Desert Island Authors Draft

[kingsnation]

Richard Matheson

I've been contemplating where to take Matheson in this draft and I'm convinced there's no better time than now, especially after drafting Jane Austen

Matheson is a tad darker than anything else on my island yet his stories have great depth, meaning and philosophy. Matheson also wasn't afraid to tackle the topic of love and its meaning.

One of my all time favorites is I Am Legend. I love the book and the Will Smith version of the movie just made the book even better, IMO.

Other favorites include What Dreams May Come and The Beardless Warriors. Another of note, which I enjoyed but not a favorite - The Shrinking Man.

More..

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Neal Stephenson

With the run on sci-fi authors in full swing, I've got to pick up a modern favorite who is sometimes considered sci-fi, sometimes cyber-punk, sometimes who-knows-what. Neal Stephenson writes engaging, smart, mathy, sciency, wordplayful fiction with twisting plots that make the entirety fun to read at both the micro and macro level. I've always had a bit of trouble with his endings - they feel forced to me - but the setup to get there is always rock-solid.

Lived: 1959-
Major Works: Snow Crash; The Diamond Age; Cryptonomicon; The Baroque Cycle; Anathem; Various short fiction and nonfiction
Quote: (From Cryptonomicon)

Spoiler

They show him the organizational chart for RAF Special Detachment no. 2701, which contains the names of all of the twenty-four people in the world who are on to Ultra Mega. The top is cluttered with names such as Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Then come some other names that seem oddly familiar to Waterhouse - perhaps the names of these very gents here in this room. Below them, one Chattan, a youngish RAF colonel who (Waterhouse is assured) accomplished some very fine things during the Battle of Britain.

In the next rank of the chart is the name Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse. There are two other names: one is an RAF captain and the other is a captain in the United States Marine Corps. There is also a dotted line veering off to one side, leading to the name Dr. Alan Mathison Turing. Taken as a whole, this chart may be the most irregular and bizarre ad-hocracy ever grafted onto a military organization.

In the bottom row of the chart are two groups of half a dozen names, clustered beneath the names of the RAF captain and the Marine captain respectively. These are the squads that represent the executive wing of the organization: as one of the guys at the Broadway Building puts it, “the men at the coal-face,” and as the one American Guy translates it for him, “this is where the rubber meets the road.”

“Do you have any questions?” the main Guy asks.

“Did Alan choose the number?”

“You mean Dr. Turing?”

“Yes. Did he choose the number 2701?”

This level of detail is clearly several ranks beneath the station of the men in the Broadway Buildings. They look startled and almost offended, as if Waterhouse has suddenly asked them to take dictation.

“Possibly,” says the Main Guy. “Why do you ask?”

“Because,” Waterhouse says, “the number 2701 is the product of two primes, and those numbers, 37 and 73, when expressed in decimal notation, are, as you can plainly see, the reverse of each other.”

All heads swivel toward the don, who looks put out. “We’d best change that,” he says, “it is the sort of thing that Dr. von Hacklheber would notice.” He stands up, withdraws a Mont Blanc fountain pen from his pocket, and amends the organizational chart so that it reads 2702 instead of 2701. As he is doing this, Waterhouse looks at the other men in the room and thinks that they look satisfied. Clearly, this is just the sort of parlor trick they have hired Waterhouse to perform.

 

[jalfa]

in the wake of Germany's glorious victory (*cough*), I felt kind of unfit to check up on this thread yesterday. I'm glad I didn't, because the picks would've made me very unhappy (which is to say: very well done to all concerned). weirdly though, one author I had resigned myself to not getting is still around. this will change now.

F. Scott Fitzgerald
wiki

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." (TGG)

Notables:

This Side of Paradise
The Beautiful and Damned
Tender Is the Night
The Great Gatsby

Favourites:

The Great Gatsby

admittedly, the only book of his I've read is The Great Gatsby (which is the reason I could've lived with someone who has read more of his to pick him, but since that doesn't seem to be the case...), but, as with Kenna and Harper Lee, that book, to me, is worthy of a selection for my island. James Gatz, alongside Sidney Carton, is my favourite character in any story. tragic, misunderstood dreamers seem to be a thing of mine. dunno why. be that as it may, Gatsby is just a great, great novel. set in what I find to be one of the most interesting eras, the story of the ambitious bootlegger that ultimately did it all for the recreation of a dream has been one of the major driving forces behind my interest in English literature and probably my first real challenge (read it when I was sixteen and my grasp of English...well, not as good) and for that alone, Fitzgerald needs to be on my island.

