"The Grandmama of southern gothic literature, O'Connor unabashedly tackles faith and faithlessness head on. Grotesque, funny and oftentimes creepy, these stories draw a picture of a society on the brink of moral bankruptcy. I find them more relevant today than ever....even on a desert island."

"Picking a Marquez novel is a near impossible task. It’s too easy to just go with the obvious choice(s). But this is his most daring novel, and the labyrinthine twists and turns of each sentence demand undivided attention—so perfect for a desert island, then."

"I’d definitely need some Jane Austen on a desert island, so I choose her most complex book. Lots of people (including Austen’s mother) find the heroine Fanny “insipid,” but as a shy person I identify with her and love how she learns to speak up for herself."

"It’s Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson, 1973 if I’m not mistaken. It’s basically, he’s out in the desert, singing and dancing. It’s almost a little acid trippy, and yet, within these very campy elements and this big musical production, there’s obviously an impactful story and some great performances."

"I bet there aren’t any movie theaters on the desert island, so I will bring books that remind me of cinema. I will try to secretly fill a whole luggage. Some interviews collections: Hitchcock-Truffaut, Orson Welles, Ava Gardner…Officially here is one, with the sublime Billy Wilder."

"Also bought in an airport bookstore, in hardback, and carried lovingly from New Zealand to Europe and back. It is a monumental book in every way, and when I am done happily re-reading it on hypothetical desert island, I imagine I could use it as a small table."