Seven Books I’d Take to a Desert Island: The Dillon Empire Edition

After a truly excruciating selection process, here are my literary essentials.

Me preparing for my desert island exile. Photo by author.

Writing prompts irritate me. The voices in my head provide enough prompts without being bombarded by others, urging me to expound on favourite films, music, or (in this case) the seven books I’d take to a desert island, in the tradition of the BBC’s Desert Island Books. Generally, I ignore such prompts, but some tempt me.

When I complained about how the siren call of irresistible prompts messes up my carefully planned writing schedule, Sir Paul Combs (Knight of the Dillon Empire) suggested I emulate Odysseus and lash myself to the mast. Since I’m unsure how to apply this particular Greek mythology metaphor in practical terms, on this occasion, I’ve decided to respond to the prompt (albeit with a certain curmudgeonly demeanour). Another reason for doing so is my respect for the person responsible, the excellent Janice Harayda.

Here then, after much weeping and gnashing of teeth in the selection process, are the seven books I would take to a desert island. I believe the BBC programme automatically allocates certain texts as a given, so in this case, I’m assuming I’m allowed to take the King James Bible (still my favourite translation) and the complete…