Thompson is up, too, if anybody wonders.

 

[kennadog]

Nice pick, Jalfa. He was one I was considering.

 

[NoBonus]

I got Stan Lee earlier, but never a funny, cartoonist-type... so I will take two, both from a work I this is HILARIOUS... even when read on a desert island.

My first of two picks is the comic artist from Spain:
Sergio Aragonés
Wiki here

He is the wizard behind many, many of my favorite MAD magazine cartoons including the margin cartoons and the genius behind Groo the Wanderer. Always loved Groo and MAD... his work was always funny to me. I need to laugh on my island, and Sergio is going to get me to.

 

[NoBonus]

For my second of two MAD picks, I select the king of the MAD fold-in:

Al Jaffee
Wiki Here

Al Jaffee is, in my opinion, what MAD magazine is all about... he should be, he as been there 55 years. And MAD magazine is what funny cartoons should be, funny, bright, universal, controversial... love it!!! Here are some great interactive fold-ins from a NYT article:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/03/28/arts/20080330_FOLD_IN_FEATURE.html

 

[jalfa]

outside of Pratchett (and even he sometimes falls into this category), most of my selections thus far are pretty damn dark. whilst this is according to design, at least some relief has to be provided and since Jespher cruelly took one imaginative kid away from me, I have someone to give me another:

(sidenote: that man takes a creepy photograph)

A.A. Milne
wiki

Notables:

Once on a Time
The Red House Mystery
Winnie-the-Pooh
The House at Pooh Corner

Favourites:

Winnie-the-Pooh

coming clean right out of the gate: I have never read any of Milne's material outside of Pooh and I'm not even sure I've read that one myself. I have, however, vivid memories of having the book read to me as a kid and, when it was newly translated and made an audio-book by Harry Rowohlt (I hope nobody had designs on drafting him ) in 1999, I started obsessing over it once more. the Pooh stories are just beautiful and whimsical stories that no one ever gets too old for.

 

[NoBonus]

outside of Pratchett (and even he sometimes falls into this category), most of my selections thus far are pretty damn dark. whilst this is according to design, at least some relief has to be provided and since Jespher cruelly took one imaginative kid away from me, I have someone to give me another:

(sidenote: that man takes a creepy photograph)

A.A. Milne
wiki

Notables:

Once on a Time
The Red House Mystery
Winnie-the-Pooh
The House at Pooh Corner

Favourites:

Winnie-the-Pooh

coming clean right out of the gate: I have never read any of Milne's material outside of Pooh and I'm not even sure I've read that one myself. I have, however, vivid memories of having the book read to me as a kid and, when it was newly translated and made an audio-book by Harry Rowohlt (I hope nobody had designs on drafting him ) in 1999, I started obsessing over it once more. the Pooh stories are just beautiful and whimsical stories that no one ever gets too old for.

Is he Ralph Fiennes long lost twin?

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Douglas Hofstadter

Douglas Hofstadter is a pretty unique writer. I've considered letting him go deeper because I don't think anybody is going to jump on him, but I can't really take that risk. Hofstadter is a scientist who works on computational theory of the mind, and although my path has since diverged a bit, his popular writings (particularly "Gödel, Escher, Bach") are the single reason I got into neuroscience in the first place. He is also the only author I will be selecting that I have had the pleasure of meeting in person, and even having lunch with.

Hofstadter manages to create a deft mix of science and imagination and insight, and makes it eminently readable. The quote below is one of the whimsical, illustrative pieces that he often uses to highlight the issues he is talking about. Perhaps his best work of all is the touching "Le Ton Beau De Marot", a long treatise on the philosophy of language and translation, centered around numerous unique translations of a short French poem by Clement Marot, and interrupted by the sudden death of his wife from a brain tumor. It is a mixture of translation, whimsy, loss and grief and a must-read for any lover of language.

