Howdy, I’m Sawyer, and I believe that books are simply the best! I love the way that books ignite my imagination and allow me to experience things that I might not otherwise be able to.
What did you like to read when you were young?
Some of the first books that I remember pulling off of my school’s library shelves were from the Choose Your Own Adventureseries. I wasn’t much of a reader when I was a boy, I incorrectly thought that reading was for girls, but I couldn’t resist flipping through those pages and finding all the different dead ends. It wasn’t until after I found The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan when I discovered just how fun reading could be.
What five desert island books would you choose?
If I’m stranded, I’m in big trouble! How to Invent Everything by Ryan North would help me convert my little desert island from a survival situation into a Swiss Family Robinson style paradise. As an extra plus, not only is this book informative, it’s also funny, which would really help me keep my spirits up.
I’d also need to bring my all-time favorite book, The Name of the Wind and its sequel A Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. Ideally, I have a little solar powered device for audiobooks because these audiobooks are FANTASTIC, but either way they’re the books I’ve read the most, and that familiarity would be a nice feeling to have if I was stranded. I could also daydream about the next book’s release. Maybe by the time I’m off the island it’ll be released…
My next thought is that I would need something that would help me keep track of time and that made me think of A Whale of a Time by Lou Peacock. This is a funny and whimsical collection of 366 poems! I like to think that reading one poem a day would give me a much-needed sense of structure.
Finally, I’d need to bring Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson, and I know what you’re thinking, “Sawyer, why would you bring the third book from a series of five books?” Lemme tell you, this is my favorite from the Stormlight Archive series AND it showcases a character, Dalinar, who has to overcome great internal and external adversity to find the willpower to persevere. I already find his journey inspiring, and it would remind me to carry on despite being stuck in a very very bad situation.
Where is your favorite spot to read?
Let me take you there: You’re in the High Mojave Desert in Arizona, lounging in a rocking chair outside on the porch. It’s evening. The heat is radiating up from the sunbaked ground instead of down from above. Your book is lit by the warm glow of a lamp just inside the window behind you. The summer air is hot, but a monsoon storm far off on the horizon is pushing cool, humid wind through your hair. You can smell the petrichor, the scent of creosote and mesquite rich in the air. The dusk is alive with the calls of coyotes and the hoots of great horned owls. Bats dart above, clicking and chasing the insects drawn to the porchlight; their little silhouettes briefly made visible by arching lightning. The bolts are so huge that they reach across the entire twilight sky. You’re dimly aware of the few seconds that pass before the thunder rolls across your chest. Then you turn the page, and add the soft shush of paper-brushing-paper to the desert’s symphony.