On a Desert Isle

One thing I've discovered while trying to blog -- it's hard! Y'all know that I have an opinion on most everything, but it's hard to come up with a rant each and every day. I can do that in conversation, but I tend to think the written word is sacred in some sense. Hence, I try to be much more careful in my blog arguments. In addition, I constantly rail at my students for offering unsupported arguments so I have to find evidence to back up my rants and that's not easy. Yeah, I know unsupported opinions are allowed, but I try to avoid them.

If that's not enough pressure, a little bird from England (wow, 2 UK readers) tells me that her mother, an actual grownup, is reading at times. Yikes, now I really feel self conscious. So, "Hey, Mrs. G."

Anyway, today I opted for diversion. In honor of Bob Denver, who died last week, I present my current version of 5 books I'd like to have on a desert isle. If you don't get the tie to Bob Denver, think about it for a minute. Mind you, this list changes often. Also, I'm intentionally leaving off any classics. That way I don't have to put a Faulkner novel or Moby Dick on there just because I know those books should be on my list. Nope, this is pure guilty pleasure reading, in no particular order.

1. A Confederacy of Dunces. Funniest book EVER and a timely reminder of the joys of New Orleans. Ignatius J. Reilly may be the most memorable literary character in the history of the printed word. That may be hyperbole, but ... Sorry Tom Sawyer, Scarlet O'Hara, etc.

2.Sex and Sunsets. Second funniest book ever. Kelly Palamino will make you feel much better about your own life. Plus, you'll find yourself listening for voices in running water and you'll never forget the names of the first 5 Presidents of the U.S. Oh yeah, this book might also restore your faith in love at first sight (or kick).

3.The Secret History. I don't know why, but I absolutely love this book. It's a compelling story, but that's not what makes the book special. No, I think it's just that this book is wonderfully written. The characters aren't fabulous like #1 and #2 above, the mystery is resolved in the introduction, and you keep getting bogged down in ancient Greek (really, they're written in Greek) aphorisms. Still, this is one of my very favorite books. Every time I finish it I want to flip back to page 1 and start all over. I think I may have developed an unhealthy obsession with this book. I'm now like the Mel Gibson character in Conspiracy Theory (he HAD to buy a copy of Catcher in the Rye every day). I look for this book at every used bookstore and booksale I go to so I can buy another copy and give it to someone. I'm serious about this book.

4.Prague. In a lot of ways, this book reminds me of #3. Most of the characters are flat out unlikable and there's a whole middle section on the history of Hungarian publishing that seems rather pointless. Still, I fell in love with this book from page 1. It opens with a description of the 5 characters sitting in a Budapest cafe playing a game called sincerity. The first time I read this book I must have reread that introduction 10 times. It's that good.

5.Girlfriend 44. For ladies out there wondering what men are thinking, here's the answer. WE'RE NOT! Seriously, this a laugh-out-loud book. The first time I read this I was very careful not to read it in a public place, lest I embarrass myself with uncontrolled bursts of laughter and various liquids shooting out my nose. Some of the British terms may be a little hard to get at first, but stick with it.

Anyway, those are my current picks. If I'd been stuck on the isle with these, I probably wouldn't have been in a hurry to fix the boat either. Oooh, I realized I left off Richard Russo. Oh well, I'll put him on the next version.

If you've read any of these, feel free to comment. Alternatively, feel free to make suggestions.

Sorry, but given the theme of this post, how could I have forgotten this one?