Light On Dark Water

Ten Books

I've thought about this off and on since discussion on this post got into the desert island list area.  Following the example of a couple of people in that conversation, I decided to try it with ten books.  Here they are; you'll note that I remain unable to make a final choice in a couple of cases:

  1. The Bible
  2. Either the Book of Common Prayer or the Book of Divine Worship *
  3. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
  4. C.S. Lewis, either the Narnia books or the space trilogy **
  5. Complete Shakespeare
  6. T.S. Eliot, Complete Poems and Plays
  7. Flannery O'Connor, Collected Works
  8. Something by Walker Percy, probably either Lost in the Cosmos or Love in the Ruins
  9. Raymond Chandler, Library of America collection **
  10. A very large well-chosen anthology of 19th century English poetry

* 1928 U.S. BCP, no doubt. Not entirely sure what's in one and not in the other, so I'd have to compare them.

** Cheating: multiple physical volumes.

I really would prefer Ross Macdonald to Chandler, but there is no comparable collection of his works. There are a couple of out-of-print volumes that include three novels each, and if I can have two volumes of Chandler why can't I have two volumes of Macdonald? I don't care that much about Eliot's plays, but since there's a single volume that includes them, why not? I think I'm leaning to Lost in the Cosmos for Walker Percy. I seriously considered The Habit of Being as my Flannery O'Connor selection, but the collected works includes a number of letters, so that should do. I'd really like some Dickens, too, maybe Bleak House or David Copperfield or Great Expectations.  And some Dostoevsky. The poetry anthology must include both the Romantics and the Victorians. It could go very light on Byron and Shelley to make room for big chunks of Idylls of the King and most of Hopkins.

The Book of Divine Worship, by the way, is a Catholic adaptation of the Book of Common Prayer, created in the early 1980s for the Anglican Use parishes. There's a PDF here. I like the Coverdale Psalms a lot.

Please post your own list in the comments if you like.

Maclin Horton

60 responses to “Ten Books”

  1. Robert Gotcher

    You’d need Lost in the Cosmos on a desert island more than you would need Love in the Ruins. Besides, LITC is SO FUNNY.
    Although maybe if you were on a desert island you’d want to FORGET Phil Donahue.
    I have no opinion about Narnia vs. Space Trilogy. Narnia is overall more pleasant. Space Trilogy is richer and more coherent as a myth.

    Reply
  2. Robert Gotcher

    It sounds like you are going to have to create your own desert island poetry book.

    Reply
  3. Marianne

    Mac, for your no. 1 choice, the Bible — which translation?

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  4. Mac

    Good question. Not the New American. I’m tempted to say KJ. Maybe the Revised KJ. Have to think about it.
    I’m inclined to agree with you, Robert, about the Percy choice, as well as your description of the difference between the two Lewis options. Fortunately, I don’t actually have to make these choices. I have to keep reminding myself of that.

    Reply
  5. Bill

    Mac,
    Describing the Book of Divine Worship as an adaptation of the BCP isn’t really fair to the latter. Subtraction may be more accurate. And yes, one has to go with the 28, although the 79 is not without some merit.
    As for the question of Bible translation, whatever else might be read nowadays by Xns, the AV is the English Bible.
    Thought-provoking post.

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  6. Mac

    I’m not following you: how is it unfair?
    By AV you mean Authorized Version, I guess? Yes, I agree. I’m just not entirely certain it would be my choice if I could only have one.

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  7. Robert Gotcher

    Vulgate.

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  8. Mac

    Well, it’s mellifluous, if rather limited in utility for the non-Latin-reading.

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  9. Louise

    you didn’t include a book of ship building

    Reply
  10. Louise

    I then asked [Chesterton] what would be his choice if he had to go on a desert island and could take but one book along.
    “It would depend upon the circumstances,” he replied. “If I were a politician who wanted to impress his constituents, I would take Plato or Aristotle. But the real test would be with people who had no chance to show off before their friends or their constituents. In that case I feel certain that everyone would take Thomas’ ‘Guide to Practical Shipbuilding’ so that they could get away from the island as quickly as possible. And then if they should be allowed to take a second book it would be the most exciting detective story within reach. But if I could take only one book to a desert isle and was not in a particular hurry to get off, I would without the slightest hesitation put ‘Pickwick Papers’ in my handbag.”

