You're stranded alone on a deserted island. You've built a decent shelter, and you've found reliable sources of food and water, but it looks like you're going to be there for a while.
A water-proof, standard-size suitcase comes floating on shore. You open it and discover that it contains one item and five books that you most want to have with you while you're stuck on the island.
What is the item, and what are the titles of the five books in your suitcase?
Answer in comments to this post by midnight EST on Monday, July 10, 2006. I'll draw three names at random from everyone who participates and send the winners an unsigned hardcover copy of Linda Howard's brand new novel, Cover of Night. Giveaway open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something at PBW in the past.
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A full cake of oatmeal soap and the following books;
ReplyDeleteDantes Inferno
Paradise Lost
Death in Venice
Seize the Day
The Other Boleyn Girl
Thanks!
Jill
A solar powered Macbook Pro and:
ReplyDeleteThe Deeds of Paksenarrion
Otherland, Books 1 - 4
Item: A portable mini fridge powered by solar energy.
ReplyDeleteBooks:
The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
Mr Perfect by Linda Howard
Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb
Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
Three Hundred "Song Ci" Poetry
Thanks, PBW, for the chance!
A working replicator from the Star Trek universe (unless the reliable sources of food and water include a Starbucks and a Panera Bread, in which case I would bring a high-limit credit card).
ReplyDeleteNo, but really, my allergy medication.
The Bible, KJV
Little Women -- it'd be like taking old friends with me
Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Totally impractical, but surely needed in a time of stress:
ReplyDeletemy childhood 'blankie' to curl up with while reading my books :)
1. Corazon by Edmundo de Amicis
2. The Black Jewels Trilogy, Omnibus Edition by Anne Bishop
3. Dreams Made Flesh by Anne Bishop
4. Dark Lover by J.R.Ward
5. From This Moment On by Lynn Kurland
Mei
I believe an edible, regenerating plant containing all the nutrients needed to sustain the hunam body would be a very useful item to have. (If such a plant existed. ^_~)
ReplyDelete1. Over the Edge by Suzanne Brockmann
2. Dream a Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
3. Kiss An Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
4. Bio Rescue by S. L. Viehl
5. Huntress by L. J. Smith
Thanks for the opportunity, PWB. Linda Howard's one of my favourite authors! =)
I'd like a pillow, you always need a good pillow.
ReplyDeleteMy Books:
- The Bible
- Bitten - Kelly Armstrong
- The Hero and the Crown - Robin McKinley
- Blade Dancer - By you
- ah ah, LOTR, in one volume! Ha, that'll keep me busy for...a day.
That would be terrible...I think I'd sit around with a piece of charcol and some bark writting as much of my books as possible from memory
My item would be a comfortable, cushy chair.
ReplyDeleteMy five books would be:
1. A book on how to survive on/get rescued from a deserted island.
2. Poisonwood Bible - by Barbara Kingsolver
3. New Moon - by Stephenie Meyer
4. Sunshine - by Robin McKinley
5. Lover Awakened - by J.R. Ward
I don't think I've read Linda Howard yet.
ReplyDeleteHmm... my item would be a magnifying glass, so I could light a fire. From there, I'd have the charcoal for pencils and dried leaves for paper.
And the books...
1. The Honor Of The Queen - David Weber
2. Sympathy For The Devil - Holly Lisle
3. The Complete Works of Shakespeare - Shakespeare
4. Eternity - Maggie Shayne
5. Conspiracy in Death - JD Robb
Hmmm....
ReplyDeleteA flare gun to signal passing ships?
Books are tough, but I find myself regressing:
1. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
2. The Wrinkle in Time series by Madeline L'Engle
3. The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
4. The Bible
5. Bet Me by Jenny Crusie for when I need to laugh instead of cry at my predicament
I'm trying to decide between practical and "but I want it!" ... and "but I want it!" wins:
ReplyDeleteSimilar to Jordan, my item would be a laptop that ran off solar energy -- because I can write, play, and while away the hours with it.
