Tuesday Top Ten: Books I'd Want on a Desert Island

It's Tuesday! Time for another top ten list (inspired by The Broke and the Bookish). From here on out, my lists will consist of books I can find in the teen department of our Library, since I practically live there and they're pretty much all I have time to read nowadays. They're so fabulous, though, that I don't mind at all.

And I'm counting series as one book because really, how fair would it be to be marooned on a desert island with just Vampire Academy, City of Bones, or Uglies? One would go mad not being able to read the story to its completion. So pretend I duct-taped a series together into one UBER BOOK. Fair enough?

YA Books I'd Want on a Desert Island

10. The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook by Joshua Piven: Not all of the scenarios may be relevant to my predicament, but heck, it's better than nothing. Without it, I'd say my chances of lasting more than a few days are 100 to 1.








9. Lord of the Flies by William Golding: If I'm stuck on this island indefinitely, Ralph and Piggy's misadventures will serve as a cautionary tale for those days when I start to wig big-time and feel it necessary to put a pig's head in charge.









8. The Far Side Gallery by Gary Larson: Stave off your own impending insanity by laughing at someone else's. It's genius! Gary Larson's one panel cartoons are completely loony and a nostalgic throwback to when I was a carefree teenager. They're also a great distraction from my inability to catch fish.







7. Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford: Here's another designed to keep me laughing and my mind off of my situation. Carter is such a lovable goofball, and his own predicaments are hysterically funny.









6. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: One of two must-have romances. It's easy to be swept away in the saga of Scarlett O'Hara. And its huge size, meaning many happy days of reading, is an important bonus.








5. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins: It's bleak. It's dystopian. It's a bummer. But it's also a testament to courage and a "never say die" attitude that fills me with fierce hope. It's also wonderfully written making it a hell of a read.








4. The Shadow Saga by Orson Scott Card: Bean's story crackles with intensity and is almost as good as Ender's own series (see #3). The complexity lends itself to multiple reads which is perfect desert island reading.








3. The Ender Saga by Orson Scott Card: I am fascinated by these tales and find a new philosophy or rationale to ponder with each successive read. I also have an intense yet complicated love for Ender Wiggin, who is one of the more fascinating literary characters ever created.







2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: The second romance on this list and the greatest romance novel as far as I'm concerned. As soon as I finish reading this book, I want to start over right away. A perfect choice. And Mr. Darcy will make an appearance on a future Top Ten list, so stay tuned.







1. The Bible by God: If ever there was a time to read and contemplate the message of the Creator, it's now. Even folks who aren't religious turn to God in times of great stress or despair. If being stranded on a deserted island is not a time of great stress or despair, then I don't know what is.






So what do you think? Am I doomed or do I have a chance to survive with all my mental faculties intact? What would you bring?