'Lost' Book Club redefines beach reading

Bethany Tue, Jul 8, 2008 at 10:27 AM EST

I read "The Third Policeman" because of Lost, and it was incredible. Up until the end of this last season, I wasn't really seeing any signifigance, but a few elements from the plot of that book seemed to pop up this season. A great, grimly humorous read.

GingerCat Sat, Jul 5, 2008 at 08:26 AM EST

This idea isn't new. "Gilmore Girls" did something similar on their site for years.

Heather Fri, Jul 4, 2008 at 10:02 PM EST

A Tale of Two Cities. Nothing like a little Dickens to cheer you up...or make you suicidal.

Of Mice and Men. Short enough to read in a sitting. Good stuff.

The Fountainhead. I read this for a writing competition in high school. Ayn Rand's penchants for abusive sex and lengthy exposition doesn't endear her to me.

Catch-22. Confusing.

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Logical...or is it?

The Turn of the Screw. Henry James is so much more than society novels. He can do horror just as well.

Lord of the Flies. Piggy, no!

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. Brilliant structuring. Tight narrative.

Heart of Darkness. The horror.

Watership Down. Lord of the Rings with rabbits.

A Wrinkle in Time. Tesseract much?

annie Thu, Jul 3, 2008 at 05:40 PM EST

I've used Lostpedia's list of books as my benchmark, and some of the one's I've read are Of Mice and Men, The Turn of the Screw, A Tale of Two Cities, An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge, To Kill a Mockingbird, Watership Down, and Lord of the Flies. This summer I'm actively trying to read more, like The Stand, Jurassic Park, and Our Mutual Friend.

I love that Lost is such a literary show!

Tuzo Thu, Jul 3, 2008 at 04:40 PM EST

After reading the list, I feel very poorly read. Sort of a mixed bag, but I've read:
.
Of Mice and Men
Stranger in a Strange Land
The Fountainhead
Lord of the Flies
Are you there God? It's me, Margaret
Little Red Riding Hood
A Wrinkle In Time
.
A Brief History of Time has been on my to read list for over a decade -- maybe I should get started?

yay for books Thu, Jul 3, 2008 at 03:09 PM EST

Read Slaughterhouse-Five, didn't get it, but I was only 13 at the time. I'll try again some day. Same goes for On the Road, although I don't think I'll attempt it again.

An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge is one of my all-time favorite stories. I can see how the purgatory (or "they're all actually dead") theorists of Lost might use it (wrongly) as justification.

Alice in Wonderland is without equal.

I've read Watership Down at least 7 times. I cry every time.

I can't seem to read Of Mice and Men without the images of Gary Sinise and John Malkovich in my head the whole time.

Still not sure what the heck Harry Potter has to do with Lost. Sorry. The whole "battle between good and evil" thing seems too simplistic an explanation.

DK Thu, Jul 3, 2008 at 11:08 AM EST

I've read a dozen or so of the books on the list. I like the idea of the Lost book club-- I'll have to discuss this with my equally-addicted roommate!

Wojo Thu, Jul 3, 2008 at 10:50 AM EST

Books that I've Read:
"The Bible" (selected passages)
"The Brothers Karamazov"
"Catch-22"
"The Chronicles of Narnia" (only the first 2 books so far)
"Dark Tower" (only the first 2 here as well)
"Harry Potter" (all of them)
"Heart of Darkness"
"Lord of the Flies"
"Moby Dick" (selected passages)
"The Odyssey"
"Of Mice and Men"
"The Outsiders"
"Slaughterhouse-Five"
"The Stand"
"A Tale of Two Cities" (selected passages"
"To Kill a Mockingbird"
"Watership Down"

The only one I actually read because of "Lost" was "Watership Down." Others that I'd like to get to because of "Lost" are:
"Alices Adventures in Wonderland"
"An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge"
"The Third Policeman"
"Through the Looking-Glass"
"The Turn of the Screw"
"A Wrinkle in Time"

There are others on the list I'd like to read, but mostly because of other reasons. These are the ones that I most attribute to "Lost."