The 5 books:
- Son of the Shadows, by Juliet Marillier
- Sabriel, by Garth Nix
- Anne of the Island, by L.M. Montgomery.
- Under the Tuscan Sun, by Frances Mayes
- The Fire Rose, by Mercedes Lackey
So, S. All these books are fascinating choices, but what would be yours? And your item? What would that be?
ReplyDeleteItem:
ReplyDeleteA survival/first aid kit
Books:
Cordelia's Honor and Miles, Mystery, & Mayhem by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Deeds of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon
Valor's Choice and Uncommon Valor by Tanya Huff
The solar powered laptop, hands down. Wow.
ReplyDelete1. The Bible NKJ
2. Lord of the Rings in one volume -- Tolkien
3. Draw Squad -- Kistler
4. The War of Art -- Pressfield
5. The Annotated Sherlock Holmes
Ooh yes, a solar powered laptop!
ReplyDeleteLightning by Dean Koontz
Talyn by Holly Lisle
Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card
Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card
Timescape by Gregory Benford
Jaye wrote: So, S. All these books are fascinating choices, but what would be yours? And your item? What would that be?
ReplyDeleteMy item would be a solar/windup transceiver.
My books would be:
The Bible
James Henry Breasted's A History of Egypt, 1905 edition
Stefano Zuffi's The Renaissance 1401-1610: The Splendor of European Art (2002)
Holly Lisle's Talyn (2005)*
Complete Poems and Selected Letters of John Keats with the intro by Edward Hirsch (2001)
*I thought your choice of her Sympathy for the Devil was inspired. That would be my sixth book. :)
Hm. I'd want books I hadn't read yet, but that I could be sure would be fantastic. So:
ReplyDelete*The Dark Tower VII by Stephen King
*Hart's Hope by Orson Scott Card
*I See You by Holly Lisle
*State of Fear by Michael Crichton
*Rusty Nail by JA Konrath
And the item: a cell phone that gets service on the deserted island so I can phone for rescuers.
I would like to say a notebook, but I have to be practical and I'd probably need more anti-allergies medicines. I love writing, but I love even more breathing.
ReplyDeleteThe five books are a bit more complicated:
1. El último Catón by Matilde Asensi
2. Any book by Caítlin R. Kiernan
3. Any book by you (by the way, I've just finished Dark Need and loved it... and I want more!)
4. Any book by C.J. Cherryh
5. The Bible
a fully-functioning-without-the-glitches prototype of a lap top that has an internal, endless power source. It also very conveniently has pictures of all of my kids and the DH *G*
ReplyDeleteHmmmm
Books...
SL Viehl's
Endurance
Shockball
Nora Roberts
Jewels of The Sun (the nifty hardback that has all three stories in it)
Chesapeak Bay (same... the nifty hardback with all three stories)
Lover Eternal by JR Ward
I'm going to assume that my glasses are with me or none of the following would be possible.
ReplyDeleteA Lap top with endless power supply, internet capability and a GPS so they could find me.
Books:
The Wrong Hostage by Eliz. Lowell
Cover of Night by L. Howard
Angels Fall by N. Roberts
The Red Heart of Jade by Marjorie Liu and
The Bible
item: a satphone with functioning GPS so I can tell someone to come get me
ReplyDeletebooks:
2 blank books for writing
Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear
The OED (with magnifying glass)
The Bible
God, this is a tough one. While I like the idea of a solar-powered laptop, I think I'd be spending too much time falling out of trees while trying to pick coconuts to be playing around on a computer all day...
