I'm going to land on Sophie's island, so I can borrow her copy of Infinite Jest.
I would also bring
Thomas Pynchon's V, Crying of Lot 49, and Against the Day
Jorge Luis Borges' Ficciones
Italo Calvino's.... hmm Mr. Palomar maybe? Difficult Loves?
Ralph Emerson Twitchell's Leading Facts of New Mexico History (for laffs)
Philip Dick's The Man in the High Castle & maybe some short stories plus the Clans of the Alphane Moon so I remember to check to see if I've gone crazy yet.
Jerome Charyn's entire Isaac Sidel series, plus Pinnochio's Nose
Just the endnotes of Infinite Jest are enough to keep you going for quite some time. I might also bring a huge stack of physics books and that list of 10 physics questions for the new millennium. Not that I'm all that good at physics, but it's good to exercise both sides of the brain.
We've spent a lot of time studying the filmography of J.O Incandenza, in the footnotes. We always had the idea of asking DFW's permission to (re)create some of J.O.'s films, like Every Inch of Disney Leith, Teeth, or the one about men who organize their small apartments with mind-boggling efficiency.
Since you like 'Watchmen', have you tried the 'Astro City' series? If 'Watchmen' is a deconstruction of superhero comics, 'Astro City' is more of an homage. And of course, the 'Hellboy' series is excellent.
Niven's 'Ringworld' was good, but I enjoyed 'The Integral Trees' and 'The Smoke Ring' more. I also have a fondness for his collaborations with Jerry Pournelle.
I have a feeling that Alastair Reynolds' books (starting with Revelation Space) will become perennial favorites of mine, but it is too soon to be sure.
The Integral Trees was great! As was The Mote In God's Eye and Footfall. It's been many a year since I've read them. The rest of those you mention I will definitely look for, thanks.
Yep, those collaborations were very good. The long anticipated sequel to 'Mote', 'The Gripping Hand', was somewhat less so unfortunately, as were (IMNSHO) Niven's three sequels to 'Ringworld': 'Ringworld Engineers', 'Ringworld Throne', and 'Ringworld's Children'. What do you think of Niven's 'Gil the ARM' stories (collected in 'Flatlander')?
If you do, in fact, enjoy Alastair Reynold's work, I'll have some other recommendations for you. Let me know.