a few of my favorite things
Because I really hate the question "So what's your favorite book?"
Classics across Genres
The Count of Monte Cristo, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice, The Hobbit & LOTR, The Chronicles of Narnia, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Listing classics always leaves me feeling pretentious, but these are stories that have stayed with me long after the first reading and inspired elements of my own writing.
Young Adult
Harry Potter, Fangirl, Lunar Chronicles, Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdoms, His Fair Assassins Trilogy, Witchlands series, Percy Jackson & Heroes of Olympus
Eventually I will make a post with all of my top YA recommendations with author names and website links. Promise. But there's just not enough room here and YA is my particular weakness. I'll probably still be reading these when I'm 90.
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Fantasy & Science-Fiction
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, The Invisible Library series, Mistborn series, The Stormlight Archive, anything Dinotopia, Stardust, Queens of Renthia trilogy
I'll always be a sucker for magic, space ships, laser guns, and dragons.
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Books on Writing
Bird by Bird, The Writing Life, Letters to a Young Poet, Wonderbook
Most of these I have not read in full but the sections I have studied have been invaluable to me, and I would happily boast their merits to others.
Poetry
Gerard Manley Hopkins, Rainer Maria Rilke, Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver
I love poetry but I feel like I'm woefully under-read in the genre. Recommendations are always welcome!
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Movies
Star Wars (original trilogy), Serenity, The Fifth Element, Titan A.E., The Great Escape, Chicken Run, Stardust, The Rocketeer, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Hellboy, Secondhand Lions, LOTR, The Princess Bride, Ever After
I know it's an odd list and I still don't know why ten-year-old me loved a movie about a ragtag group of WWII POWs (or its claymation chicken spoof ) but I felt both needed to be included. There are plenty of newer movies I've loved too, but these are the ones that will always have a special place in my memory.
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Television
Firefly, Star Trek & Star Trek Next Generation, Futurama, Chuck, Parks & Rec, 30 Rock, Friends, Bob's Burgers, The Good Place
I'm a weird mix of classic and off-the-wall laughs, day-to-day antics and science fiction what-ifs. These are all my comfort shows that I will inevitably watch on repeat. Thank you, Netflix.
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Video Games
Skyrim, Fallout: Las Vegas, DA: Inquisition/Origins, Breath of the Wild, Borderlands, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Untitled Goose Game
RPGs, well-developed worlds, and fascinating characters and plots will always draw me in. I also just like being able to throw all the cabbages I find into the blacksmith's forge in Riverwood and collecting every possible book until I don't have room for anything else. So, just like real life I guess.
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Dogs
All the dogs
In particular my pups, Ezra and Siggi, but please don't tell the others. I don't want them to get jealous.