Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Desert Island Keepers VI

Liz Baldwin says:

This is too tempting to pass up, but I fear making my DIK list has exposed a nasty practical streak. I would pick:

Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl - Very basic so I won't have to waste a book choice on a tool-building book.
U.S. Army Survival Manual
Persuasion by Miss Austen (THE BEST EVER)
Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale - one of the first romance novels to just catapult me.
The
Complete Works of Robert Frost

And a Blank Book so I might write. Otherwise, that way lies madness.


This does betray a very practical streak.

The hero who came to rescue a heroine with this set of books wouldn't know whether he was dealing with the
'find fresh water in the jungle inside bamboo stalks' woman
or the 'can that possibly be Fabio on the cover?' woman.

I loved KonTiki.

I have always rather doubted folks came from PreColumbian South America to settle the Pacific Islands, (or vice versa, for that matter,) but the chicken bones from 1300 -1400 BCE intrigue me. here. Oh, Yes.

It's all a lesson to me to be more open hearted and open minded.


Kinsale is wonderful, of course. Maybe I will reread me some from the Keeper Shelf when I am desperate on this next manuscript.

5 comments:

  1. This sounds like a must read... And I do love Kinsale. I think it was String of Pearls ? or was just the horse named that? In any case, it was one of my first romance novels and I LOVED it. Kinsale is brilliant. I think we're seeing a resurgence of that type of romance. Hurrah!


    Also, Lamb is FABULOUS. If you enjoyed Dogma you might perish with laughter... The end is surprisingly touching.

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  2. Flowers From the Storm may be my favourite Kinsale. I don't think she wrote one named String of Pearls

    I have nine of Kinsale's books on my keeper shelf. I may just treat myself to a re-read of them five or six months from now when I need a 'Great Romances' fix to keep me going.

    I will listen to your recommendation and tuck Lamb into the back of my mind and glance through what he has on the shelf at the bookstore or library ...

    I haven't seen Dogma which is pretty typical since I don't see very many movies.

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  3. Anonymous12:25 PM

    I just adore Kon-Tiki, too. I never did care about whether South American native peoples went to the islands or vice versa, I just really enjoyed the fact that Heyerdahl did. What an adventure.

    And speaking of heros on deserted islands, has anyone seen the ads for "Crusoe" on NBC? I can't figure out how to link to the video previews, but just google Crusoe on NBC and you'll find it. It looks fabulous - great characters, loads of adventure and plenty of costumes. Hang on to your buckles and prepare to be swashed!
    Liz Baldwin

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  4. Hi Liz Baldwin --

    I don't know that I want to see a movie of Robinson Crusoe.

    Much of what I enjoy about RC is the slow, deliberate, detail. The chance to meditate on the ordinary. It's like The Outermost House or Sand Country Almanac or Walden in that way. The cup of tea at the tea ceremony holds the whole world.

    I don't know how well the essence of that would translate to film and a two-hour format. There IS an adventure tell inside the RC, and I assume that's what the film will present. But it's not so much the adventure tale that appeals to me.

    Interesting you go directly from Kon-Tiki to RC. I would as well.

    They're connected in my mind because both give me the same experience of a landscape of minute detail in which the reader can stand and think

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  5. Oh how I love Laura Kinsale. My keeper shelf is filled with copies of her books, including the Fabio covers, and I know this for sure b/c I just moved and had to unpack and repack and will eventually unpack them again. For me it's Uncertain Magic and The Shadow and the Star. LOVE THEM!

    My DIK list? Do I have to only have one? Difficult, very difficult.

    Shanna - for certain. My first love in historical romance since the age of 11.
    Uncertain Magic and The Shadow and the Star - Kinsale
    Outlander - Diana Gabaldon.
    Bet Me - Jennifer Crusie, though it'd be a tie with Welcome to Temptation.
    Bible - it should be first or the lightening might get me.
    Montana Sky and the Chesapeake Bay Series - Nora Roberts. I just never get tied of them.
    Charm School - Nelson DeMille - not romance but a page-turner
    A Macgyver How-to book

    I'll stop here...for now.

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