3 books

[Ivan the Butcher]

I remember reading one of the older editions of "The Time Machine". At the very end, "The Hero" returns to the future, and you realize he has taken 3 books with him, to last the rest of his existence. That got me thinking, What 3 books would I always like to have near me. They would need to be of reasonable size and weight, replaceable when damaged and affordable.

For myself, I like a 4x6 inch paperback copy of the New Testiment in a plane English translation. I like The New American Standard or New King James versions. I actually prefer no red-letter printing to ease my eyes in dim light.

Second would be a dictionary. About the same size (4x6) One of the problems with recent printings is the lack of older usage words and technical words, so I've taken to buying second-hand Webster's Handy College Dictionary from the 1970's (my current copy is starting to get yellow and brittle, I'll start looking for a better copy at the second hand bookstores!)

The third is called "Pocket Ref" by Thomas J. Glover. (published by Sequia Publishing Inc., Littleton, Colorado) It is a 3x5 inch field guide for about everything that would be needed to build, design, or inspect anything in the Engineering & construction world. While I never needed such a thing in my Apartment Maintenance career, however I constantly am looking up math formulas and theorems for designing hobby woodworking projects. It gives weights & strengths for almost every material you can make anything out of! My copy is from 1999 and cost $8.55 new at the Twenty-Nine Palms Base Exchange, and was given to me in 2014 or so.


These three books fit in the dry compartment of my Aladin-Stanley lunch box, and are with me just about everywhere I go.

What 3 small books (paper, not electronic) would you recommend someone always have with them?

Ivan

 

[SMSgt]

Just one: How to order from Barnes & Noble in the future.

 

[lihpster]

I'm a fiction guy.
1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Stand by Stephen King
3. The Sackett series by Louis L'Amour (I know this is cheating, but I can't pick just one.)

Honorable mentions:
The Collected Poems of Robert Service
Anything by Patrick McManus

 

[Onomea]

Interesting, lihpster, that you choose The Hobbit over The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which can be had in one volume. I'm curious as to why you prefer it?

I'm still contemplating my three books but one candidate is a 1970s or 1960s edition of Irma Rombauer's Joy of Cooking which pretty much covers everything you need to know, from standard recipes to how to dress and cook game, make cocktails, and serve a formal dinner or afternoon tea.

 

[Tom Beavert]

I'm a fiction guy.


Honorable mentions:
The Collected Poems of Robert Service
Anything by Patrick McManus

These 2 would be a must!!
Tom B

 

[lihpster]

Interesting, lihpster, that you choose The Hobbit over The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which can be had in one volume. I'm curious as to why you prefer it?

The Hobbit was the first book I read because I wanted to. Other than Dr. Suess. It started my love for reading fiction. Gotta remember where you came from.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I have had a love affair with the written word since I was a lad.

It is impossible for me to narrow my choices of small paperbacks to three.

Every time I think I have one nailed down a voice says: "wait, what about this one?"

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I wonder if the Eloi even knew how to read. And how much in those books would go over their heads.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I wonder if the Eloi even knew how to read. And how much in those books would go over their heads.

"If you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself!"

If the Eloi were to possess the knowledge of the ancients, you would have to teach them to read (and write). We have used the Narnia series to start the taste for reading with our children and now our grandchildren. The 5 that are teens always have a book they want to read close at hand!

Ivan

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

The Hobbit was the first book I read because I wanted to. Other than Dr. Suess. It started my love for reading fiction. Gotta remember where you came from.

Oh yes, we sometimes refer to these as Gateway Drugs. Mine was late in 7th grade. "God is My Co-Pilot" By Scott.

My wife read to the youngest kid that could understand, and the older ones all listened in, with anticipation! She would use different accents and voices for the different characters. At one point even I was rooting for "The Little Train that Could!"

When the kids were on Summer break around 1996 or 97, I banned TV and computer games all day and only 1 hour total per evening on weekdays (Sunday thru Thursday) with 3 hours total for Friday Night and 6 hours for Saturday. I had bought $100 worth of Older children's books from a used bookstore. Jules Vern, Mark Twain, & Rudyard Kipling to name a few.