Lived: 1945-
Major Works: Gödel, Escher, Bach; Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies; Le Ton Beau De Marot; I Am A Strange Loop
Quote:(“Crab Canon” from Gödel, Escher, Bach)

Spoiler

Tortoise: Good day, Mr. A.
Achilles: Why, same to you.
Tortoise: So nice to run into you.
Achilles: That echoes my thoughts.
Tortoise: And it’s a perfect day for a walk. I think I’ll be walking home soon.
Achilles: Oh really? I guess there’s nothing better for you than walking.
Tortoise: Incidentally, you’re looking in very fine fettle these days, I must say.
Achilles: Thank you very much.
Tortoise: Not at all. Here, care for one of my cigars?
Achilles: Oh, you are such a philistine. In this area, the Dutch contributions are of markedly inferior taste, don’t you think?
Tortoise: I disagree, in this case. But speaking of taste, I finally saw that Crab Canon by your favorite artist, M. C. Escher, in a gallery the other day, and I fully appreciate the beauty and ingenuity with which he made one single theme mesh with itself going both backwards and forwards. But I am afraid I will always feel Bach is superior to Escher.
Achilles: I don’t know. But one thing for certain is that I don’t worry about arguments of taste. De gustibus non est disputandum.
Tortoise: Tell me, what’s it like to be your age? Is it true that one has no worries at all?
Achilles: To be precise, one has no frets.
Tortoise: Oh, well, it’s all the same to me.
Achilles: Fiddle. It makes a big difference, you know.
Tortoise: Say, don’t you play the guitar?
Achilles: That’s my good friend. He often plays, the fool. But I myself wouldn’t touch a guitar with a ten-foot pole!

(Suddenly, the Crab, appearing from out of nowhere, wanders up excitedly, pointing to a rather prominent black eye.)

Crab: Hallo! Hulloo! What’s up? What’s new? You see this bump, this lump? Given to me by a grump. Ho! And on such a fine day. You see, I was just idly loafing about the park when up lumbers this giant fellow from Warsaw - a colossal bear of a man - playing a lute. He was three meters tall, if I’m a day. I mosey on up to the chap, reach skyward and manage to tap him on the knee, saying, “Pardon me, sir, but you are Pole-luting our park with your mazurkas.” But WOW! he had no sense of humor - not a bit, not a wit - and POW! - he lets loose and belts me one, smack in the eye! Were it in my nature, I would crab up a storm, but in the time-honored tradition of my species, I backed off. After all, when we walk forwards, we move backwards. It’s in our genes, you know, turning round and round. That reminds me - I’ve always wondered, “Which came first - the Crab, or the Gene?” That is to say, “Which came last - the Gene, or the Crab?” I’m always turning things round and round, you know. It’s in our genes after all. When we walk backwards, we move forwards. Ah me, oh my! I must lope along on my merry way - so off I go on such a fine day. Sing “ho!” for the life of a Crab! TATA! ¡Olé!

(And he disappears as suddenly as he arrived.)

Tortoise: That’s my good friend. He often plays the fool. But I myself wouldn’t touch a ten-foot Pole with a guitar!
Achilles: Say, don’t you play the guitar?
Tortoise: Fiddle. It makes a big difference, you know.
Achilles: Oh, well, it’s all the same to me.
Tortoise: To be precise, one has no frets.
Achilles: Tell me, what’s it like to be your age? Is it true that one has no worries at all?
Tortoise: I don’t know. But one thing for certain is that I don’t worry about arguments of taste. De gustibus non est disputandum.
Achilles: I disagree, in this case. But speaking of taste, I finally heard that Crab Canon by your favorite composer, J. S. Bach, in a concert the other day, and I fully appreciate the beauty and ingenuity with which he made one single theme mesh with itself going both backwards and forwards. But I am afraid I will always feel Escher is superior to Bach.
Tortoise: Oh, you are such a philistine. In this area, the Dutch contributions are of markedly inferior taste, don’t you think?
Achilles: Not at all. Here, care for one of my cigars?
Tortoise: Thank you very much.
Achilles: Incidentally, you’re looking in very fine fettle these days, I must say.
Tortoise: Oh really? I guess there’s nothing better for you than walking.
Achilles: And it’s a perfect day for a walk. I think I’ll be walking home soon.
Tortoise: That echoes my thoughts.
Achilles: So nice to run into you.
Tortoise: Why, same to you.
Achilles: Good day, Mr. T.

 

[kingsnation]

Wow that came back fast! haha. Love it.

I don't have time currently for a write-up but will do it later...

Maya Angelou

 

[kingsnation]

PM sent.

 

[Prophetess]

you are not nice..good pick.

