Teas-day Ten

The Top Ten Tuesday is a nifty idea started by The Broke and The Bookish blog, of which I post at from time to time.  This week’s theme is Top Ten Books I’d want on a Desert Island.  Feel free to discuss, argue, post your own, and drink tea.

10) The Sagas of the Icelanders.
-This monster has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while, so my logic is this: if I’m stranded on a desert island, it will in all probability be the only time I’d have to read it – and actually finish it.  Besides, I’d be reading about someplace cold, which would take my mind of my assumed predicament of being, you know, stranded.

9)  Duma Key, by Stephen King.
-Hands-down my favorite Stephen King novel.  I actually CRIED reading this, which almost never happens when I read.  Who knows, it might inspire me to make some paint out of various plant juices and do some cave paintings while I’m stranded.

8)  On Language, by Noam Chomsky.
-It’s actually two books in one, Language and Responsibility and Reflections on Language.  Chomsky’s commentary on linguistics should prove to be somewhat of a distraction from the sharks swimming around in the water.  Yeah, that would show them.  I’d fight sharks with my new-found knowledge of the nature of language.

7)  Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
-Every self-respecting book lover knows that at one point in his or her life, (s)he wanted to read the dictionary straight through, and have it memorized (because it’s that simple, right?).  I was no exception to that rule.  Why not turn my boredom into something constructive?  If I ever managed to get off of the island, I could show off to my bookworm friends.  They’d all be so jealous, but would never admit it.

6)  Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, by Scott Cunningham.
-Depending on which island I’m stranded on, this book could be useful, with its drawings of plants and various properties associated with them – not just for magical purposes.  In any case, I’d learn my plants in no time.

5)  The Swarm, by Frank Schatzing.
-I have been working on this for at least two or three months now, and I’m having trouble getting through it.  It’s sitting on my bedside table, gathering dust and haunting my dreams.  It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to read about underwater aliens trying to kill off humanity and take over the world when I’m on an island, surrounded by water.  But at least the thing would get read.

4)  Bring Me the Rhinoceros, by John Tarrant.
-If I start to hallucinate, meditating on these zen koans should calm my mind.  It’s a small book, but is philosophically potent.  I’ve been working on it for around a year and a half, and I’m still struggling with these.  Who knows how many years I’d be stuck on that island?  I’d be a zen master by the time I escaped.

3)  Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, by John J. Collins.
-I had to drop out of my Hebrew Bible class last semester due to an illness, so I simply haven’t had an opportunity to finish this in conjunction with my studies of the Tanakh.  I didn’t sell it back to the college bookstore, as I intend to finish it.  Stranded on an island, I’d have plenty of time.

2)  The Tanakh.
-This would, naturally, go hand in hand with Introduction to the Hebrew Bible.  No matter what kind of study guides one may have, one can’t quite study the Tanakh without the Tanakh.  I’m determined to finish it.

1)  Oil! by Upton Sinclair.
-This book is my number one to-read book.  I loved, LOVED the movie version, There Will Be Blood.  It’s so dark and HONEST about the nature of human greed.  I want to read Upton Sinclair’s version, and this would be the first book I’d pick up.  Hey, I’m stuck on and island!  Great!  I’ve got time to read this now!