#WyrdAndWonder Desert Island Reads

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

It would seem today’s #WyrdAndWonder challenge is Books I Can’t Wait to Read, and another photo challenge. I can’t wait to read Deadly Education by Naomi Novik, but that doesn’t really make for a very long blog post, so I’m going to throw back to last Wednesday’s Desert Island reads challenge now that I have the time. You can read all about the criteria on Desert Island Reads by There is Always Room For One More, but essentially, I choose:

• 8 books (or audiobooks) to take with me on a desert island. They be anything, but if they’re part of a series, each one will count as one of my eight unless they are bound together. No e-readers . . .
• 1 TV, Movie or Podcast
• One luxury item that can be anything I want.
• **It’s supposed to be based around Fantasy titles and things, and I’m realizing that I didn’t quite follow that. Sorry. I still like the list I came up with though so I hope you can forgive me

I’m imagining all these things will get thrown into a kind of trunk which will washup next to me on the beach, a yellow glow leaking from its seams. You know, typical treasure chest stuff. Let’s take a look inside . . .

My 8 books:

So for this, I’d probably want to take a mix of things. Some stuff I’ve been meaning to read, as well as some stuff that is just comforting to me. I’m kinda thinking I would split this up into some research type reading, and then just-for-fun type books. Of course some will be new to me and some will be well read. Here they are:

• Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson – Simply put, this is my favorite book. I’ve read it a whole bunch of times, and I’m sure I’ll read it a whole bunch more. It goes in the trunk
• Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie – Same idea as above, I just love this book. It’s going in the trunk.
• A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik – As mentioned for today’s challenge, I can’t wait to read this book! Better bring it along. (update 6/16/21 – Review of A Deadly Education posted!)
• His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik – Since it seems we’re on a Novik kick, I figure might as well.
• David Mogo Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa – I just really want to read this one too. I had a preorder for it, but then Amazon just gave up on trying to distribute it to me and so I’m not even sure how to get a physical copy, but it looks really good and so in this fantasy scenario we’ve concocted, it’s also in the trunk.
• The Art of Language Invention by David J Peterson – As long as I’m stranded, might as well skill up. I’ve always wanted to invent a conlang so perhaps this might be a good time to get started.
• Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians Volumes 1-3 by John Gardiner Wilkinson – I’m pretty much fascinated by ancient Egypt. I’ve been meaning to take a crack at this set for a while, but I never seem to have time. Seems like a good use of some forced reading time.
• Egyptian Hieroglyphs for Complete Beginners by Bill Manely – I’ve made it about half way through this book in the past, but bounced off of it. If I’ve got some free time I’d definitely like to try it again
• Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland – I’d like to think I’ll have some time for writing on this crazy adventure. Every time I sit down to write something new, whether a short story or a long novel, I always seem to crack this book open as a reference in the beginning. I think I’ll need it along the journey.
• Why Dinosaurs Matter by Kenneth Lacovara – My understanding of this book is that it’s basically a TED talk . . . About DINOSAURS!! Obviously I’m bringing it!

TV/Movie/Podcast:

Nothing too special here. I’d choose the Imaginary Worlds Podcast. It’s a great podcast which bills itself as a Sci-Fi podcast although they cover lots of Fantasy, and other genres. It’s written (produced?) by Eric Molinsky, and I just love his approach. He always seems to find some new angle on whatever topic he’s casting about, and it has a very journalistic feel which complements his passion for all things SFF really well. Highly recommend.

Luxury Item:

Baltimore BBQ Company Original sauce – The rules post said that food would be taken care of, but I’m still kinda imagining that it will not be food that I would normally eat. I’ll put bbq sauce on pretty much anything so I figure having a bottle of the good stuff along will help ease whatever interesting food choices I’ll have to endure. Even coconuts . . .