    Reply
  11. Mac

    I’m pretty sure a book on shipbuilding would be useless to me. And I haven’t read Pickwick Papers, I’m sorry to admit, so can’t opine on that. But I would like some Dickens.

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  12. Stu

    There is a BBC show name of which I forget where they have famous people on and they discuss their one desert island book pick, and also their one piece of music (or album, but most pick classical). They give them the Bible and Shakespeare already, so no one will pick those. 🙂

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  13. Stu

    I got it wrong. 8 pieces of music, a book, and a luxury item. Shakespeare + the Bible or other appropriate book per their religion. The show is called Desert Island Discs and has run (amazingly) since 1942.

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  14. Stu

    This being a British show, I am almost certain that Dickens has the most entries as a book (or collection of – some cheat) that people mention. They are all listed on Wikipedia and I have spent time scrolling through and reading about the people and their picks. Oh the time we can waste on the internet. Sigh.

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  15. Stu

    NRSV Bible
    Shakespeare
    War and Peace
    Pickwick Papers
    Brothers Karamazov
    Anna Karenina
    Lonesome Dove
    Midnight’s Children
    Moby-Dick
    Tom Jones

    Reply
  16. Mac

    Funny you mention that, as I just ran across it yesterday. After posting my list I googled “desert island books” or something to see what kinds of things other people have thought of. Like you I was amazed that the show started way back then, and is still going. The first time I can remember hearing the idea of a desert island list is only 20 or so years ago.

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  17. Stu

    After a short existential struggle I have decided to switch out Anna Karenina for Les Miserables!

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  18. Mac

    My previous comment was written before I saw your list. An acceptable list.:-) Though not the ones I would pick for the most part. Moby Dick is on my reasonably-near-term list–I read it in high school (? or early college) and didn’t like it that much. Sorta surprised at Lonesome Dove and Midnight’s Children, not that I’ve read either of them.

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  19. Stu

    You should read Lonesome Dove, Mac. I re-read it last year and decided that Augustus (Gus) McCrae is the greatest character in American Literature. It is funny, grand in scope, and will move you to tears. When I got within a hundred pages of the end I had to take a day off work to finish because I couldn’t put it down.

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  20. Mac

    Interesting. I have a vaguely negative impression of it and I have no idea where it came from.

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  21. Craig

    The Telegraph recently ran the stats and wrote a feature on the most frequently picked “artists” on the BBC Desert Island Discs programme over the years.
    Numbers one and two were the Beatles and Bob Dylan. Then Beethoven and Mozart, and then (cough) Pink Floyd. Bach came in sixth. For shame.

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  22. Mac

    I like Pink Floyd, but…ahead of Bach?!? For shame indeed. But then putting the Beatles and Dylan ahead of any of the three classical composers is a shame, although I suppose this comes from a pretty heterogeneous set of people (have to wait till later to look at the link).

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  23. Robert Gotcher

    The fact that the Beatles or even (cough) Dylan are so high doesn’t mean they are more popular than the classical. It is just that if you are going to have some pop on the island, you have less to choose from that you’s want to have FOREVER. So, if you added all the Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Braums and Tchaikovsky together, each with 60 votes, you’d get 360 votes. But then the Beatles and Dylan and even if you add Pink Floyd each got 70, that would 210, which is still a lot less than the 360 classical votes.
    I just think the pool of pop is not as rich, so the individuals in the pop category will get individually more.

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  24. Robert Gotcher

    I suppose if I were on the island for penance I might want to listen to Dylan again and again for the rest of my life.

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  25. Mac

    “…the pool of pop is not as rich, so the individuals in the pop category will get individually more.”
    In the abstract, maybe, if you assume a pretty comparable level of interest in both classical and pop music across the group of people giving their preferences. There are a whole lot of people who would focus mostly on pop, and only throw in a little classical for the occasional change, or maybe skip it altogether.
    Should you find yourself in that situation with regard to Dylan, allow me to recommend Under the Red Sky as the keystone of your collection, perhaps the entire collection if you feel the need for extreme penance.

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  26. Robert Gotcher

    I’d probably go for Freewheelin’ and Blood on the Tracks. Maybe Highway 61 Revisited.
    As you can see, my knowledge of Dylan isn’t deep–just the popular stuff.
    The only Dylan I ever owned besides Freewheelin’ was Shot of Love.

