This is a very good question. I think the difference is between a comma-separated list of three or more subjects, and a simple ("and"-separated) two-part compound subject.
Let's take the slightly longer list: "When I opened the fridge there was only a bottle of milk, some eggs, a loaf of bread, and butter." In such a list, the items form clauses in the sentence; each one could be the singular subject or object of the exact same sentence: "... there was only a bottle of milk", "...there was only a loaf of bread", etc. You could also remove either of the two inner items with no change to the rest of the sentence (the fact that I was able to add the extra item to your quoted sentence without changing anything else in that sentence demonstrates this). In this case, the first rule you stated is correct; you pick the verb conjugation that works for the first item in the list, as if it were the only one.
However, when you get down to two items, now there are no more commas. The two items, say "a bottle of milk and butter", now form a compound subject; the two items are being referred to as one entity, which is always plural. In this case, the plural verb should be used.
EDIT: Good points. Some of those sentences sound better than others:
There is further rain and strong winds forecast for the next three days. - Not bad. I think "are" works here too.
There was a loud bang and some flashes of light before flames started pouring from the windows of the house. - This does indeed work better with "was" than "were", no question
There is a bank and cash machines in the city centre. - this one grates my ears; "there are a bank and cash machines" sounds much better for some reason.
There was no water or animals anywhere in the desert. - OK, but I think "were" sounds better here as well.
The biggest question, given the above, is why there is a difference between the second and third sentences; their structure is practically identical, the only difference I can detect is tense.
That is not a smooth phrase but of the choices "There are one or several apples" would be most common. See this and this for examples.
"There is at least one apple" would be better.
Best Answer
Yes, you can. You can use a definite article (the) before specified or particular nouns, whether they are countable or uncountable.
Specified or particular means, for example:
Definite, or previously mentioned ~ "I like the car you bought
Unique ~ "The Humber Estuary is not far away"
A natural phenomenon ~ "The rain is heavy"
A time period ~ "I lived there in the 1990s"
All the members of a society or a family ~ "The Smiths are coming for dinner"
So, if your books have been mentioned previously, you can say
If they haven't, maybe because you have just seen them, you would say