When my second son was in the Marines (1999-2003), he started on the "Lists"! You know those lists: The 100 greatest: American Fiction, English Fiction, Greek Classics and a few more. By the time he was 30 he had read over 500 "Classical" Novels and books.

I started this thread to be more about the books we Use as opposed to the books we Enjoy! but this is fun hearing about what everyone enjoys. My guilty pleasure is Science Fiction, specifically Future Military and Combat. That is one reason I carry a dictionary is to understand concepts I have never heard before. Wiki, and Google can only go so far!

Keep up the revelations, I like the 3 book limit, as most of my reading has 3 different books going at the same time!

Ivan

 

[Inusuit]

Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy
Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry
King James Bible

 

[locolobo56]

When I was a kid my mom had a book titled "Get Ye up Into To the High Mountains". It was religiously related with lots of Bible quotes. Started out as wold wide catastrophe, then a tale about one person who escaped to the mountains and learned to live off the land. Had a LOT of old world wisdom about how to make anything out of what you could find and or make. I read that book several times. lost track of it when I left home. I have looked for a copy ever since then without any luck. Still looking!

 

[lihpster]

When I was a kid my mom had a book titled "Get Ye up Into To the High Mountains". It was religiously related with lots of Bible quotes. Started out as wold wide catastrophe, then a tale about one person who escaped to the mountains and learned to live off the land. Had a LOT of old world wisdom about how to make anything out of what you could find and or make. I read that book several times. lost track of it when I left home. I have looked for a copy ever since then without any luck. Still looking!

Amazon, but it's pricey.
[ame]https://www.amazon.com/Get-Thee-Into-High-Mountain/dp/B002YMCHBW[/ame]

 

[Rustyt1953]

Pro tip: what not to give your significant other.

 

[Peak53]

This is all good fun, but there is no way I'm picking three books. Maybe three hundred. However, this brings to mind the conflict my youngest granddaughter is having in first grade. Seems that when she is supposed to be doing other stuff, her first inclination is to pull out her current book and read. She is now seven, having missed the cut-off by three weeks for last year, so she is quite advanced. Mom thinks this is only a minor distraction and is laughing hysterically. I'm sure the little one will get in line, sort of, but I think we have a budding reader to raise. After my own heart.

 

[Grayfox]

The Boy Scout Handbook.
The Boy Scout Field book.
A book on eatable and medicinal plants.

 

[YeshuaIsa53]

Definitely the King James version of the Bible.
Have to think alot for only two more.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

... What 3 books would I always like to have near me.

Since I am home more than anywhere else, and all my books are nearby, I took the liberty of reading into the question. I added the old cliché... if I were stranded on a desert island.

I viewed the challenge through the eyes of books I read or refer to often. I rarely ever reread a book.

The Constitution of the United States. It's a pocket-sized edition put out by the National Center for Constitutional Studies, Malta, Idaho. I read it cover to cover at least twice a year.

The Federalist Papers. A compilation of newspaper editorials by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. They were attempting to "sell" the idea of the Constitution to the public. This one sits in a basket of often referred to books next to my favorite reading chair.

Webster's Third New International Dictionary, 1971. It's a 2,668-page unabridged version. It serves as my coffee table book.

 

[DWalt]

The problem with a dictionary is that the stories are so short.

 

[Sandman4delta]

A complete English version of old and new testament dated from an earlier decade without undue modern revision.
The purpose being not just to improve the spirit, but also that even if you eliminate the "Divine Nature" of the book, it still represents an amazing common sense framework for civilization.

The remaining choices would be fieldcraft and primitive tech like processing game and eating/cultivating safe plants including medicinal.

An example would be from the Foxfire series.

Preparing yourself would be just as important.
The protagonist was a scientist, but a city man.
A well rounded depth of knowledge already in your brain is the best book you could have.