 

[kennadog]

My next pick is definitely a nostalgic one and date me, I'm sure. As I said, I'm a mystery/detective/police procedural nut. Every one's heard of "the hard-boiled" detective novel. Well, this writer was one of the best at that type of detective novel, although he seems to be somewhat forgotten now. I read everyone of his Lew Archer novels as a young adult and loved them all. One of these days, I'll read the whole series all over again. Ross MacDonald was a pseudonym for Kenneth Millar. He first wrote under the name John Ross MacDonald, then switched to Ross MacDonald, the name is remembered by now.

From Wikipedia:

Macdonald is the primary heir to Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler as the master of American hardboiled mysteries. His writing built on the pithy style of his predecessors by adding psychological depth and insights into the motivations of his characters. Macdonald deftly combined the two sides of the mystery genre, the "whodunit" and the psychological thriller.

Another source.

John Leonard of The New York Times stated in print what others had already realized: that Millar/Macdonald -- who had once considered his private-eye fiction a mere sideline while he crafted more "significant" literature -- had transcended the genre to become "a major American novelist." Ever since, his books have been the subjects of literary analyses and college studies. They've helped inspire new generations of writers

He had a very rough life that I'm sure influenced his writing. You can read a brief bio here: http://www.detnovel.com/Macdonald.html

In a tribute to Ross MacDonald, you can find comments from a good number of mystery/detective writers on Ross MacDonald. They say it far better than I can. http://www.januarymagazine.com/crfiction/rossquotes.html

EDIT: I sent a PM to Warhawk at about 1:15 PM Pacific time. No post from him or anybody else. Helllooooo????

 

[Warhawk]

Veering off from sci-fi and into fantasy for a moment, I want to take:

Stephen R. Donaldson

Probably my favorite fantasy series is the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. The First and Second Chronicles I read while in 6th grade or so. Couldn't stop reading them. These 6 books were just fantastic. Then he started writing the last 4 books in the Last Chronicles. While the 10th book in the series isn't due until next year, I'll live with the 9 and be happy I got them.

The First Chronicles
1.Lord Foul's Bane (1977)
2.The Illearth War (1977)
3.The Power That Preserves (1977)

The Second Chronicles
1.The Wounded Land (1980)
2.The One Tree (1982)
3.White Gold Wielder (1983)

The Last Chronicles
1.The Runes of the Earth (2004)
2.Fatal Revenant (2007)
3.Against All Things Ending (2010)
4.The Last Dark (due for release 2013)

He has also written other stuff I haven't delved into much, but it will give me more things to read over the years on my island. But the books listed above are the reason I chose him.

His wiki page for reference.

pm sent.

 

[NoBonus]

My next pick is definitely a nostalgic one and date me, I'm sure. As I said, I'm a mystery/detective/police procedural nut. Every one's heard of "the hard-boiled" detective novel. Well, this writer was one of the best at that type of detective novel, although he seems to be somewhat forgotten now. I read everyone of his Lew Archer novels as a young adult and loved them all. One of these days, I'll read the whole series all over again. Ross MacDonald was a pseudonym for Kenneth Millar. He first wrote under the name John Ross MacDonald, then switched to Ross MacDonald, the name is remembered by now.

From Wikipedia:

Another source.

He had a very rough life that I'm sure influenced his writing. You can read a brief bio here: http://www.detnovel.com/Macdonald.html

In a tribute to Ross MacDonald, you can find comments from a good number of mystery/detective writers on Ross MacDonald. They say it far better than I can. http://www.januarymagazine.com/crfiction/rossquotes.html

EDIT: I sent a PM to Warhawk at about 1:15 PM Pacific time. No post from him or anybody else. Helllooooo????

I think this is the round where we all start going our separate ways. Personally, I am not super familiar with many of this round's authors... So I have little to say... Not sure what everyone else's excuse is

 

[kennadog]

Well, I did think lists would start to diverge more at some point. I know some of my choices are skewed by my age. I realize there will be voting for people's lists, but I didn't really choose with that in mind, so much. I just thought, "This is a desert island I'm stuck on, so I'm going to choose what interests me."

I think I'll be surprised if anyone in here recognizes Ross MacDonald. That one really dates me, I'm afraid, but he wrote great detective fiction, with his lead PI, Lew Archer.

I just hope Warhawk is okay. Maybe he just had a busy evening.

