I thought we'd try the "Top Five" list focusing on books. If you could only take five books with you on to a deserted island, what would they be? Oh, and your list can only include one trilogy. Again, here's my list in no particular order:

Time Enough for Love, by Robert A. Heinlein - I loved the Lazarus Long character, and the way Heinlein described the downsides of living forever.

The Stand, by Stephen King - I think this is King's best work. He released it again with several chapters included that had been originally edited out; made it even better.

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand - I know what some may thinking: "A progressive likes Rand?" But I think everyone should be exposed to her philosophy, whether they end up adopting it or not. Besides, I had never really been exposed to intellectual atheism before reading this book in high school. It opened my eyes to some eventual truths, much later down the road.

Another Roadside Attraction, by Tom Robbins - This is the first book I read of his, but I love them all. Robbins has a way of writing that seems convoluted at first, but it all ties up in the end. Makes you want to start the book over again, just to see how he does it.

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, by Stephen R. Donaldson - This is my trilogy pick. It was a hard choice, between these books & the LOTR trilogy. I chose the "Covenant" books because of the way Donaldson sets the traditional hero tale on its head. Thomas Covenant is a mean, sad, cruel, leprosy-ridden hero. The reader still ends up respecting him in the end. And there's was a nice piece of info I discovered while researching this blog: Donaldson has begun a new set of books based on this story! I just found out what the hubby is getting for our 25th anniversary......

So, as before, it's your turn! Be kind to others' choices, and root for your favorites!

Don't know why the announcement thread about the new features here is now closed, but at least I can now access the blogs again. I just wanted to let the TN know that I still can't access any of the news stories.

As I said in the announcement blog, I use Internet Explorer at work. I get the "page cannot be displayed" message when I've tried to open any of your new stories. Seems like you were able to fix the blog end of the problem; I hope you can fix the news stories, too. I use those stories for my work, sometimes.

Does anyone else have any problems since they gave us this update?

I'm glad to be back, if only in partial form!

:-)

I've been thinking about this for about a month, since I saw it on another message board. Making a list like this takes a bit of thought, IMHO. So here's mine, in no particular order at all.

Gross Pointe Blank

http://www.imdb.com/title/t...

Any list like this for me must include at least one film with John Cusack. This one also has Dan Akroyd as a psychotic contract killer, so it kills two birds with one stone!

The Incredibles

http://www.imdb.com/title/t...

I had to have one animated film, so this is it.

Fiddler on the Roof

http://www.imdb.com/title/t...

My all-time favorite musical. And who can resist a young Paul Michael Glaser?

The Goodbye Girl

http://www.imdb.com/title/t...

Just can't help but love a fuzzy-faced Richard Dreyfuss, and that wonderfully cynical Quinn Cummings. They're so cute when they're young!

Almost Famous

http://www.imdb.com/title/t...

Wonderful music & soundtrack, but not really a musical. Touching comedy, but you may weep a bit too. And so what I picked two films featuring Jason Lee? Sue me...

;-)

Okay, so now it's the TN bloggers' turns. No bashing films on others' lists, but positive reinforcement is encouraged. Have at it!