Great Books Week and NAIWE Blog Tour--Monday's Topic

If you look at this post you'll read about NAIWE's blog tour to celebrate Great Books Week. Here is my contribution to Monday's topic:

If I were stranded alone on a deserted island with only seven books to read over the next few years, I would like to have…


1) The Bible - If I am stranded alone on a deserted island, I will need the guidance and companionship from His Holy Word so that I can remember I am never truly alone.

2) Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. In this first installment based upon Biblical prophecy found in the Book of Revelation, the church has been taken up and the rest of the world has been left behind to endure the Tribulation. I've read all twelve books in this series and the first remains my favorite.

3) Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson. Anyone who knows me well, is aware that my Civil War book collection--fiction and nonfiction--is the only one that can rival my Laura Ingalls Wilder collection. I bought this book as a textbook for a Civil War course I took at a local community college in the late 90's. Yes, we had to read it cover to cover, and yet, McPherson's passion made it enjoyable reading, and it was the perfect compliment to the Civil War documentary by Ken Burns. I still refer to it often, and as I would like to write historical fiction set during the Civil War one day, if I am smart enough to have a pen and paper on this island, Battle Cry of Freedom will give me a chance to get some research done.

4) The Stand by Stephen King. While carrying this book around might give me a backache, its 1153 pages include some of the best writing I have ever come across. Ultimate good versus ultimate evil--how can you go wrong?

5) On Writing by Stephen King. If my husband didn't belong to the Stephen King Book Club I never would have discovered this little gem. They sent this to him and he asked me if I would like to read it. After delving into all the excellent advice found in its pages, I can see why King has been so successful. Writing advice delivered without sugar coating is something I'll certainly need if I start that historical novel set during the Civil War.

6) The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Yes, I still read the books from time to time, but my favorite has always been The Long Winter. With the townspeople in De Smet, SD cut off from supplies by numerous blizzards, the heroic efforts of Almanzo Wilder and Cap Garland make this an exciting installment.

7) Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I fell in love with Anne Shirley the moment I picked up this book, and my love affair with Anne hasn't changed. In this first book, Anne comes to Green Gables to be adopted by the Cuthberts, a brother and sister who expected a boy to help them with the chores around the farm now that Matthew has gotten up in years. Through many trials and mishaps, Anne proves that she belongs to Green Gables, and the Cuthberts, and that her arrival was no accident, but Providence.