 

[Prophetess]

Veering off from sci-fi and into fantasy for a moment, I want to take:

Stephen R. Donaldson

Probably my favorite fantasy series is the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. The First and Second Chronicles I read while in 6th grade or so. Couldn't stop reading them. These 6 books were just fantastic. Then he started writing the last 4 books in the Last Chronicles. While the 10th book in the series isn't due until next year, I'll live with the 9 and be happy I got them.

The First Chronicles
1.Lord Foul's Bane (1977)
2.The Illearth War (1977)
3.The Power That Preserves (1977)

The Second Chronicles
1.The Wounded Land (1980)
2.The One Tree (1982)
3.White Gold Wielder (1983)

The Last Chronicles
1.The Runes of the Earth (2004)
2.Fatal Revenant (2007)
3.Against All Things Ending (2010)
4.The Last Dark (due for release 2013)
.

May I borrow the last 3 books? One at a time? I promise to keep them in excellent condition and return them prompty when done with them. I may have read the first one of those but I'm not sure.

and on another note---I was hoping he'd make it down to me. nice pick.

 

[Prophetess]

Well, I did think lists would start to diverge more at some point. I know some of my choices are skewed by my age. I realize there will be voting for people's lists, but I didn't really choose with that in mind, so much. I just thought, "This is a desert island I'm stuck on, so I'm going to choose what interests me."

I think I'll be surprised if anyone in here recognizes Ross MacDonald. That one really dates me, I'm afraid, but he wrote great detective fiction, with his lead PI, Lew Archer.

I just hope Warhawk is okay. Maybe he just had a busy evening.

I've actually heard the name of the PI referrenced by my father when being told of a good book he read once.

 

[VF21]

Well, I did think lists would start to diverge more at some point. I know some of my choices are skewed by my age. I realize there will be voting for people's lists, but I didn't really choose with that in mind, so much. I just thought, "This is a desert island I'm stuck on, so I'm going to choose what interests me."

I think I'll be surprised if anyone in here recognizes Ross MacDonald. That one really dates me, I'm afraid, but he wrote great detective fiction, with his lead PI, Lew Archer.

I just hope Warhawk is okay. Maybe he just had a busy evening.

Ahem.

I had never read anything by MacDonald until I saw the movie The Drowning Pool - with Paul Newman. After that, I searched down the author and read everything of his I could find. Nice pick.

 

[kingsnation]

Maya Angelou

One of those names that you hear and you automatically get drawn into one of her stories. I honestly could've taken her earlier and not have thought twice about it. Her poetry is beautiful and is held in high-esteem all over the world. Besides her poetry, my favorite by her is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou is one author that, even as a young child, I knew her work. Of course, I didn't fully appreciate the messages and the truths behind them until I was much older.

More..

 

[Jespher]

Here's one whom I'm sure most have heard of...

With my 7th choice, I select:

Ernest Hemingway
1899-1961

The words speak for themselves, but Hemingway is definitely a classic, talented author. I love his simple descriptions of places, people, and events with a rhythmic progression building intensity to keep you turning the pages. This will add another classical component to my library that will be a pleasure to return to time and again.

With the fishermen and the life on the river, the beautiful barges with their own life on board, the tugs with their smoke-stacks that folded back to pass under the bridges, pulling a tow of barges, the great elms on the stone banks of the river, the plane trees and in some places the poplars, I could never be lonely along the river. With so many trees in the city, you could see the spring coming each day until a night of warm wind would bring it suddenly in one morning. Sometimes the heavy cold rains would beat it back so that it would seem that it would never come and that you were losing a season out of your life. This was the only truly sad time in Paris because it was unnatural. You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintry light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason.

In those days, though, the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed.

Bibliography:

Spoiler

Novels:

(1926) The Torrents of Spring
(1926) The Sun Also Rises
(1929) A Farewell to Arms
(1937) To Have and Have Not
(1940) For Whom the Bell Tolls
(1950) Across the River and Into the Trees
(1952) The Old Man and the Sea
(1970) Islands in the Stream
(1986) The Garden of Eden
(1999) True at First Light

Collections:

(1923) Three Stories and Ten Poems
(1925) In Our Time
(1927) Men Without Women
(1933) Winner Take Nothing
(1938) The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories
(1961) The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories
(1969) The Fifth Column and Four Stories of the Spanish Civil War
(1972) The Nick Adams Stories
(1979) 88 Poems
(1984) The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
(1987) The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
(1995) Everyman's Library: The Collected Stories
(1999) Hemingway on Writing
(2000) Hemingway on Fishing
(2003) Hemingway on Hunting
(2003) Hemingway on War
(2008) Hemingway on Paris

