Because Sometimes TV Writers Also Read Books

I never thought I'd get into LOST. (Why do I need to spell it in all caps? I don't say THE OFFICE. But the show is so intense that it works.) When I first saw the commercials, I thought, "Great, it's about people on an island. I saw Swiss Family Robinson when I was three. Been there, marooned that." But after seeing just the first episode, I was hooked. My boyfriend and I tore through the first couple of seasons on DVD, then had to wait for season 3 to come out, then had to wait until we could visit each other to catch up online. (We're the kind of people the networks must hate.) Usually I'm okay with spoilers, but I will freak out if people start talking about LOST and I haven't caught up yet. The plot is so amazing, the characters are so intriguing--it's Harry Potter for television.

And now it's like the LOST team knows I'm out there, addicted.

Enter the LOST Book Club.

(Where is it?!!! It's lost!...sorry.)

The ABC website has a whole catalogue of books that have been referenced on the show, whether through theme/episode title or simply because secret bookworm Sawyer was seen reading a copy. 

For example, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. In LOST, the Dharma Orientation film is hidden behind this book in the Swan Station. In Season 3, Sawyer reads Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Lord of the Flies parallels are pretty obvious, but the website notes that Sawyer actually references the book in Season 1. (I would add to that the use of wild boar and two pilots in trees.)

Now I want to go through this list, rewatch episodes and make my own connections. Nerd alert! But I like to think that the LOST writers are just as nerdy for referencing all these books in the first place.