I’m a fan of the classics, so I’d go with Penthouse, January - December, 1984.
My books or my life?
[jack benny]
I’m thinking!
[/jb]
OED, online version.
Historical Dictionary of American Slang I
Historical Dictionary of American Slang II
The Yale Book of Quotations
The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes
The F Word
Merriam Webster Collegiate 11th
Dictionary of Etymology
Mark Twain’s Works
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue
I know my list isn’t as highbrow as some, but if I’m going to be forced into these choices, along with the serious stuff I also want humor and entertainment.
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The Bible, with the Apocryphal books, Oxford Study Edition, NRSV
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by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird,
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by H.H. Munro(Saki), a single volume edition of his short stories
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by O. Henry, a single volume edition of his short stories
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My one volume, annotated edition of all Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets, and other poems.
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The Episcopal Church in the United States edition of the Book of Common Prayer.
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by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit Alas, I don’t own a single volume edition of LOT, so I had to choose between them.
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Beard on Bread, by James Beard. Hey, I’m a baker and it’s my absolute favorite bread book, out of the many I own.
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my annotated Sherlock Holmes, authored by Conan Doyle of course, the Sabine Baring-Gould annotations.
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by Leonard Wibberly, The Testament of Theophilus(also titled The Seven Hills)
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by Ellen Kindt McKenzie, Taash and the Jesters
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a totally out of print and forgotten(except by me) bit of fluff fiction titled And To My Nephew Albert I Leave the Island What I Won Off Fatty Hagan in a Poker Game, by two guys who used the pen name David Forrest.
At least I’m going to have fun in my year!