Nonfiction:

(1932) Death in the Afternoon
(1935) Green Hills of Africa
(1962) Hemingway, The Wild Years
(1964) A Moveable Feast
(1967) By-Line: Ernest Hemingway
(1970) Ernest Hemingway: Cub Reporter
(1985) The Dangerous Summer
(1985) Dateline: Toronto'
(1992) The Complete Poems
(2005) Under Kilimanjaro

Letters:

(1981) Ernest Hemingway Selected Letters 1917–1961
(2011–) The Cambridge Edition of the Letters of Ernest Hemingway
(2011) The Letters of Ernest Hemingway: Volume 1, 1907-1922

Posthumorous Works:

(1964) A Moveable Feast
(1969) The Fifth Column and Four Stories of the Spanish Civil War
(1970) Islands in the Stream
(1972) The Nick Adams Stories
(1985) The Dangerous Summer
(1986) The Garden of Eden
(1987) The Complete Short Stories Of Ernest Hemingway
(1999) True at First Light

Notable Quotes:

Spoiler

As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.

Cowardice... is almost always simply a lack of ability to suspend functioning of the imagination.

Bullfighting is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the fighter's honor.

Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.

I know war as few other men now living know it, and nothing to me is more revolting. I have long advocated its complete abolition, as its very destructiveness on both friend and foe has rendered it useless as a method of settling international disputes.

His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly's wings. At one time he understood it no more than the butterfly did and he did not know when it was brushed or marred.

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway

 

[Prophetess]

ok, quick choices and i'll do write ups later:

Anne McCaffrey

Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011) was an American-born Irish writer, best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. Over the course of her 46 year career she won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award. Her book The White Dragon became one of the first science fiction novels ever to land on the New York Times Best Seller List.

The Science Fiction Writers of America in 2005 named her the 22nd Grand Master, a now-annual award to living writers of fantasy and science fiction. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted her on 17 June 2006.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_McCaffrey

While best know for her Pern series, her other writings were just as powerful. The brain and brawn series as well as the crystal singer series are among my favorite works. I aslo thoroughly enjoyed her short stories in Get Off the Unicorn. And while for some women, being called Dragon Lady is no compliment, for her it is an honor.

a complete list of her books can be found here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_McCaffrey_bibliography#The_Brain_.26_Brawn_Ship_series

and more info: http://www.pernhome.com/aim/

 

[Prophetess]

Terry Goodkind

Terry Goodkind (born in 1948[2]) is an American writer and author of the epic fantasy The Sword of Truth series as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines, which has ties to his fantasy series, and The Omen Machine, which is a direct sequel thereof. Before his success as an author Goodkind worked primarily as a painter, as well as doing carpentry and woodworking.

The Sword of Truth series Wizard's First Rule (1994)
Stone of Tears (1995)
Blood of the Fold (1996)
Temple of the Winds (1997)
Soul of the Fire (1999)
Faith of the Fallen (2000)
The Pillars of Creation (2002)
Naked Empire (2003)
Chainfire (2005)
Phantom (2006)
Confessor (2007)
Debt of Bones (1998, prequel novella, originally published in Legends anthology)
Related novels The Omen Machine (2011)
Contemporary thriller The Law of Nines (2009)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Goodkind


While not as prolific as some of the writers on my island, his stories are enjoyable. Unlike my other authors, I've only read his books once so far, so I will be able to have a somewhat fresh perspective on them while reading again. They tried to make a tv series, Legend of the Seeker, out of his books, it was cancelled after two seasons. I believe because the television series greatly differs from that as portrayed in the written series.

more info on the tv series here :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Seeker

 

[Jespher]

So far I don't have many nonfiction works in my island library. That is something that will have to be remedied. With my 8th selection, I choose:

John Muir
1838-1914

Being a native of California, I find it ironic that such an iconic Californian is actually a Scottsman. No one can describe the wild places in the Sierras quite like John Muir. He was a hesitant author, stating that no amount of words could supplant actual experiences in nature, but perhaps that is what makes his writing so compelling.