    Reply
  27. Mac

    I picked Under the Red Sky because you wanted penitential. I doubt there are very many people who have listened to it more than once. Its highlight is a tune called Wiggle Wiggle.
    If anyone wants to know more about the radio programme:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Island_Discs
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs
    At a glance I don’t recognize all that many names.

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  28. Fr. Matt Venuti

    Just say NO to the NRSV.

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  29. Mac

    I’m not sure I’ve ever encountered it. But I will take your advice.

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  30. Craig

    Sorry to hear about your cough, Robert. I hope you feel better soon.
    😎
    Under the Red Sky is indeed superb Lenten fare.

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  31. Rob G

    Are single works that contain multiple volums allowed? I’m thinking of something like Foote’s ‘Civil War’ — it’s 3 books but one work.

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  32. Craig

    I would say so, Rob G. Something like Foote’s book really is a single book that just happens to be too long to be published in a single physical volume.
    Speaking of Foote, I’m about 200 p into the third volume right now, and enjoying every page. Grant and Lee are finally facing one another across the field, and the strategic advantage is bouncing back and forth as they try to outwit one another.

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  33. Rob G

    Ok, then I’m taking Copleston’s history of philosophy! (just kidding)

    Reply
  34. Mac

    Surely it depends on the generosity, or lack of, on the part of the authorities ordering you to the desert island. As you know, I cheated a bit. I might draw the line at Foote’s work, if I were in charge, since each volume is huge (unlike, say, The Lord of the Rings).
    But would you really want that on a desert island?! Not me. No disrespect to Foote, but if I ever read it, I’m sure once will be enough.

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  35. Mac

    I assume one has been ordered to the island by Authorities, btw, as if it were a shipwreck one wouldn’t have time or opportunity to make a selection, and if it were by choice one would take as many books and records as one could manage.

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  36. Robert Gotcher

    Actually, Copleston wouldn’t be a bad choice.

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  37. Rob G

    This was tough but here goes:
    *Orthodox Study Bible
    *Shakespeare
    *Tolkien — LOTR
    *Flannery O’Connor — works
    *Bros. Karamazov
    *a good, large collection of Wordsworth
    *Pickwick Papers
    *Helprin – Soldier of the Great War
    *a Ronald Blythe collection, like ‘Aftermath’
    *a good history of philosophy

    OR

    Marion Montgomery’s “prophetic poet” trilogy.
    I included Blythe because I would not want to be without rural writing, nature writing, or travel writing, and Blythe is adept at combining all three.
    I’m a little hesitant about the Montgomery, as he refers to so many other works that I’d want to read, but wouldn’t have available. Yet, it would be like having a philosophy and literature course rolled into one.

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  38. Rob G

    The two things I found most difficult to exclude w/b the Desert Fathers or some other good patristic collection, and a collection of Thos. Hardy’s novels.

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  39. Mac

    Tapping this out on an iPhone, so it will be brief. It’s interesting to see the proportions of nonfiction to fiction & poetry that various people choose. Excluding scripture and prayer, and maybe Lost in the Cosmos, the only nonfiction that even came close to making my list were F O’C’s letters and Boswell’s Johnson.

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  40. Rob G

    That is interesting. Aside from the Bible I chose 7 out of 9 works of fiction or poetry. My normal reading, however, runs about 50/50 — I almost always have one of each going.

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  41. Mac

    I do read a fair amount of non-fiction. If you count journalism, probably more than literature. But there isn’t all that much that I’d want to read a second time.
    I should take another look at Montgomery’s trilogy, but I suspect I would find myself still unable to understand large chunks of it.

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  42. Rob G

    I find M.M. very challenging but also
    very rewarding.
    For the most part I think that if I read a NF book that I decide I want to keep on hand it’s generally more for reference purposes than for a full reread, although there are exceptions.

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  43. Mac

    Yes. The exceptions for me would be ones that are unusually well-written and/or very profound in their insights into the really big questions. Flannery O’Connor’s letters, for instance, would make it on both those counts. Not that her prose in the letters is great art, but it’s very engaging.

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  44. Rob G

    “The exceptions for me would be ones that are unusually well-written and/or very profound in their insights into the really big questions.”
    Yes — great description.

