27 October, 2017
GREAT AND GOOD URGE READERS TO WIN A BOOK A MONTH FOR LIFE
Tim Peake, William Boyd, George Saunders, Salman Rushdie, Miranda Hart, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Sophie Winkelman, Henry Blofeld, Xander Armstrong, Tony Adams, Jeremy Vine & Alan Titchmarsh explain what they would take to Mars if picked by Elon Musk in 2024
LAST CHANCE TO ENTER HEYWOOD HILL’S UNIQUE PRIZE DRAW
A Year In Books For Life prize draw offer the chance for one person to receive a book a month for life. It is free to enter at www.heywoodhill.com and closes at midnight London time on Tuesday 31st October 2017.
Nicky Dunne of Heywood Hill said, ‘We asked people to tell us what they would take to Mars if they were chosen to go on Mr Musk’s magnificent machine. We have received thousands of entries from over 85 countries. It is fascinating to see what is most important to people, from teddy bears to gin stills. This is the last weekend that people can enter.’
Some of the many things to take nominated by members of the reading public, and reasons why, include:
Gin still – ‘I imagine Mars will be a touch dry. Gin will be necessary’
Cricket ball – ‘imagine scoring the first century on Mars’
Hydrogen bomb – ‘to kick start life on Mars’
Pepper spray – ‘in case man-eating aliens turn out to be true’
Some soil from earth – ‘something to hold in your hand when walking a new planet’
Sheepskin slippers – ‘to keep my tootsies toasty’
Lip balm – ‘dry lips are guaranteed to drive me mad in 30 seconds’
Conch shell – ‘remind me of the whisper of the oceans and elicit hope for life on Mars’
Cocktail shaker – ‘everyone needs something to mix drinks’
A towel – quoting Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – ‘about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have’
A jar of common bacteria – to guard against anything common on Mars
Among the most frequently nominated books to take to Mars are:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
War and Peace
Pride and Prejudice
Entries by writers and other well-known people are transcribed below.
Tim Peake, astronaut, said ‘The book I would most like to take to Mars is 'The Martian' by Andy Weir because Mark Watney did a pretty good job of surviving on Mars for a couple of years, and the object I would most like to take is a shovel, because how else are you going to plant those potatoes?’
George Saunders, Booker Prize Winner 2017, said ‘So I guess the book I would bring is 'How to Escape From Mars' by Jim Frenzy, and the object I would bring is a very large rocketship with a hot-tub inside it.’
Miranda Hart, actor, said ‘this might sound a cop out, but its genuine, I'm going to take the complete works of Shakespeare. If it’s one of the allotted Desrt Island Disc books, the its good enough for Mars. And I think Shakespeare has encapsulated pretty much every human emotion, so I will only learn from him and hopefully laugh a little bit with him too. As for an object, I'm going to take Swing Ball, if I may, so that then when I come back to Planet Earth I've improved my tennis, and the likelihood of becoming Wimbledon champion is even greater. Haven't let go of that dream.’
Salman Rushdie, writer said, ‘The book I would take to Mars would probably be '1001 Nights' because it is very long, and there'd be I suspect a lot of time to read. The object I would take to Mars I think would be some kind of extremely large breathing apparatus.’
Tony Adams, footballer said, ‘The book I would take to Mars with me is Alcoholics Anonymous Book of Recovery, and the reason why I'd take that book is because it’s got everything in it that I need to live a happy life. And the object that I'd take is a football…because life's probably not worth living without kicking a ball about.’
Sophie Winkleman, actor, said, ‘If I could take one book to Mars it would be 'Anna Karenina' because she's such an unpleasant cow, I would be very happy to be away from humanity. And if I could take one object I would take a very productive cow so I could have lots of lovely milky coffees, and lots of butter all over my toast.’
Jacob Rees-Mogg, politician said, ‘If I were sent on the first manned flight to Mars, something I must confess I have no ambition to do, I would take P G Wodehouse's 'Leave it to Smith' with me. I've always thought that Smith was the most attractive of Wodehouse's characters, combining both Jeeves and Wooster, and ending up as the private secretary to the Earl of Emsworth at Blandings Castle. 'Leave it to Smith' is such a funny story, and I think it would give one the model of how to behave in a new and exciting venture. As for a treasured object, I would take something my father gave to me many years ago as a Christmas present when he found at auction a small pot of annointing oil from Queen Victoria's coronation, and its one of my most treasured possessions both because of who gave it to me, but also because its a fascinating historic link.’
Jeremy Vine, broadcaster, said ‘The book I would take to Mars would be 'À la recherche du temps perdu' by Proust - 'In Rememberance of Times Past'. Why do I say that? Because I started trying to read it on my eReader, and after six months I'd only got 1.5% into it, and I'm assuming you're going to give me time on Mars to read the blummin' thing, and I gather nothing happens in it at all, but that's fine! Because nothing happens on Mars either. I'm really sorry but the object I'm going to take to Mars is going to disappoint and upset you, it is a selfie stick, because nobody else really is going to be around to take pictures of me. That said, I do think the selfie-stick is probably the least explicable item in human evolution. Why we would want to have a device that enables us to take photos of ourselves I've no idea! But I think if I'm on Mars, and... if there are others with me they won't be interested and I think I should take a few... pictures. I’m already doubting this as I say it’.
William Boyd, writer, ‘The book I'd take with me to Mars would be James Joyce's 'Ulysses', and the object I'd take with me to Mars would be a grand piano.’
Alan Titchmarsh, broadcaster, said ‘The book I would take with me to Mars the Reverend W. Keeper Martin's 'Concise British Flora in Colour'. This wonderful book that he produced in the sixties (paper falling all over, typical bibliophile) um, with all these wonderful watercolours of British wild flowers in it. That would remind me on Mars what I'm missing. When it comes to my favourite object, there is one simple object I would take with me and that is my grandfather's spade. My grandfather used it on his allotment, my father was a plumber, used it for mixing concrete, I've put it back to its real use, and that's digging my garden. Lovely piece of equipment, very simple, very much treasured by me: me grandad's spade.’
Henry Blofeld, Broadcaster said, ‘My first thing I shall take with me is 'Sir Galahad at Blandings' which I think is Wodehouse's funniest book, and of course that lovely scene with Lord Emsworth going to visit the Empress in the middle of the night and finds that he's looked out, goes in through the garden suite and wakes England's premiership Aleric Duke of Dunstable and there ensues the funniest scene, I think, in Wodehouse. That would certainly have to be with me. The other thing, and I think humour on Mars is going to be terribly important, is a recording of the famous 'leg over' moment at the Oval in 1991, when Brian Johnston and Jonathan Agnew got into a twist about Ian Botham's dismissal, and they were going through it or something and Agger suddenly suggested to Johners that Botham couldn't quite get his leg over, and Johners had hysterics and continued to try and broadcast at the time. Those are my two Mars essentials, what fun they will be. I wonder what laughter will sound like on Mars.’
End