will tug at your heart and leave you laughing. Look for it at the end of the year. Titan Inkorp Publishing. Selfless promotion. Forgive me.

  5. M.G. says:
    September 5, 2019 at 8:17 am

    1. Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
    2. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
    3. Short Stories of Henry James
    4. The Habit of Being (Flannery O’Connor)
    5. The River of Consciousness (Oliver Sacks)