Get 'Lost' in a good book this summer

Quick programming note, "Lost" fans: if you missed last night's live chat, be sure to read the transcript. If nothing else, check out reader A-Rob's worst case scenario ending of the show, which made me spit soda clear across the room.

Speaking of reading, while I value all your eyeballs on this here blog, "Lost" has taught us the value in reading a good book as well. So with the summer upon us, I thought it wise to recommend a few reads inspired by the show. These are books that have appeared onscreen, inspired dialogue, contributed to episode titles, or in my opinion inform the show in a fundamental way. Both ABC and Lostpedia already offer exhaustive lists, but I thought I'd expand on the list a bit while breaking them down based on what type of mood you might be in.

"I'd like something a little more involved that a pop-up book, but not much more."

Easy. Read "The Little Prince," which not only inspired the Season 5 episode of the same name but is a remarkably fast read. It's plenty deep, but you could also finish this sucker in an afternoon. Be sure to read MY TAKE on what to look for in this book as it relates to "Lost."

"I really want to impress the hottie I always see at Starbucks."

Definitely pick up Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five," which isn't directly mentioned in the show but is a nice companion piece to "The Constant." While some Vonnegut has left me cold, this one is emotionally devastating as it tracks one man "unstuck in time." The hottie nearby will upgrade their crush from grande to venti.

"I want to be seen reading the book, and don't really care if I understand it in the least."

Boy, take your pick. James Joyce's "Ulysses" is a great choice. I took a class in college for the sole purpose of forcing myself to read this once in my life, which meant I spent a semester trying to decipher lines like, "Ineluctable modality of the visible," and drinking heavily as a result. You also could do worse that Philip K. Dick's "Valis," which is as understandable as the mechanism by which a frozen donkey wheel can move an Island through time and space.

"Bunnies! Bunnies! It must be bunnnnniiiieeess!"

If you want to indulge your inner Anya Jenkins, "Watership Down" is the book for you. I actually have never read this, and plan on finishing it this summer.

"I'd love to read something I definitely didn't fully understand the first time through."

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." Done and done. The effect will be threefold: you'll get to re-read the inspiration for the titles of some of the most seminal episodes in "Lost" history, you'll prepare yourself for the Tim Burton movie coming in the near future, and you'll get some totally trippy nightmares. In this economy, you need bang for your buck, people.

"I want to drive myself batty with the possibilities of multiple timelines in the wake of Juliet having beaten Jughead like a red-headed stepchild."

Get "A Separate Reality," handed to Sayid by Young Ben in New Otherton. If Season 6 spends half the year with the Lostaways having landed in LAX in 2004 with a strange sense of déjà vu then I might drive my Segway to Los Angeles and given the entire writing staff the mother of all noogies.

"I want to be like Ryan McGee."

Then you'll get your Stephen King on and read "The Stand" and "The Dark Tower." While epically long (1,500 pages for the former, roughly a bazillion for the latter seven-volume series), they read quickly, and are so chock full o' "Lost"-related themes that you might choke on them. The latter, in particular, holds the key to potentially understanding everything you want to know about Season 6. And I'm leaving it at that.

What are you reading this summer?

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