Favourite 10 books

There is a thread called your top 5 books, but even if you contributed to this , it was 2006-2008 so I guess people have read a lot more in the intervening years.
So if you had to take only 10 books/graphic novels with you if you were stranded on a desert island what would you take? Books that comforted you and reminded you of home? Books that you never got round to reading? Books to challenge your brain during those long lonely days? What do those books mean to you?

I think mine would be old familiar ones to act like a comfort blanket.
I'd take :
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez touches me as a love story that lasts for decades and only blossoms when the couple are very old.

Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I love this book for its brilliant characters and the way the book is a complete circle of Owen's remarkable life.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. This one reminds me of childhood and reading it with my mum. Although I read it recently and the melodramatic feverishness of some of the descriptions made me smile, it still has a lot of memories.

A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas reminds me of Christmas with my kids. We read it as a bedtime story in the weeks before Christmas for quite a few years .

My Fathers Glory and My Mothers Castle* by Marcel Pagnol. I read these in French for my A level exams, and shortly after I went to live in the French countryside for a year. These books are so evocative as Pagnol's autobiography, but also as that time in my life.

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. This one is a massive fat novel so it will take up lots of time on the island! But it's also an epic family story that takes in parts of Indian history around the time of independence.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Every time I read this book I can never get it out of my head for days. Steinbeck's depiction of the struggles of migrant workers is a reflection of the same thing that happens all over the world.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. Love this story of Emma a woman longing for a more exciting life but married to solid and boring Charles. So well written you can see both points of view and feel sorry for both. Very sad.

The Stand by Stephen King. This one was the first one I read of his books, and still remains my favourite. I love a post apocalyptic tale and this one has all the characters, as well as wonderful baddies.

Wild Swans by Jung Chang. This book is probably my favourite of all. The story of Jung's own family which takes us through Chinese history from her grandmother who was a concubine, through the Long March, the Cultural Revolution and the frightening times of the torture of intellectuals and 'class struggles'. Then onto the death of Mao and the opening up of China. All the history of the 20th century in China is presented here in the form of three remarkable generations. Fantastic storytelling.

*sorry this is cheating a little as they're two books really but you can get them in one autobiographical volume. Actually there's four books but I won't push it

Today it'd be these. They're not in any order but 6-10 might be different on another day.

Moby Dick
Anna Karenina
The Box Man
Hamlet
King Lear
Riddley Walker
Orson Welles: Volume 2: Hello Americans
The Manuscript Found in Saragossa
Objectivity Is Not Neutrality: Explanatory Schemes in History
Treasure Island

(bumped Watt and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep for the two nonfiction as per my second sentence).

No graphic novels made the cut, but here are ten that might come close.

Arigatou
Jimbo Adventures in Paradise
Domu / or Akira. Kind of depends on if I'm in the mood for something more streamlined or sprawlingly epic.
From Hell (The Watchmen would also make it but I've read it probably enough times for one life)
Thimble Theatre (the Popeye strips)
Pogo
Hokusai's Mount Fuji: The Complete Views in Color
Believers
Elektra: Assassin / or Hate by Peter Bagge. This would be a coin-toss.
Parasyte / or Dr. Slump. Another coin-toss.

I've got to think about mine for a bit,but I just wanted to say that you have excellent tastes in books, Christine.

Great thread!

I'd definitely have a copy of Moby Dick as well. I was just thinking about reading it again just the other day. Possibly the finest book ever written. I also would have a Stephen King but it would be difficult to have just one. His Gunslinger series is the best series of books I've ever read, but if I could only pick one King book I would have to go with The Stand as well.

The rest in no particular order.

Flood
The Bannerman Solution
Point of Impact
Job: A Comedy of Justice
Stranger in a Strange Land
Crime and Punishment
Ender's Game
Robin Hood

__________________
We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...

Hmmm. Here were my top five in 2006 from that other thread Christine mentioned.