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  45. Mac

    My problem with the Montgomery trilogy, btw, is not so much with him but with the many philosophers he references whom I’ve never read. And at this point probably never will, e.g. Heidegger.

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  46. Rob G

    Speaking of non-fiction books, this one may be of interest to some of us, esp. given the discussions we’ve had on here over the years. I haven’t read it yet but I do have it on order through my library.
    http://www.claremontinstitute.org/index.php?act=crbArticle&id=118

    Reply
  47. Rob G

    Yeah, I hear ya about M.M. and his references. I think you just have to give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his interpretations of them. To follow them up even in a cursory way would take an unreal amount of time and effort.

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  48. Mac

    Definitely unreal for me.
    I’ll have to wait a little while to read that review, but I’ve seen other reviews of the book and thought it looked worthwhile.

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  49. Louise

    using an iPhone, Maclin? Have you caved, or are you using Karen’s?

    Reply
  50. Mac

    Yes, I have caved, slowly, as usual bringing up the rear in the matter of mobile technology. I first got a cell phone ten or twelve years ago when I was going on a long trip by car alone, and Karen coaxed me into getting a cell phone. It was replaced two or three times over the years by hand-me-downs from her or other members of the family who were upgrading. And that’s how I ended up with an iPhone. We had bought it for one of our children several years ago, and then bought her a new one last year, and I got this one–an iPhone 3, which is like so out of date now. I only used it occasionally, and not as a phone, just as a Wi-Fi device, because it wasn’t on the family cell phone plan, until last weekend, when I discovered all I had to do to make it function as a phone was to move the SIM from my old phone to this one. So yes, I’ve been assimilated, and my only remaining dignity is in the fact that people can still laugh at me for having such an old iPhone.

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  51. Marianne

    From the review of that book Rob G recommends, The Revolt Against the Masses: How Liberalism Has Undermined the Middle Class:

    [The author] has a particularly fascinating chapter on the many ways that the ’50s have been misrepresented, not least as an era of cultural vacancy, a misrepresentation that was fostered by aristocratic radicals like Dwight Macdonald and the snobbish aristo-Marxism of the Frankfurt School thinkers such as Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, who were either incapable of seeing, or unwilling to see, the considerable virtues of the era’s mass-cultural productions, in television, radio, cinema, musical theater, and the like—products that we look back upon with wonder and gratitude, given the pop-cultural sewer in which we now dwell.

    That reminded me of the operas presented on TV in the 1950s, on NBC Sunday afternoons, I think. Impossible to imagine that happening today.

    Reply
  52. Mac

    One of my pet peeves, as I have often said. It’s possible to criticize the “middlebrow” efforts of the time for their attempt to bring high culture to a broader audience. But it was a whole lot better than the determination to drag everything and everybody down that came later. Think about the level of sophistication required to get a lot of the jokes on Rocky and Bullwinkle (ok, that was the early ’60s, but The Sixties hadn’t really started then). I think the equivalent today is all pop culture references. Shows like The Simpsons are often very clever and funny, but they’re part of a different and less appealing mental world.

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  53. Paul

    This would include things like Under Milk Wood, presumably?

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  54. Mac

    I only heard it once, many years ago, and don’t remember it very well, except that I liked it. Was it a popular success?

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  55. Louise

    I’m glad you at least only have an iPhone3!
    What is opera?

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  56. Mac

    You know–The Sound of Music and stuff like that. 🙂

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  57. Rob G

    A few weeks back I mentioned the Shelby Foote illustrated Civil War set (14 vols.) Well, the used bookstore where I got mine last year has another one in stock, this time for only $85.00. It’s in good shape and at that price it won’t last long. If anyone’s interested I’d be happy to purchase it and ship it to you at cost. You can send me a check or m.o. or pay me via Paypal.

    Reply
  58. Mac

    Tempting, but I think I’ll resist indulging the fantasy that I’m ever likely to read this.

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  59. Paul

    I somehow missed the question about Under Milk Wood. I don’t know how popular it was, but as a radio play it was 1950s broadcast media.

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  60. Mac

    I have a recording of it which is very enjoyable, or was when I listened to it many years ago. I’ve often thought that better things could be done with radio drama.

    Reply

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