James Brush at Coyote Mercury has been reading the books referenced on the TV series LOST. An interesting reading experiment. What if you deliberately concocted a TV series or a movie that would spur the American public to read more books? That stir curiosity through literary references embedded in a story? I’m not talking Oprah’s Book Club or Reading Rainbow, although both of those are creditable efforts.
Has any TV series stirred more curiosity than LOST? (Dallas: Who shot JR?) I wonder if the books featured on LOST have risen in Amazon rank or in total sales and popularity since being shown or mentioned on a LOST episode?
Lostpedia says that the following books have been mentioned or shown or alluded to in LOST episodes:
After All These Years by Susan Isaacs.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume.
Bible, especially the book of Exodus and the 23rd Psalm.
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking.
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.
Dirty Work by Stuart Woods.
Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie.
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
I Ching
Island by Aldous Huxley.
Julius Caesar by William Shakepeare.
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton.
Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabakov.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
The Moon Pool by A. Merritt.
The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne.
Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens.
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien.
Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
Other books that seem to be related to LOST;
The Stand by Stephen King. Damon Lindelof has said that Stephen King’s novels, especially The Stand are an influence on LOST.
On Writing also by Stephen King. James writes about this writing reference book in relation to LOST at Coyote Mercury.
Beyond Freedom and Dignity by B.F. Skinner. The Dharma Initiative is said to be partially inspired by the work of behaviorist B.F. Skinner.
Lost Horizon by James Hilton. In the season 3 finale, Through the Looking Glass, Jack acts like a man who is trying to return to Shangri-La, the utopian paradise in the Himalayas where people never (?) die. This fictional cmmunity was the creation of of author James Hilton. LOST Island was no Shangri-La, but perhaps the two places have some features in common: prolonged life for some inhabitants and difficult entrances and exits.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
“Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point,” said Scrooge, “answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?”
Still the Ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it stood.
“Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead,” said Scrooge. “But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me!”
The Spirit was immovable as ever.
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I tried reading this famous novel a few months ago, but I suppose I quit before I got to the good part.
Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.
I’m definitely going to try to read and review some of these this summer —along with all my other reading projects.
I picked up and read the Epic of Gilgamesh a few months ago because it was in a library LOST display–and I don’t even watch the program.
Hmm… what about that song by L7: When We Pretend That We’re Dead?
Just kidding. Quite a list. I’m trying to see if any of these are already on my TBR shelf. Is that cheating?