Watt
Lolita
The Box Man
Moby-Dick
Temple of the Golden Pavillion

As mentioned previously Watt came close to making it again but I haven't read it in the years between threads. I'm probably a bit more likely to do so sooner than Lolita or Temple of the Golden Pavillion anyhow, but then again I'm probably even more likely to re-read some other books than Watt (including another Beckett novel, Molloy). Not sure why Hamlet didn't make it the first time, as I'd certainly read it at least a couple of times by then. And a few more since as well. Maybe I just wasn't counting plays then.

All the others on my new list are ones I've only read in the last 8 years except for Treasure Island, which I re-read for the first time since I was a kid last year.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
1984 by George Orwell
Under The Dome by Stephen King
Childhoods End by Arthur C. Clarke
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Neuromancer by William Gibson
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Foundation by Issac Asimov
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

The Blind Assassin~ Margaret Atwood I could not put this down the first time I read it. I lived and breathed this book I was so caught up in it. It's such a fantastic book.
The Talisman ~ Stephen King & Peter Straub I don't know what it is about this book, but every so often I just have to read it again. I think this book kick-started my love affair with "other worlds. "
The Witching Hour ~ Anne Rice I am obsessed with this book. It's the first of the trilogy and unfortunately the last two aren't very good. This one though, wow. I love the dArk, spooky gothic feel of it. The history of the house and the family is incredible. I've searched everywhere for a book like it, but nothing has come close.
Beloved ~ Toni Morrison Toni Morrison writes like no other. It's dark and harsh and emotionally engaging.
Skinny Legs and All ~Tom Robbins It's absurd and funny and also deeply emotional and touching. It's the best adventure story about a spoon, dirty sock and a can of beans ever written.
To Kill a Mockingbird ~ Harper Lee The book equivalent of my favorite holey sweater.
American Tabloid ~ James Ellroy Also the first of a trilogy, but this time all three are great. This is the best of the bunch. Ellroy has a distinct rapid fire style that you will love or hate. He has the best characters and rewrites one of the most interesting periods in American history.
Breakfast of Champions ~ Kurt Vonnegut I couldn't live without a Vonnegut book and this is the one I would choose. I love Vonnegut because he has this way of fully bringing to life every single character in his novel in a way no other writer can. Even the briefest appearing characters exist for their own purpose and not for the sake of the novel.
The Great and Secret Show ~Clive Barker Another author I could not live without. Talk about "other worlds" Barker is a master at creating them.
A Song of Ice and Fire ~ George RR Martin Yes, I'm cheating, but you can't just bring one. These books are a big juicy fantasy soap opera.

Lines and PW, all these years and I've never read Moby Dick. I should really find it now. Lines - I haven't read that many graphic novels but From Hell is one I have read and found it mesmerising. Treasure Island is a favourite of mine too., as is Sci-fi's choice of 1984 and Of Mice and Men. Did you read those at school? I think if you like reading and read stuff early enough like we often need to do for GCSE or A levels, those texts really imprint themselves on you. That's what happened with me and The Grapes of Wrath.

Go - you have similar tastes to me , except I'm not keen on fantasy stuff. Love the Blind Assassin, Beloved, and James Ellroy's books. It was with great reluctance I had to leave off To Kill a Mockingbird, it was my 11th choice. I always smile when I see Clive Barker's name cos I went to the same primary and secondary schools as him in Liverpool, although he's five years older than me. We shared the same extraordinary, beloved and slightly eccentric English teacher who was an influence on every kid he ever taught. He made kids understand Shakespeare, (an amazing feat with some of us scallies!)

Oh that's so cool. For some reason, Clive Barker is one of the only famous people I've ever wanted to meet. Even if I were to only have shared a teacher with him, I would be over the moon about that.

About ten years ago, I was completely obsessed with him. I was aways reading one of his books and constantly watching Night Breed which I actually like better than Hellraiser. (Though I still love that)

So you do like Ellroy. I'm always hesitant to recommend him, even when people do have similar tastes to mine, but some people have gotten almost mad at me for doing so. I think he's great, but you're not going to get any kind of emotional feel good type novel from him. His characters are absolutely repugnant and yet I care about them and their fate as much as I do characters in any novel.

