You know the drill – one book for the rest of your life, what will it be? Cityscape puts the question to a panel of people chosen for their love of books.

Mary Sangster, University Bookshop Canterbury : I have three books that I would like to take to a desert island, but forced to choose only one, it would be my beloved Complete Works of William Shakespeare. This book has it all. Stories to entertain me in the comedies and romances. The tragedies evoke emotion and throughout the whole book I’m given a history lesson. Being play scripts makes it easier for my imagination to conjure up full personas for the characters. And then there’s the poetry – fantastic! On my desert island I can recite the soliloquies to my heart’s content, keeping my brain active at the same time. After all this effort maintaining my education, reading entertaining tales and exercising my brain, I’m tired. Guess what – the tome also makes a perfect pillow!

Mel Bracewell, comedian : For me it would be I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan by Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci and Rob and Neil Gibbons. I’ve read it so many times. It’s the only book that’s made me laugh out loud, not just snort air out of my nose awkwardly.

Justin Lewis, Indian Ink : Mine is The Denial of Death by Ernst Becker. It’s about coming to terms with your mortality. It has been quite inspirational for me over the last five or six years, in fact it was the inspiration for our play Paradise. It changed the way I see the world.

Bel Monypenny, Scorpio Books : My chosen book is Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius (translated by Gregory Hays). One of the greatest pleasures I take from a book is sharing my interior world with someone else’s. Reading a text written by a Roman emperor almost 2000 years ago and finding that it resonates with my life now is both transportive and grounding. This classic remains profoundly relevant for anyone seeking to lead a meaningful life. A great companion for challenging times.

Heath Ling, Steadfast Books : A survival skills book would be most useful. Or An Island to Oneself, Six Years on a Desert Island by Tom Neale. Although it's a cliché, I guess it would have to be Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. With an enduring story, stunning writing and descriptions and the author's in-depth knowledge of myths, legends and old languages, it's an all-time classic story of good versus evil, courage, despair and how the smallest action can have unintended consequences.

Tony Murdoch, Smiths Bookshop : Tikau Talks: Traditions and Tales of the Canterbury Maori as told by Teone Tikau to Herries Beattie. It is a testing book to read and being somewhat ill-disciplined, I would need to be free of distractions to read it properly.