Necessary Books, Books Necessary III

THE BOOKS THAT WOULD ACCOMPANY ME TO A DESERTED ISLAND, WHERE I WOULD SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE CUT OFF FROM PEOPLE AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS NORMALLY NOT FOUND ON DESERTED ISLANDS:

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When I was under 30 my list looked something like this:

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand – because it is long and I thought I was a special individual, above the “masses”.

The Bible – because it is long and mostly inspirational.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – because I liked the rugged, emotionally tormented Heathcliff… so sexy.

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut – because Kurt Vonnegut was my favorite writer.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – because I fancied myself a Texas “Scarlett” looking for her Rhett.

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Under 50 my list was:

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton – because I loved the doomed romance of it.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – because I loved the doomed romance of it and the element of Russian history.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy – because I loved the doomed Russian history.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov – because I loved the doomed Humbert Humbert and the Russian Nabokov.

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Today my list is:

Charles Dickens’ Complete Works – because it’s time to read the ones I missed and re-read the ones I loved.

Tieta by Jorge Amado – because it is long, witty, political and I loved it.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child – because I don’t want to forget about food on the island.

Don’t Get Too Comfortable and Fraud by David Rakoff – because I would need a good laugh with a witty writer.

If I Were Another by Mahmoud Darwish – because the poetry would keep me busy thinking and feeling.

-Donna