Samuels Says - "Which books would you want if you were stranded on a desert island?"

This month for our display, we asked the staff: "Which books would you want to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island?" (This is assuming that we have the foresight to pack a suitcase full of books or a solar-powered e-reader on every trip...) Here are our picks—we'd love to hear yours too!

Kristin:

The Pillars of the Earth, World without End, and the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett (F Fol)

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (F Mit) - I’ve read it 10+ times… I could read it forever!

His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman (YAF Pul)

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (F Tol)

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (YAF Row)

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie (823 Bar)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (F Mor)

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (F Gab)

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (F Gru)

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins (YAF Col)

Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz (910.92 Hor), The Tattoo Artist by Jill Ciment (F Cim) and Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton (F Cri) - to remind me that it could be worse!

Time Windows by Kathryn Reiss (YAF Rei)

The Bestseller by Olivia Goldsmith (F Gol)

East of Eden by John Steinbeck (F Ste)

The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (811.52 Hu)

And anything by: Tana French, Michelle Moran, Philippa Gregory, Deanna Raybourn, Rosalind Miles, Colleen McCullough (especially Morgan’s Run), Edward Rutherfurd, Bill Bryson (non-fiction), Sarah Addison Allen, Linda Howard, Charlaine Harris (especially the Sookie books),  Jane Green (early books), and Helen Fielding. (All but Bryson available in adult fiction.)

Joan:

All Agatha Christie (F Chr)

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (F Mit)

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (F Du)

The #1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith (F McC)

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (F Pat)

Defending Jacob by William Landay (F Lan)

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (F Kin)

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (F Wro)

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (F Fol)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (F Lee)

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (F Tol)

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (F Hos)

Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (967.6 Di)

The Flavia de Luce books by Alan Bradley (F Bra)

Anything by: P.D. James, Elizabeth George, or Mark Twain.

And just to be practical: The Sierra Club Guide to Safe Drinking Water (363.61 Le)… some survival books...can I just take the whole library with me?

Jeanne:

Edible: An Illustrated Guide to the World’s Food Plants (581.632 Edi)

The Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn (PB Romance Q, F Qui)

613.69—Any and all!

Canoeing: Outdoor Adventures by Pamela S. Dillon (797.122 Dil)

Poetry: American Folk Poetry (811.04 Emr), Top 500 Poems (821.008 Top), Come Hither (821.008 De)

Animal Traps and Trapping by James Bateman (799.2 Bat)

The Happy Camper by Kevin Callan (796.54 Cal)

The Successful Retirement Guide by R. Kevin Price (646.79 Pri)

Nature as Spiritual Practice by Steven Chase (248 Cha)

Saints by Tom Morgan (282.092 Mor)

Go In and Go Out the Window (J 784.6 Go)

The New Painting (759.4 New)

Dr. Dog by Babette Cole (J 613.4 Co)
Sophie: the Incredible True Story of the Castaway Dog by Emma Pearse (636.737 Pea)

Katie:

“I decided to take this literally—I couldn’t live without these.“ :)

Just in Case by Kathy Harrison (613.6 Har)

The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood (613.69 She)

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook by Joshua Piven (613.69 Piv)

Stalking the Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons (581.6 Gib)

Stalking the Healthful Herbs by Euell Gibbons (581.6 Gib)

Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants by Bradford Angier (581.6 Ang)

Field Guide to Medicinal Wild Plants by Bradford Angier (581.6 Ang)

The Backyard Homestead (641 Bac)

Made from Scratch by Jenna Woginrich (640 Wog)

Show Me How by Lauren Smith (640 Smi)

Kathy J.:

The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder (J Wil, E Wil, J PB W, J Bio Wilder Laura Ingalls, 813.52 Wil)

Nicki:

Table of Contents (814 Mc) and The Pine Barrens (974.9 Mc) by John McPhee

Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley (F Mor)

Anything by John Muir, i.e. Travels in Alaska (917.98 Mu) and Nature Writings (Bio Muir John)

Any encyclopedia—pick any letter!

Newest edition of The World Almanac and Book of Facts (031 Wor)

A dictionary—especially with word origins, like Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins (422 Mo) or the Oxford English Dictionary

Michal:

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (F Gol)

The Original Adventures of Raggedy Ann by Johnny Gruelle (J SC Gru)

The Encyclopedia of Herbs by Arthur O. Tucker (635.7 Tuc)

Essence and Alchemy: A Book of Perfume by Mandy Aftel (688.54 Aft)

The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot (530 Ta)

The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir (640.052 We)

The Life of Elizabeth by Alison Weir (Bio Elizabeth I)

A Favorite of the Queen by Jean Plaidy (F Pla)

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (YAF Fun)

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (F Twa/Classic PB Twa/J F Twa)

John:

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (F Ham)

Roughing It by Mark Twain (818.4 Twa)

My Life and Hard Times by James Thurber (Bio Thurber James)

A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh (F Wa)

Four Novels of the 1960s by Philip K. Dick (F Dic)

Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse (F Wod)

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (F Hel)

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald (F Fit)

Any (or all) Calvin and Hobbes books by Bill Watterson (741.5 Wat)

Three Men in a Boat: (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome (F Jer)

The Annotated Alice: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (823.8 Car)

Half Magic by Edward Eager (J F Eag)

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (F He)

Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe (818.309 Poe)

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (Bio Eggers Dave)

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (J F Jus)

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (Classic PB Ste)

