"If I had known the world was going to end,
I would've brought better books."
(Dale, from the TV show, "The Walking Dead")
Surprisingly, the woman who waffles over pretty much everything - including whether or not to have waffles for breakfast - knew right off the three books on her apocalyptic bookshelf, followed quickly by two more additions.
The Stand by Stephen King (Oh, the irony!)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Any of the Calvin and Hobbes collections by Bill Watterson
Yes, I know - the smart thing would be to choose books about surviving, but since I'm pretty sure I wouldn't last all that long anyway, I'd rather go down reading some of my all time favorite books. They all have a depth and a heart that draw me back to them over and over. The characters are old friends yet the stories offer something new with each re-read. All of the books ground me yet take me somewhere else - a plus when you're hiding from vampires or werewolves or whatever is roaming around out there waiting to eat you.
What books would be on your "end of the world" bookshelf and why?