Like I've said before, when fantasy is done well, I love it like no other. I think The Song of Fire and Ice series are the only strictly fantasy novels I even like, so it makes me like them even more. Fantasy novels are some of the worst garbage, I've ever read, but I keep trying hoping for another GOT. Actually there was one other fantasy novel I liked but the rest in the series ruined it. I prefer the fantasy elements King and Barker put into their novels. Which reminds me that I didn't leave room for the Gunslinger series.

Heinrich Boll~The Clown really good book.its a life-story about a retired clown.its not boring at all given the fact that other life-story books i've read were not interesting.
Mayne Reid ~The Headless Horsman An excellent book by a great author.I've readd Mayne's other ones but this one was particularly outstanding.
Honore De Balzac~The Piece of Shagreen Leather i would advice all of you to read it.i don't know if its written in English though it must be because being such an amazing piece of work.Its very philosophic book .i couldn't understand all when i read it first but on the second time,i went deeply into details and couldn't take my eye off the book.
Jules Verne~Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea for those who like adventure Verne is just brilliant.
J.K.Rowling~Harry Potter Books i love all of them.just cant describe how much...
C.J.Box~Blue Heaven a terrific novel with satisfying plot.
Michael Palmer~The First Patientthis one's also got a nice plot.puzzling but nice.
Linwood Barclay~No Time For Goodbye one of the best mysteries I've ever read.
Lisa Scottoline~Daddy's Girlanother great author with its masterpiece.
William Kent Krueger ~Thunder Baythis one is my favorite too.its top crime fiction class.

__________________
War brings Poverty,Poverty brings Peace,Peace brings Wealth,Wealth brings Arrogance,Arrogance brings War,and so circles the World.

Hi Papo. I read some Balzac at school - Le Pere Goriot and Eugenie Grandet . Found them a bit of a chore back then but have reread and enjoyed them more in later years.
The Piece of Shagreen Leather is it La Peau de chagrin? seems to be called the Magic Skin or The Wild Asses Skin in English. I've just seen it online on the Gutenberg Project so will give it a read soon.

My hubby's into crime fiction and I know he's read some Linwood Barclay books.

I'd go Mysterious Island before 20,000 Leagues myself. But still a solid choice. If anyone's interested in my opinion, that is.

I like that one too.it was my first Verne book to read..all Jules Verne's books are good for adventure lovers.

Books that might be considered literature in some sense:

Homer - The Illiad
Plato - Collected works (lot's of stuff to read)
Thucydides - The History of the Peloponnesian War
Frank Ebert - Dune
Miyazaki - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Tolstoi - War and Peace
Urasawa - 20th Century Boys
Koike - Lone Wolf and Cub
Asimov - The Foundation Trilogy
Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged (best dark comedy ever )

Haven't read much actually, I think about 100 novels and graphic novels over the last 10 years which is the time that I guess my tastes did not change greatly.

I haven't read much in absolute terms but I can name some works I'd want with me in an island:

Poemas Surdos, Edmundo Betencourt - Portuguese surrealist poetry from 20th century
Sonetos, Antero de Quental - Portuguese sonnets from the 19th century
O Bebedor Nocturno, Various authors - Beautiful poetry from cultures all around the world collected and translated to portuguese by Herberto Hélder
Sinais de Fogo, Jorge de Sena - Portuguese romance from the 20th century
The Complete Dramatic Works, Samuel Beckett - As the title says
The Waste Land, T. S. Elliot - English modernist poetry from the 20th century
Contos de Clarice Lispector, Clarice Lispector - Fables from portuguese brazilian writer Clarice Lispector (ukrainian born)
Amigo e Amiga, Maria Gabriela Llansol - Haven't read much from this author but I would take just about any book from this brilliant portuguese writer, love her style
O Livro do Desassossego, Fernando Pessoa - Haven't read anything from this author, I'm highly interested
Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy - Same as above

Tough Question, but here goes!

The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury - I have read this at least 6 times, and is one of the few books I have ever read multiple times (usually a no-no for me). Young adult sci-fi that I first cracked when i was in the 4th grade or so. Not sure why I like it so much, but I do.

