Looking Out My Back Door

Things to Have With You on a Desert Island (Part I)

First off, one of the things that puzzled me most about "Gilligan's Island" was if the Professor could build a car, rig up a phonograph record, and do god knows what else, WHY THE HELL COULDN'T HE FIX THE DAMN BOAT? Or at least build a new one? (Why the Howells brought trunks of money on a three hour cruise has also kept me up at night. Maybe Thurston was laundering money and was the real reason why the Minnow got tossed and tossed, in a plan to go offshore that went strangely awry. Hey, not as implausible a scenario as the actual show!)

Having said that, I've come up with lists of things I'd bring with me to a desert island. It was originally limited to books, but since I hate the beach (and fish), I decided I deserve more distractions/entertainment. Just have someone brighter than the Professor set up the island with a home theater system, a bookcase and comfy hammock (a red wine cellar would be lovely, too), and I'll stay for years, as long as I have the following:

A) Books to Have While Stranded on a Desert Island
1. "The Stand" (unabridged) by Stephen King. Easily his best work. I also like one of his less popular tomes, "Needless Things." The Castle Rock books would be nice to have (including "The Dead Zone" and "It," among others).
2. Irwin Shaw's "Rich Man, Poor Man." Television's first mini-series came out of this book. Wonderfully rich storytelling, like most of Shaw's catalogue. "Nightwork" is another favorite.
3. "As The Crow Flies," by disgraced member of Parliament/jailbird/author Jeffrey Archer. He writes great, epic stories. I'd probably sneak in a couple more of his books.
4. "The Alienist" by Caleb Carr. Inventive mix of real-life historical figures and fiction (one of my favorite genres -- see "Fred Mustard Stewart"). Set in turn-of-19th century New York City, beautifully done. The sequel was also pretty good.
5. Anything by Susan Isaacs. Top three: "Compromising Positions," "Almost Paradise," and "Shining Through."
6. Olivia Goldsmith's best: "The First Wives Club" and "Flavor of the Month."
7. As much Fred Mustard Stewart as possible. If limited to a few, I'd choose "Ellis Island," "Pomp and Circumstance," "A Rage Against Heaven," and "The Titan."
8. Continuing the historical fiction genre, how about all the John Jakes books?
9. "Yes I Can," the autobiography of Sammy Davis, Jr. A classic. If you haven't read it, please do, along with the more truthful and revealing version he released nearly 30 years later, "Why Me?"
10. "My Life" by Bill Clinton. Finally... enough time to read it!

The next post will deal with DVDs and/or CDs. Remember, I hate the beach, so I need as many toys as I can get!

posted by Hopster @ 11:21 AM