This is topic If We Could Start a Library... in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 
The library thread and someone's post therein got me wondering about what books I would absolutely put in a library.

If you had to contribute five books to a library that you thought could absolutely not be missed out, what five books would you enter? If a book has already been entered it is already in the library. It's not your favourite books, it's the books that would make a well stocked (in your opinion) library.

Mine are:

1. Virgil's The Aeneid
2. A book of T.S. Eliot's Poems
3. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
4. The BFG by Roald Dahl
5. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
 

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Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
 
The Bible
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
The Egyptian Book of the Dead
The Koran
The Book of Mormon.

Simply because religious are so interesting. My library would also have every single myth POSSIBLE.
 

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Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
 
1. Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman
2. The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963 - Christopher Curtis
3. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
4. The Complete Works of Shakespeare
5. The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison

space opera
 

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Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
 
1. The Iliad
2. The Odyssey
3. A one-volume set of Lord of the Rings. The way it's supposed to be.
4. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
5. an unabridged English language dictionary
 

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Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
Does the OED count as a single book?
 

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Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
 
Oh yeah, and various Rumi books translated by Coleman Barks!
 

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Posted by Space Opera (Member # 6504) on :
 
adam, both the Dahl and Curtis books listed are children's books - just so you know.

space opera

But I love Ramona!
 

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Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 
I didn't include Ender's Game because I was sure would turn up later. Painful choice, but Asimov got in first.

Look at it this way; I also omitted Shakespeare.
 

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Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
 
Five copies of Mark Halperin's A Winter's Tale . No idea what it's about, just remember being astonished that the library had so many copies when I was a kid. Amazon review for the morbidly curious

[ September 28, 2004, 02:03 PM: Message edited by: pooka ]
 

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Posted by CStroman (Member # 6872) on :
 
Not in place of, but in addition to the above.

The Nag Hammadi texts.
The Qumran Codices.
The Popol Vuh.
Any/All of the Lost Scriptures.
Zoroastrian Scriptures.
Mandaen "Book of John the Baptist".

Etc. etc.
 

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Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 
Directed at pooka:

[ September 28, 2004, 02:02 PM: Message edited by: Teshi ]
 

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Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
 
Okay, I was just making a jab at how Libraries are actually filled. All fiber and no fluff makes for a boring life.

But seriously....

I Ching
Xenocide
Anna Karenina
The Brothers Karamazov
The Road to Serfdom
 

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Posted by kaioshin00 (Member # 3740) on :
 
If we could start a library...how much would we charge for the daily late fee?

1 Quarter?
 

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Posted by Little_Doctor (Member # 6635) on :
 
One Billion Dollars
 

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Posted by Brian_Berlin (Member # 6900) on :
 
The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (all-inclusive volume) - Douglas Adams
Walden - Henry D. Thoreau
Complete Poems and Short Stories of Edgar Allen Poe ;-)
 

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Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler - Italo Calvino
Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl
Till We Have Faces - C.S. Lewis
Through the Looking Glass - Lewis Carroll
Raggedy Anne Stories - Johnny Gruelle

(edit: because my brackets are a bit retarded)

[ September 28, 2004, 05:12 PM: Message edited by: Annie ]
 

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Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
 
Huck Finn
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Harry Potter
 

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Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
 
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Maps in a Mirror, by OSC
Foundation, by Isaac Asimov
Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle
 

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Posted by Stray (Member # 4056) on :
 
I'm gonna cheat and count serieseseses as one:

The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
The Dark Tower series - Stephen King
The Indian in the Cupboard books - Lynne Reid Banks
Time Enough for Love - Robert Heinlein

Yeah, all escapist fun stuff
 

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Posted by Audeo (Member # 5130) on :
 
Call of the Wild Jack London
Great Expectations Charles Dickens
The Chosen Chaim Potok
Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte

As far as late fees, I rather like my library. It doesn't have late fees, but if you have it longer than two months they might assume it's lost and charge you for it, but if you bring it in and show it them they'll credit your account so you won't have to pay. It was a big shock coming to college to find a dollar a day for a late book! Don't I pay tuition here, there's no need to charge me for keeping the copy of "Ecology and Literature" a day late.
 

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Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
 
(I too am cheating and naming series as one)

Uplift Series (all six) by David Brin
The Rigante Series(all four) By David Gemmel
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
 

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Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
 
I'd find five off of here.

Celebrate banned books week! Read some banned books!
 

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Posted by MaydayDesiax (Member # 5012) on :
 
Sophie's World
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Sixteen Scandals
Artemis Fowl
 

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Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 

quote:

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Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz

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quote:

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The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

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Sorry to be picky... but we already have one of these.
 

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Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
 
Adam: God's Beloved, Fr. Henri Nowen
Carmina, Catullus
The Dark is Rising Series, Susan Cooper
The Complete Asterix Series, Goscinny and Uderzo
Romance of Arthur (4th Ed.)
 