Bibliography:

Spoiler

Books:

Muir, John. John Muir: Nature Writings: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth; My First Summer in the Sierra; The Mountains of California; Stickeen; Essays (Library of America) edited by William Cronon (1997)
Muir, John. A Thousand-mile Walk to the Gulf‎ (1916), edited by William Frederic Badè; Muir, John. The Mountains of California‎ (1894)
Muir, John. Travels in Alaska (1979 ed.)
Muir, John. The Yosemite‎ (1920)
Muir, John. John Muir: His Life and Letters and Other Writings‎, edited by Terry Gifford (1996)
Studies in the Sierra (1950 reprint of serials from 1874)
Picturesque California (1888–1890)
Our National Parks (1901)
Stickeen
Stickeen: An Adventure with a Dog and a Glacier (1915)
Stickeen: The Story of a Dog (1909)
My First Summer in the Sierra (1911)
Edward Henry Harriman (1911)
The Story of My Boyhood and Youth (1913)
Letters to a Friend (1915)
The Cruise of the Corwin (1917)
Steep Trails (1919)

Essays:

Muir, John "Alaska. The Discovery of Glacier Bay"
Muir, John "The American Forests"
Muir, John "Among the Animals of the Yosemite"
Muir, John "Among the Birds of the Yosemite"
Muir, John "The Coniferous Forests of the Sierra Nevada"
Muir, John "Features of the Proposed Yosemite National Park"
Muir, John "The Forests of Yosemite Park"
Muir, John "Fountains and Streams of the Yosemite"
Muir, John "In the Heart of the California Alps"
Muir, John "Living Glaciers of California"
Muir, John "The New Sequoia Forests of California"
Muir, John "A Rival of the Yosemite, King's River Canon"
Muir, John "Snow-Storm on Mount Shasta"
Muir, John "Studies in the Sierra: The Glacier Meadows of the Sierra"
Muir, John "Studies in the Sierra: The Mountain Lakes of California"
Muir, John "Studies in the Sierra: The Passes of the Sierra"
Muir, John "The Treasures of the Yosemite"
Muir, John "The Wild Gardens of the Yosemite Park"
Muir, John "The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West"
Muir, John "The Wild Sheep of the Sierra"
Muir, John "The Yellowstone National Park"
Muir, John "The Yosemite National Park"

Notable Quotes:

Spoiler

God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.

A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease.

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.

Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature's darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature's sources never fail.

Fresh beauty opens one's eyes wherever it is really seen, but the very abundance and completeness of the common beauty that besets our steps prevents its being absorbed and appreciated. It is a good thing, therefore, to make short excursions now and then to the bottom of the sea among dulse and coral, or up among the clouds on mountain-tops, or in balloons, or even to creep like worms into dark holes and caverns underground, not only to learn something of what is going on in those out-of-the-way places, but to see better what the sun sees on our return to common everyday beauty.

Everything is flowing -- going somewhere, animals and so- called lifeless rocks as well as water. Thus the snow flows fast or slow in grand beauty-making glaciers and avalanches; the air in majestic floods carrying minerals, plant leaves, seeds, spores, with streams of music and fragrance; water streams carrying rocks... While the stars go streaming through space pulsed on and on forever like blood...in Nature's warm heart.

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir

 

[kennadog]

Jespher: John Muir = really nice pick. I was surprised that Hemingway didn't go sooner.

VF21: I should have known I could count on you.

kingsnation: Maya Angelou is an author I haven't delved into yet, but is on my to read list.

 

[NoBonus]

So far I don't have many nonfiction works in my island library. That is something that will have to be remedied. With my 8th selection, I choose:

John Muir
1838-1914

Being a native of California, I find it ironic that our state seal has imbued on it a Scottsman, but no one can describe the wild places quite like John Muir. He was a hesitant author, stating that no amount of words could supplant actual experiences in nature, but that is what makes his writing so compelling.