ReplyDeleteI'm going to assume that my allergies won't be too bad on a desert island (I don't have them in the Canaries) so I'm going for a glow-in-the-dark (like those stick-on things you get that are powered by sunlight) fully sealed tent for three reasons:
i) it will keep out all the critters at night as I would get no sleep otherwise for worrying about being bitten/stung/crushed to death by giant snakes
ii) it will allow me to read at night, which is likely to be my best chance of taking time out from all the 'survival' crap
iii) it may help to attract the attention of passing aeroplanes (a long shot, I know)
Bookwise, I'm going for pure comfort reads (and a bit of lighthearted comedy):
Anne of the Island – L.M. Montgomery
A Civil Campaign – Lois McMaster Bujold
Friday's Child – Georgette Heyer
Faking It – Jennifer Crusie
The Once and Future King – T.H. White (omnibus edition)
Item: IPOD w/fully charged batteries and LOTS of music
ReplyDeleteBooks:
1. Ombria in Shadow by Patricia McKillip
2. Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
3 - 5. The Mistress of the Empire trilogy by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts
Ok, I'm lame, huh? lol
One of those bamboo sumi paint/caligraphy brushes,
ReplyDelete1. A good thick sketch book
2. Beachcombers Diary by Euell Gibbons
3. The Chemistry of Natural Dyes by Dianne N. Epp
4. A book on useful plants for textiles
5. A good text on the local birds and beasts.
Alice
Item: I don't suppose a hunky survival guide counts as an item, huh? Lol. Okay, I'd go with the others and the perpetual powered laptop. It'd have a writing program on it and my Sims2 game -- that'll keep me busy for days and make this slightly more bearable.
ReplyDeleteBooks:
Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llywelyn
Jenny Crusie's thickest book
Complete Works of Shakespeare
One of Robert Asprin's Myth-adventure double or triple books in one.
The William Butler Yeats Reader
Several dozen bars of Lindt dark chocolate with hazel nuts. (I don't have to wear a bikini on this island, do I?)
ReplyDelete1. Motherless Brooklyn
2. Talyn
3. When the Sacred Ginmill Closes
4. a vegetarian cookbook
5. A Brief History of Time
Item: One of those multi-use pliers with tools in the handles.
ReplyDeleteThe Books:
(1)The U.S. Army Survival Guide
(2)The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
(3)Baumeister & Marks Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers
(4) The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe
(5)The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
Survival/First Aid kit and
ReplyDelete1. Oxford English dictionary
2. Popes Poetical Works
3. Collected Rudyard Kipling
4. Collected Shakespeare
5. Survival manual
The item would be a first/aid survivial kit (with extra chocolate)
ReplyDelete1. Bet Me - Jennifer Crusie
2. Bitten - Kelley Armstrong
3. Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris
4. Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
5. Mr. Perfect - Linda Howard
Item: a Personal Locator Beacon, (PBS), one of the new models that has an integrated GPS, so it would broadcast on the emergency wavelength and they could find me within 100 meters because of the GPS (not cheating, they come in one unit now).
ReplyDeleteThe Secret Texts, by Holly Lisle (three volumes in one book)
The National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky by the NAS
The Light Years Beneath My Feet by Alan Dean Foster
Music of the Spheres by Guy Murchie
The Seven Mysteries of Life by Guy Murchie
The item: A good sturdy knife
ReplyDeleteThe books:
Reader's Digest: Back to Basics
SAS Survival Guide
A leather bound journal (a bit of a cheat, so I'll title it, The Life of a Castaway)
I don't imagine I'd have much time for leisure reading but if I did:
The Collected works of Agatha Christie
The Black Stallion
Sunscreen (I know, boring but practical)...
ReplyDeleteComplete works of Jane Austen (Modern Library version)
Flowers from the Storm
SAS Survival Handbook
Katherine
Great Expectations
Item: Mary Kay Satin Lips lip balm
ReplyDeleteBooks: The Bible, the Fionavar Tapastry (Guy Gavriel Kay), A Storm of Swords and a Feast for Crows (George RR Martin), Lord of the Rings (the three in one version).
www.tabulas.com/~Kait
A pen
ReplyDeleteMalory's Morte D'Arthur
A good dictionary
2 field guides, one for sea life, the other for plants
A blank notebook
Item:
ReplyDelete- A nice big knife (food prep, defense, whittling, skinning, etc.)
Books:
- Douglas Adams' Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- E.P. Thompson's Making of the English Working Class
- J.R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
- E.V. Gordon's An Introduction to Old Norse (might as well read sagas AND brush up on my old Icelandic at the same time!)
