Only a dozen...

[altivo]

Today moth_wingthane asked me for my "desert island" list of books. This is not an uncommon question, and I've probably answered it many times in different ways. My answer would have to vary from day to day and year to year. Thinking for about an hour and trying to limit it to a dozen books, this was what I chose today:

1. Complete works (including the sonnets) of Shakespeare
2. Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory
3. The Exeter Book or another similar selection of Anglo-Saxon poetry
4. Complete Poems of Thomas Hardy
5. Complete Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins
6. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
7. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
8. Works of Beatrix Potter (with her own illustrations)
9. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
10. Poems of Emily Dickinson
11. The Book of Common Prayer (1928 American ed. or 1549 English ed.)
12. Works of Jack London

Rather a motley list, I know, and it may seem like cheating to choose to assume "complete works" of various authors in one volume, but such things are common now. Many people would choose the bible, which is longer than a complete Shakespeare or a complete Jack London, so I think I'm within somewhat reasonable limits. Allowed a little more room, I'd have to include poetry by A.E. Housman, novels by Mark Twain and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and some classic fantasy and science fiction such as Lewis Carroll, Kenneth Grahame, Ray Bradbury, and Isaac Asimov. XD

Weaving progresses. The first towel is done, the second started, this one using handspun cotton for the pattern weft. The cotton was dyed with pink and indigo colors, and is quite a contrast to the deep turquoise commercial cotton flake I used in the first towel. I think I like the handspun better, which means I need to spin up some more. I have enough for one towel, and should make two so as to display the pair in the show this October.

Spinning and weaving demonstration is scheduled for tomorrow in Crystal Lake and I understand a number of the original volunteers have backed out so I'd better go. Hopefully the weather will be nice, as it's to be outdoors.

Edit (an hour or so later): Ooops, already need to revise. I can't omit Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. If I must give something up to fit it in, then it would be The Book of Common Prayer, which I choose for some of the most beautiful and exact English prose in all of history, rather than so much for content. Swift's satire of human folly, all summed up in one omnibus novel, simply does not bear exclusion. Besides, it has the "Voyage to the Land of the Houyhn-hnms" who were essentially intelligent talking horses served by the Yahoos, who were stupid, dirty, human slaves. ;p

Comments

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

"Besides, it has the "Voyage to the Land of the Houyhn-hnms" who were essentially intelligent talking horses served by the Yahoos, who were stupid, dirty, human slaves. ;p"

I don't remember that bit O.O I probably read one that was abridged for kiddies though.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Or you quit before the end. The Houyhn-hnms are the last voyage in the book.

Yes, Swift was frequently bowdlerized "for children" and those edited versions usually lose the sharp wit and satire of the original. There is sexual innuendo and other stuff that gets cut out. Most people know the story of Liliput, the land of the little people, where Gulliver was a giant asked to help fight a war against neighboring Blefuscu over which end of the breakfast egg should be opened first. In fact, the terms "big-endian" and "little-endian" that are now used in computer science originated with Swift. Fewer know the next voyage, to Brobdingnag, which was a land of giants in which Gulliver was the size of a mouse.

Then there's the voyage to Laputa, a floating island in the sky that makes fun of universities and their "research", also well worth reading and always omitted from children's editions.

The Houyhn-hms come last. Gulliver learns their language as he studies their culture, and concludes the book by saying that he now finds his horses to be far superior in intellect and much more interesting companions than the stupid Yahoos among whom he is forced to live...

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

I remember the first two voyages,

Did you know a Japanese anime by Ghibli studios was called Laputa "castle in the sky" and was about trying to find the floating island after it was abandoned. I only have the Japanese version but its a good story :) Well done as studio ghibli tends not to make the short series related anime but the long full length stories.

I think I read it when I was 10 and yes it must have been severely watered down.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Put it on your list to read again. You'll probably appreciate it much more now, as the subtleties are wasted on children. Two examples that come to mind immediately:

A dangerous fire broke out in the royal palace of Liliput. Gulliver put it out by pissing on it, and in spite of his great service to the crown, was condemned to death for doing so because it was disrespectful and against the law for anyone to piss inside the palace.

The island of Laputa is named from the Spanish words meaning "the prostitute."

Yes, I've seen Castle in the Air but like almost every anime type film I've tried to watch, I found it so broken up and incoherent that it made no sense whatsoever. Studio Ghibli does very fine art work, and I especially enjoy their background scenery details, but the story lines never work for me at all.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

True, anime is not for everyone :) The one Totoro is based on a folktale in the area my grandparents live so it meant something to me ^.^

You know more kids would read these stories if they kept the naughty bits in them ;) I should read it again.

Oh by the by I came across this lil movie of someone recreating Vincent Van Goghs work in Second life, I'm not a big fan of classical paintings (despite my grandfather being a painter and my brother and father being into the classical artists) but even I appreciated this, you might like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxVDVggLqsA

[altivo.livejournal.com]

You're right, the Van Gogh clip is fantastic stuff. I had to wait until I was at work to view it, I couldn't get it to load over dialup at home.

[heavens-steed.livejournal.com]

Excellent choices, Tivo. You've got good taste. The works of Shakespeare and The Silmarillion are probably my favorites on your list and maybe Jack London too. And yes, Gulliver's Travels! You definitely can't exclude the Houyhnhnms!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Indeed. For all the differences you sometimes feel with me, I find we are more in agreement than not. We Houyhnhms have to stick together, after all, or the Yahoos will rebel against us and take over the world. ;D

Actually I'm surprised no one has accused me of being biased toward English rather than American authors yet.

[heavens-steed.livejournal.com]

We Houyhnhms have to stick together, after all, or the Yahoos will rebel against us and take over the world.

*chuckles* True, true. As for English vs. American authors, that comparison did not even occur to me and I doubt it does to most others. Most of my favorite authors are English as well. I never liked Hemingway and he's supposed to be one of the greatest of American authors. I don't know, I guess I just like the classical, rich, epic feel of English literature.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, going back and counting I actually did pick five Americans out of the 12 so that's not really so terribly biased. On the other hand, I admit that most of the other names that occurred to me while considering were also English or at least from the British Isles or Ireland. A couple of Australians and Canadians were also in the running. I don't care for Hemingway either, but Faulkner and Steinbeck are OK, and many 19th century American writers are fine with me (Melville just being the one I favor most.)