Age and Guile Beat Youth, Innocence, and a Bad Haircut by P.J. O’Rourke (814.54 O’R)

Freddy the Detective by Walter R. Brooks (J F Br)

The Illustrated Woody Allen Reader by Woody Allen and Linda Sunshine (812.54 Al)

Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1930s and 40s and Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s  (813.0872 Cr)

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

And I would finally have time to read all those 800-page Charles Dickens novels I’ve been wanting to read, like Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend, Nicholas Nickleby, and Dombey and Son (F Dic/ Classic PB Dic)

Boo:

“If I don’t have an extra pair of contacts and/or glasses, I won’t be reading anything.” :(

Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss (J F Wys)

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe (F DeF)

Life’s a Beach by Claire Cook (F Coo) :)

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson (158.1 Car)

From the Jaws of Death by Brogan Steele (910.4 Ste)

Emergency Food Storage and Survival Handbook by Peggy Layton (613.69 Lay)

Heloise from A to Z by Heloise (648 Hel)

NTA Trapping Handbook by Tom Krause (799.2 Kra)

Wildlife Atlas by John Farndon (J 591.7 Far)

Dorling Kindersley Animal Encyclopedia (J 590 Dor)

The Camper’s Companion by Rick Greenspan (796.54 Gr)

The Wilderness Notebook by Herb Gordon (796.54 Go)

Just in Case by Kathy Harrison (613.6 Har)

A Healing Word by John Flanagan (248.8 Fl)

Lord, I Haven’t Talked to You Since the Last Crisis, but— by Lorraine Peterson (242.6 Pe)

Heroes and Pioneers (Ref 920 Her)

The Hot Flash Club by Nancy Thayer (F Tha)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book by Jeff Kinney (J Kin)

A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffet (F Buf)

Any Danielle Steel book (F Ste)

Jessica:

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (YAF Row)

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams (F Ada)

Anything by Francesca Lia Block (YAF Blo, F Blo)

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff (YAF Yov)

The Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marillier (F Mar)

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (YAF Jo)

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (YAF Bra)

The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander (J F Ale)

Stardust by Neil Gaiman (F Gai)

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (F Gai)

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (J F Car, 823.8 Car)

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (J F Sai)

Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan (YAF Bre)

Tithe by Holly Black (YAF Bla)

White Cat by Holly Black (YAF Bla)

The Septimus Heap books by Angie Sage (J F Sag)

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (F Mar)

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron (YAF Cam)

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain (YAF Des)

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (YAF Gar)

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (YAF Rya)

Graceling by Kristin Cashore (YAF Cas)

Wither by Lauren DeStefano (YAF DeS)

Melissa:

U.S. Army Survival Manual (613.69 US) - A book about how to survive on a desert island :)

Just in Case: How to Be Self-Sufficient When the Unexpected Happens (613.6 Har)

How to Stay Alive in the Woods by Bradford Angier (613.69 Ang)

The Art of Dying by Patricia Weenolsen (155.937 We)

The Holy Bible (220.5 Hol)

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel (F Mar)

Betty:

The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel (613.69 Piv)

The latest Janet Evanovich books (F Eva)

The Me and Mr. Jones series by Jo-Ann Power (F Pow)

Lisa Lutz books (F Lut)

Wyatt:

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick (in Five Novels of the 1960s & 70s—F Dic)

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson (Bio Thompson Hunter S)

Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb (741.5 Loe)

Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne (J Mil, E Mil, and there’s even a Latin version in  870 Mil!)

Foundation by Isaac Asimov (F As)

Cheryl:

Vertical Run by Joseph Garber (F Ga)

The Meg series by Steve Alten (F Alt)

Anything by: Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Johanna Lindsey, Jon Katz (non-fiction), Patricia Briggs, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Teresa Medeiros, and Linda Lael Miller. (All but Katz available in adult fiction or paperback collections.)

Tamara:

Anything by Terry Pratchett (F Pra)

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (J F Mon)

Andrew Lang’s fairy tales (J 398 Lan)

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (F Gai)

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (J F Car, 823.8 Car)

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (J F Bau)

Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott (J F Al)

Various books in the Sweet Potato Queen series by Jill Connor Browne (LP F Bro, 818.54 Bro)

The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel (613.69 Piv)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith (F Aus)

J.D. Robb’s In Death series (F Rob, PB Mystery R)

Stitch & Bitch knitting handbooks by Debbie Stoller (746.432 Sto)

The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden (J 031.02 Igg)

The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher (F But, PB Fantasy B)

Foxfire books (mostly 917.58 Fox)

The Ashley Book of Knots by Clifford W. Ashley (623.88 As)

Anything by Diane Mott Davidson (F Dav, PB Mystery D)

The Den of Antiquity series by Tamar Meyers (F Mey, PB Mystery M)

The Hitchhiker’s Guide series by Douglas Adams (F Ada)

Books by Patrick F. McManus, including the Bo Tully series (F McM)

Calvin & Hobbes books by Bill Watterson (741.5 Wat)

Ben:

The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks (YAF Bro)

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Davis Wyss (J F Wys)

Don’t Let Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems (E Wil)

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (F Mar)

The Prince by Machiavelli (320.1 Mac)

Dinosaur vs. the Library by Bob Shea (F She)

Redwall by Brian Jacques (YAF Jac)

A Fault in Our Stars by John Green (YAF Gre)

The Robot by Paul E. Watson (YAF Wat)

Duck for President by Doreen Cronin (E Cro)