- Benjamin Hoff's The Tao of Pooh
a survival kit with meds,feminine supplies etc.
ReplyDeletebooks:
Bible
survival guide
Robert Frost poetry collection
living of the land cookbook
Sherrilynn Kenyon dark hunter novel
I've built a decent shelter? Go me!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to find a good knife in that suitcase along with...
1. The Bible
2. The Complete Works of Jane Austen
3. The Complete Works of Shakespeare
4. The Dragonriders of Pern
5. The Lord of the Rings
the item -- a flashlight with everlasting batteries so I can read the books.
ReplyDeleteThe books... so I can pass the time.
1. Watership Down, Richard Adams
2. Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Idlewild, Nick Sagan
4. The Hungering Dark, Frederick Buechner
5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
My one item would be a knife. A girl needs to eat. :)
ReplyDeleteAs for the books,
Norton's Classical Literature.
Bullfinch's Mythology
Juggling for the Complete Klutz (can you imagine how good I'd get after a while? And all that fun stuff to juggle! Coconuts, crabs.)
The Stargazers Guide to the Universe by Robin Kerrod
The Amplified New Testament.
Robinson Crusoe by R L Stevenson
ReplyDeletePride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Around the world in 80 days by Jules Verne
Leave it to Jeeves by P G Wodehouse
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Because I anticipate a quick rescue with my brand new shortwave radio powered by a hand crank, I will not take five old favs with me. Instead I'd have the ARCs for:
ReplyDelete1. The Fourth Bear - Jasper Fforde
2. Winter's Child - Margaret Maron
3. A Stolen Season - Steve Hamilton
4. Echo Park - Michael Connelly
5. Grave Surprise - Charlaine Harris
A flare. =P Maybe a pack of flares.
ReplyDelete1.) The Complete Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
2.) The Complete Works of Shakespeare
3.) The Jungle Books, by Rudyard Kipling
4.) Transformation, by Carol Berg
5.) my 20th century art history textbook
That would be three of my favorites, something to remind me of artistic greatness, and some plays I haven't read yet all of. Failing a flare, a Swiss army knife would be good, or maybe a giant zip-lock baggie to keep my books dry. ;-)
A padded chaise lounge (how can I read books comfortably on a deserted island without a chaise?)
ReplyDelete1) Anne of the Island by LM Montgomery
2) Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
3) Dangerous by Amanda Quick
4) Light in the Attic or Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
5) The Prophet by Khalil Gibran
That's a bunch of favorites, and enough differences to keep my interested.
Great question!
ReplyDeleteA huge bottle of sunscreen.
And books:
1. The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe
2. Lady in Waiting by Kathryn Caskie
3. Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan
4. Big Hair and Flying Cows by Dolores Wilson
5. London by Peter Ackroyd (plenty of time to do my research :)
The answers to this question have been very fun to read!
ReplyDeleteItem: a good knife (although I desperately wanted to join the solar-powered laptop bandwagon)
Books:
Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip
Sunshine by Robin McKinley
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Nicole wrote: The answers to this question have been very fun to read!
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I'm picking out people I want to be stranded with, just so I can read their books. :)
The item -- my Leatherman tool. It has a knife and pliers, and all sorts of handy things. I'd love a solar-powered laptop and a blankie, but the Leatherman would be v. practical!
ReplyDeleteAs for books... oh geeze. I can never pick just five!
but... off the top of my head...
1. a guide to edible plants and useful herbs, hopefully for the area where the island is...
2. the joy of cooking (the older edition that has all of the funky recipes and instructions on cooking/skinning/preserving things...)-- not only useful, but fun to read!
3. the king james bible
4. tigana by guy gavriel kay
5. a civil contract by lois mcmaster bujold
but oh Damn, no georgette heyer, no terry pratchett, no carla kelly, no c j cherryh, not the rest of bujold's fantasy... no heinlein... no manning coles... i can't stand it!