Bibliography:

Spoiler

Books:

Muir, John. John Muir: Nature Writings: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth; My First Summer in the Sierra; The Mountains of California; Stickeen; Essays (Library of America) edited by William Cronon (1997)
Muir, John. A Thousand-mile Walk to the Gulf‎ (1916), edited by William Frederic Badè; Muir, John. The Mountains of California‎ (1894)
Muir, John. Travels in Alaska (1979 ed.)
Muir, John. The Yosemite‎ (1920)
Muir, John. John Muir: His Life and Letters and Other Writings‎, edited by Terry Gifford (1996)
Studies in the Sierra (1950 reprint of serials from 1874)
Picturesque California (1888–1890)
Our National Parks (1901)
Stickeen
Stickeen: An Adventure with a Dog and a Glacier (1915)
Stickeen: The Story of a Dog (1909)
My First Summer in the Sierra (1911)
Edward Henry Harriman (1911)
The Story of My Boyhood and Youth (1913)
Letters to a Friend (1915)
The Cruise of the Corwin (1917)
Steep Trails (1919)

Essays:

Muir, John "Alaska. The Discovery of Glacier Bay"
Muir, John "The American Forests"
Muir, John "Among the Animals of the Yosemite"
Muir, John "Among the Birds of the Yosemite"
Muir, John "The Coniferous Forests of the Sierra Nevada"
Muir, John "Features of the Proposed Yosemite National Park"
Muir, John "The Forests of Yosemite Park"
Muir, John "Fountains and Streams of the Yosemite"
Muir, John "In the Heart of the California Alps"
Muir, John "Living Glaciers of California"
Muir, John "The New Sequoia Forests of California"
Muir, John "A Rival of the Yosemite, King's River Canon"
Muir, John "Snow-Storm on Mount Shasta"
Muir, John "Studies in the Sierra: The Glacier Meadows of the Sierra"
Muir, John "Studies in the Sierra: The Mountain Lakes of California"
Muir, John "Studies in the Sierra: The Passes of the Sierra"
Muir, John "The Treasures of the Yosemite"
Muir, John "The Wild Gardens of the Yosemite Park"
Muir, John "The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West"
Muir, John "The Wild Sheep of the Sierra"
Muir, John "The Yellowstone National Park"
Muir, John "The Yosemite National Park"

Notable Quotes:

Spoiler

Will add after work...

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir

Great pick, I think... I have hiked his trails, but never read his books.

 

[NoBonus]

Boy, this draft is deader than John Muir!

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Boy, this draft is deader than John Muir!

Warhawk probably has a full work day. It happens.

 

[Warhawk]

Work has been pretty crazy recently. Trying to keep up. Haven't missed a pick yet!

Veering into whimsy here:

Dr. Suess

From wiki:

Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone.

He published 46 children's books, which were often characterized by imaginative characters, rhyme, and frequent use of anapestic meter. His most celebrated books include the bestselling Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who!, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. Numerous adaptations of his work have been created, including 11 television specials, four feature films, a Broadway musical and four television series. He won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958 for Horton Hatches the Egg and again in 1961 for And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

Over the course of his long career, Geisel wrote over 60 books. Though most were published under his well-known pseudonym, Dr. Seuss, he also authored over a dozen books as Theo LeSieg and one as Rosetta Stone. His books have topped many bestseller lists, sold over 222 million copies, and been translated into more than 15 languages. In 2000, Publishers Weekly compiled a list of the best-selling children's books of all time; of the top 100 hardcover books, 16 were written by Geisel, including Green Eggs and Ham, at number 4, The Cat in the Hat, at number 9, and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, at number 13. In the years after his death in 1991, two additional books were published based on his sketches and notes: Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! and Daisy-Head Mayzie. My Many Colored Days, originally written in 1973, was posthumously published in 1996. Most recently, seven stories originally published in magazines during 1950 and 1951 were released in a collection entitled The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories in September 2011.

At various times, Geisel also wrote books for adults that used the same style of verse and pictures: The Seven Lady Godivas (1939; reprinted 1987), which included nude depictions; You're Only Old Once! (written in 1986 when Geisel was 82) which chronicles an old man's journey through a clinic, a satire of the inefficiency of clinics. His last book, written a year before his death, was Oh, the Places You'll Go!, a popular gift for graduating students.

Always enjoyed me some Green Eggs and Ham, Cat in the Hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Oh, the Places You'll Go!

If you want to see all his books, go here:

http://www.seussville.com/#/books

And he did all his own artwork - very talented man!

pm sent. And I didn't even know Muir was an author!

edit: minor formatting.

 

[Warhawk]

May I borrow the last 3 books? One at a time? I promise to keep them in excellent condition and return them prompty when done with them. I may have read the first one of those but I'm not sure.

and on another note---I was hoping he'd make it down to me. nice pick.

No problem. Coordinating a meeting time might be difficult, but maybe we can do a drive-by and throw the books at each other out a car window or something.