The Diamond Age, Neil Stephenson - Stephenson is THE MAN. Brilliant guy with a powerful mind. His stuff is quirky, and more than a little odd, but I was captivated by the story and concepts in The Diamond Age. Focus includes nanotech, math, language, teaching concepts and epistemology.

Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault - Post-modern French philosophy that focuses on society as prison, while also recounting historically how we got to such a state. Endlessly interesting, perspective altering stuff.

The Odyssey, Homer (Fagles translation) - The story from which all stories are drawn. Another I have read multiple times, and will most certainly read again. *shakes fist at Clytemnestra*

The Gap Series, Stephen Donaldson - THE definitive dark space opera for me. Yes, I have read Foundation (excellent series) and all the classic greats, but Donaldson's extremely dark series is tops for me. Using Wagner's Ring Cycle as a template, this five book series adds complexity and depth with each subsequent book. The first book, while still very dark, is light in regards to structure and narrative depth, but it starts the reader peeling back onion layers, revealing more and more complexity of both character and narration as the series moves along. The series contains two of my favorite characters of all time in Morn Highland and Angus Thermopylae.

Dune, Frank Herbert - Ok, so maybe this is the definitive dark space opera. I like the genre, apparently. Pretty much one of the best, if not the best science fiction novel ever written, it's a must read for fans of the genre. I think this one holds up a bit better over time than some pf the classic Heinlein and Asimov stories, although those are still great, as well. I prefer the tone of Dune to those works.

The Dark is Rising Series, Susan Cooper - Arthurian YA series from the 60s and 70s. have read the series 3 times. Once again, I cracked these when I was just but a lad, and they stuck with me. Takes some pointers from Narnia, but mixes in some pagan concepts, so clearly the allegory is from another angle. A great example of the "band of kids goes on a magical adventure" tropes that are even more popular today. Cooper is a great writer, the characters are all great, and the stories thrilling. Love it!

Valis, Philip K Dick - Such a sad book. Completely bizarre, personal, examination of one Mr. Horselover Fat, a man that has visions... The sad part is that it's semi-autobiographical, with Fat being a fictionalized version of Philip K. Dick himself, who was slowly going mad (or had gone mad at this point, you be the judge).

Perdido Street Station, China Mieville - A flagship of the New Weird literary movement, this is sort of Anti-Tolkein fantasy. Very dark, twisted and slick, with the words seeming to run down the page as you read. Really creative vocabulary and concepts throughout. If you like dark fiction, this is one of the best ever, IMO.

The Green Futures of Tycho, William Sleator - Kid's book! Yes, a THIRD YA novel on the list. What a simpleton I must seem to you folks... Hey, you asked for my favorites! This is one of the best time travel stories I have ever read. This was written in the 70s, and is far too dark to make it into schools these days. I want to say I read this in the 4th grade, but maybe it was 5th... Sleator approaches the time travel motif in a realistic and interesting way. He also plays a scene out that just floors me every time I read it, simply because this concept is just so obvious with time machines, but I have never run into it before. I sometimes gobble this whole book on a Saturday afternoon after lunch or something (It's only about 170 pages in large print), and each time, I am impressed with how well the story holds up. worth the read for fans of time travel.

Those are my very favorite books ever. I rarely read books twice, but quite a few of these titles blew that rule out of the water. Of course, I read all sorts of political non-fiction, history, philosophy and all the rest, but not many of those make it to a favorites list.

__________________

Nice list. The Martian Chronicles, The Odyssey and Valis would defiantly make my top 20; along with Zamyatins "We" and Thomas Moor's "Utopia". I've always been a big Phil Dick fan. "The man in the high castle", Valis, and "Flow my tears the policeman said." would all be in my top 30...somewhere. I've never been very keen on Dune, though.

Adding those books to my "to Read" list, Slob. Thanks!

As expected, tons of stuff I've never heard of! I don't feel experienced enough to make this list now, but I have about 30 books added to my reading list.

Pretty much how I felt making my list. Go for it, winter!