Sturgeon's Law

Gary tagged me to do the "Five Desert Island Books" meme. I can't do it quite that way, though, because I'll inevitable smartass my way through and pick things like the US Army Survival Manual. So this is just five books that would be indispensable to me were I only allowed five for whatever hell damn reason.

1. The Lord of the Rings. I read this at least a dozen times when I was younger. I haven't read it in a long time, partly because I know it wouldn't have quite the same magic for me anymore, partly because of the profound sense of loss I always got from reading it.

2. The Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Yes, I have all five books plus that short story in a single volume. Another series I haven't read recently. In 7th or 8th grade study hall, something in one of the first two books induced a massive giggling fit in me. One of the few times I haven't even cared about a large group of people staring at me.

3. The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry. Not by any means my favorite book of poetry, but if you're only giving me five books, this has a lot more material, and it fits my reading style (splash in and out) and desire for variety better than whatever I might pick as my single favorite poetry book (James Wright's Above the River, perhaps).

4. The Complete Far Side. Narrow win over The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, would lose to The Complete Peanuts if such a thing existed.

5. The Oxford English Dictionary. Either this or the Encyclopedia Britannica. Either one gives me plenty of writing resources in one place.