What do these books have to do with Lost?

A lot. Some of the episodes of LOST are named after them. Many episodes contain references to them. Some of the story lines closely follow them.

These books served as creative inspiration to the show's creators, writers and producers. Because of that there are themes, clues and references from the books worked into the plot of Lost.

An example is the name Henry Gale. In Lost, this is the name Ben gave to the tailies when they found him, claiming to have crashed on the island in a balloon. Henry Gale is the name of Dorothy's uncle in The Wizard of Oz.

The balloon crash (and the Flight 815 crash) is similar to a Jules Verne novel, The Mysterious Island, where the main characters crash a balloon onto an island in the South Pacific. Strange things happen as the survivors begin to realize they are not alone on the island. Sound familiar?