We've probably all longed at one time or another to escape to a desert island, a daydream that soon leads to wondering just what we would take to keep us entertained as we lounge on tropical sands, shaded by a palm tree. Here in the UK, we even have a long-running radio show that asks celebrity guests this question. Naturally, the focus is on finding out which eight songs and musical compositions the guests consider essential companions in their exile, so that these can be played during the show. In this way, much is revealed too about the life and personality of the castaway.

This idea of narrowing a lifetime of enjoyment to just a handful of choices is one that has captured the imagination of jennysue19. As a writer and poet herself, she has changed the rules to put the emphasis instead on books, and in My Desert Island Delightful Books she presents us with the nine books that have above all others held the power to captivate, teach and entertain her during her own life.

These nine choices are all classic works and will no doubt be old friends to many of us. From the wonderful world of Tolkein's Lord of the Rings to the haunting Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, the masterworks of two of the Bronte sisters, Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy, and a bit of light relief in the much-loved form of Winnie the Pooh, this is a fascinating collection. Add to this the enduring Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain, an Englishwoman who left a privileged upbringing to be a nurse during the First World War, which robbed her one by one of her brother, fiance, and friends; plus the story of prisoners of war in World War Two from an Australian woman's perspective in A Town Like Alice, for which Jennysue gives a particularly compelling review. Finally, the more light-hearted adventures of Swallows and Amazons and this book's personal connection to the reviewer round off a selection which, while full of personal significance, each individually offer so much to any book lover.

As Jennysue has discovered, although our favorite books are treasured for the tales they tell, they also become interwoven into our own lives, becoming part of who we are. She has got me thinking about my own nine books. How about you?

Visit: My Desert Island Delightful Books

Image Credit: Pleasures of Reading by AmyVangsgard