LOST Books Challenge

If you spend much time on book-related websites or blogs, you're probably aware of various reading challenges. I don't normally participate in these (at least, I don't make my participation known), simply because I prefer to let my book choices be determined by something other than what the challenge spreadsheet is telling me I should read next.

However, there are two things that I cannot deny. #1 - I enjoy reading. And #2 - I enjoy watching LOST. I've enjoyed LOST since its first season, and I've been literally counting down the days until a new episode finally airs tomorrow night!! (Hmmm...I wonder if it's too late to change our dinner plans for tomorrow and make something LOST themed instead...maybe something tropical, or maybe 15-year old Saltines.) So when I heard about the LOST Books Challenge, I decided to give it a go.

Here's the thing. If you've watched the show (and please tell me you've watched the show!), you've undoubtedly realized that books are used heavily. The titles come up periodically. Characters quote from them. Books themselves are displayed in many different episodes. And themes from books are certainly prevalent in the storyline of the show. The authors of LOST have said that every literary reference is intentional and purposeful.

So what exactly is the LOST Books Challenge? You simply need to choose at least 5 books that have been mentioned/used on the TV show. You then have until the end of the series in 2010 to read those books. You maybe asking, "How should I know what books have been used?!" Simple. You can check here, here, or here. :)

I've narrowed my choices down, but I haven't chosen just 5. Here's what I've come up with:

• The Stand by Stephen King (I've already started this one, actually.)
• On the Road by Jack Kerouac
• Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie (I haven't read a good murder mystery in awhile, and my dad's a huge Agatha Christie fan...this one's for him!)

Obviously, that's just 4 books. The fifth book will come from one of the following titles (depending on my mood):

• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Watership Down by Richard Adams
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (since I've been thinking about re-reading the series anyway)
• Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

If you're interested in joining us for this LOST Books Challenge, click here to be taken to our official blog and to receive the instructions!