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Posted by Xaposert (Member # 1612) on :
 
The Complete Works of Plato
Descarte's Meditations on First Philosophy
Mill's On Liberty
Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Popper's The Open Society and it's Enemies
 

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Posted by Little_Doctor (Member # 6635) on :
 
he he
 

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Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
 
This is you being spanked
 

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Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 

quote:

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Mill's On Liberty

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quote:

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quote: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

Sorry to be picky... but we already have one of these.

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Where? I just see that you omitted it.
 

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Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
 
To Kill a Mockingbird
Sophie's Choice
Anil's Ghost
Bridge to Tarabithia
1984
 

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Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 

quote:

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1. Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman
2. The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963 - Christopher Curtis
3. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
4. The Complete Works of Shakespeare
5. The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison

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Space Opera. Second Post.
 

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Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
 
Fluff- The Belgariad by David Eddings
Children- Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce
Literature- My Name is Asher Lev by Potok
Drama- The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Other- In an Antique Land
 

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Posted by Vadon (Member # 4561) on :
 
Sci-Fi -- Dune
Fantasy -- Incarnations series, Peirs Anthony (Kind of a mix in fantasy and sci-fi, but I lean more to fantasy)
Historical Fiction -- Roll of Thunder series
Biography -- Masters of Doom (You gotta like that John Carmack)
Children -- Ummm... Animorphs? I dunno for kids...
Romance -- Dunno really...
Drama -- Jeeze, I need to read some good Dramas.
 

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Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
 
If you're gonna include animorphs only include 1 - 20 or so... they go drastically downhill after that. I completely gave up on them by about #40. What are they at now?
 

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Posted by Vadon (Member # 4561) on :
 
If I'm not mistaken, there done and over with... 56? 58? That was about when they ended.
 

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Posted by MaydayDesiax (Member # 5012) on :
 
Ya got me.

Second choice... Um... Something for kids... manga-ish. Like CLAMP School Detectives or something.
 

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Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
 
Animorphs ended at #56, I believe. It was depressing. Don't read it, I'll sum up the non-depressing part for you. **spoilers**

They win.
 

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Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
 
A planet called treason - OSC
Wyrms - OSC
Stone Words - Pam Conrad
Angel Cage Art Book - Yuki Kaori
Magic Knight Rayearth Artbook- Clamp
 

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Posted by GaalD (Member # 6222) on :
 
Catcher in The Rye
To Kill a Mockingbird
All Harry Potter books in one volume
The 9/11 commision report
and, of course, The Da Vinci COde
 

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Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
So, are we building on each other's submissions here? Assuming that this perfect library has all the books so far mentioned?

If we can have a "Complete Works of William Shakespear", can we have a "Complete Works of Mark Twain"?

I'm going to assume so, and go with:
The OED
The Complete Works of Mark Twain
The Complete Works of Euripides (I love this "complete works" business!)
A Song of Ice and Fire (in its entirity), by George R. R. Martin
and...
China Mountain Zhang, by Maureen McHugh.
 

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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
A Room with a View
The Complete Works of Agatha Christie (because everyone needs some fun)
Gulliver's Travels
The Great Gatsby
The Boy Scout Handbook
 

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Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 
I have to trade in one of mine for Ficciones by Borges.
 

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Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
::slips The Collected Works of Edgar Allen Poe into his basket when no one is looking, hides it under the other books so no one will notice that he has six books rather than five::
 

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Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
 

quote:

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The Complete Asterix Series, Goscinny and Uderzo

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• Bones of the Master - George Crane
• Lamb, the gospel according to Biff, Christ's childhood pal - Christopher Moore
• Playing the Moldovans at Tennis - Tony Hawks
• Pastwatch - OSC
• History Lessons - Dana Lindaman and Hyle Ward

[ October 02, 2004, 11:58 AM: Message edited by: Dragon ]
 

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Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
 
(I also think our library should get a subscription, and all the back issues, of National Geographic)
 

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Posted by Misha McBride (Member # 6578) on :
 
Shogun by James Clavell
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Dragon's Blood by Jane Yolen
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Frank Baum's Oz series

[ October 02, 2004, 04:57 PM: Message edited by: Misha McBride ]
 

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Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
 
I was hoping someone would say The Scarlet Letter, even though I didn't have room for it.
 

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Posted by whatsup7196 (Member # 8308) on :
 
Any Rule against resurrecting really old topics? I hope not, since it's an obvious result of people being so often directed to the search function before starting threads! Let's see if I can add anything meaningful to this list. In no particular order (and omitting those already listed):

Dragon's Egg
The Rama Series
Speaker for the Dead
Ender's Shadow (EG was already mentioned, and after reading them both in succession, I find ES to be much more fulfilling)
Hiroshima
 

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Posted by whatsup7196 (Member # 8308) on :
 
Any Rule against resurrecting really old topics? I hope not, since it's an obvious result of people being so often directed to the search function before starting threads! Let's see if I can add anything meaningful to this list. In no particular order (and omitting those already listed):

Dragon's Egg
The Rama Series
Speaker for the Dead
Ender's Shadow (EG was already mentioned, and after reading them both in succession, I find ES to be much more fulfilling)
Hiroshima
 

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Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Noemon:
Does the OED count as a single book?

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