Day 4 of 30: My Favorite Books

Yes, that's rights, favorite books, as in more than one.  Of course, as a Christian, my favorite book of all-time is the Bible, especially the New Living Translation (NLT).  However, I am also a life-long lover of books of all kinds, so I can't make a post about favorite books without mentioning others I have enjoyed over the years.  I'm not going to give you a numbered list like I did in my previous "30 Days" posts; instead, I'll just tell you about them, and, if you like what you hear, you can go seek them out.
By now, you all probably know how nerdy I am in a lot of respects, so, naturally, I love various kinds of science fiction and fantasy novels.  I've mentioned before about Star Wars and Star Trek novels, and they really are quite good.  You might think that they're just shoddily written books meant to cash in on the popularity of George Lucas' and Gene Roddenberry's blockbuster space operas, but you'd be wrong.  In fact, many times, the writers of the SW novels do a better job than Lucas ever did with writing the films' screenplays.  Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston's works, such as the X-Wing series and I, Jedi, are perfect examples of that.  The Trek books are great, too; among my favorite ST authors are Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, John Vornholt, and Diane Carey.
In my Day Two post, I mentioned that I love superhero movies, especially Spider-Man 2, which is my favorite film of all-time.  I'll admit to not being a fan of superhero comic books--the only comics I like are ones in the daily paper, such as Garfield or Mother Goose and Grimm; more on that later--but I have quite enjoyed novels about superheroes from the DC and Marvel universes.  I am currently reading the Gamma Quest trilogy, which is an amazing X-Men/Avengers/Hulk crossover.  Other such titles I've loved are: the Legacy Quest, Chaos Engine, and Mutant Empire trilogies (all X-Men,) the Justice League of America series (which features well-known DC superheroes, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the Flash) and the Doom's Day trilogy (featuring a smattering of Marvel heroes such as Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and even Iron Man.)
But wait...there's more! Other sci-fi/fantasy series that I have enjoyed are: the Acorna series by Anne McCaffrey, Margaret Ball and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough; the Circle trilogy by Ted Dekker; Isaac Asimov's Robot City by various authors; and, last but certainly not least, the Academy and Alex Benedict series by Jack McDevitt.
Despite being a nerd, there are other types of books I enjoy besides sci-fi and fantasy.  One such genre is mysteries.  I've read quite a few of Agatha Christie's works, and loved all of them.  Lee Goldberg also did a very good job with (some) of the Monk and Diagnosis Murder books, although a few novels in each series--not all of them--were quite crude.  The same goes for Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse series. (If you want to know which ones in those series are not crude, take a look at my book review page on Facebook or LivingSocial.)  Even lesser-known authors such as Jim Walker, Randy Alcorn and Kathy Herman have written some good ones.  Of course, how could I bring up mysteries without mentioning Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the iconic Sherlock Holmes?
I'm going to make a confession here: Despite being a 23-year-old guy, there has been some fiction that was not intended for people my age and/or gender, but I still really enjoyed it.  One of my recent favorites was Janice Thompson's Weddings by Bella series.  The three books are all reminiscent of classic movie "romcoms" such as While You Were Sleeping, Ella Enchanted and Leap Year.  Other "girly" favorites of mine include Melody Carlson's True Colors series and several books, especially the Above the Line series, by Karen Kingsbury.  When it comes to more guy-friendly juvenile and young adult fiction, I have enjoyed the Alex Rider and Diamond Brothers series by Anthony Horowitz, the Dreamhouse Kings books by Robert Liparulo, the Time Quintet by Madeleine L'Engle, Maximum Ride by James Patterson, and, of course, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.
I don't do much non-fiction--other than the Bible, of course--but I will say that the ...For Dummies titles are very informative and fun.  Also, for many years, I have enjoyed the Garfield books by Jim Davis.  I wouldn't call them non-fiction if it weren't for them having Dewey Decimal numbers when I see them on the library shelves.  The Man in the Mirror by Patrick Morley and The Life You've Always Wanted by John Ortberg are Christian devotional books I'm working through right now, and they're good so far.
Whew! What a long post.  Any comments?

Day 3 of 30: My Favorite Television Programs

So, Day Three's post is about my favorite television program(s).  As I did with the "My Favorite Song" post on Day One, I'll do an ordered list of my top six:

6. iCarly.  By now, I think everybody knows what that show is all about; if you don't, I'm sure Wikipedia has a great article on it.  It's a fun show, and a reminder of when times were simpler.

5. Design Star.  Yeah, I know what you're thinking: a show about interior designers? Well, the competition gets intense, and they always have at least one attractive female contestant (such as Emily Henderson last year and Lonni Paul the year before) on there.  It also helps that the people who do the elimination (the judges, that is) know what they're doing, and don't refrain from eliminating someone due to dumb reasons such as infatuation.

4. House of Anubis.  For the uninitiated, Anubis is a British-produced Nickelodeon show about several kids (including one American girl) at a boarding school where strange things are afoot.  It's a wonderful show, and some of the actresses (Nathalia Ramos, Ana Mulvoy Ten, Tasie Dhanraj and Jade Ramsey) are quite beautiful.

3. The Electric Company (the 2009 remake).  I first got into this show because Jenni Barber (who plays Lisa Heffenbacher) reminded me of Ashley Tisdale during her Suite Life days, but I still like it for other reasons as well.  There's supposed to be a season premiere on tonight; hope I get the chance to watch it!

2. American Idol.  Maybe it's only because of how hard I fell for Siobhan Magnus last year--when is her debut album coming out?!!--but I'm interested to see what happens this season.  I haven't seen all the episodes this season, but my favorite so far is Sarah Sellers, who has an outstanding voice and is quite good-looking, especially in those big, thick-rimmed glasses.  (Yes, I like a woman in glasses; I think it's because I was raised around women in glasses.)

1. Victorious.  No surprise there.  This show is hilariously funny, and Victoria Justice is both an amazing actress and a superb singer.  The rest of the cast is good, too; my second favorite cast member is Daniella Monet, who plays Trina, Tori's older sister.

Any comments?

The Demi Lovato Song

The Demi Lovato Song
To the tune of "Got My Mind Set On You" by George Harrison

CHORUS:
I love Demi Lovato! (4x)

Yeah, I love you as Sonny!
You always are just so funny!
And you were great as Mitchie
In Camp Rock 2, now!
And, you're lookin' quite fine!
Oh, how I'd love to make you mine!
You are exactly my type!
A brunette, a Christian
With talent, great talent!
Why wouldn't I think you are great, now?

REPEAT CHORUS

Those rumors 'bout you I hear?
Oh, I have nothing to fear!
I don't even listen to 'em!
There's not even one bit of truth in 'em!

I love Demi Lovato (Lovato) (2x)

That was a great Original Movie
With Selena; oh, it was so funny!
You were just so amazing
As a "fish out of water"!

Yeah, you're so my type!
With you, girl, what isn't to like?
Where else would I be able to find
Such good looks, such talent
All in the same package
Who always will make me feel great?

REPEAT CHORUS

Oh, all that they say is unreal!
They give you a raw deal!
I will never believe any of it,
'Cause I know you didn't do it!

I want to see you on my TV!
I want you to return as Sonny!
Oh, you were insanely funny!
I loved So Random!

Just give it some more time!
Soon, you will be feeling fine!
When you return, I will spend my time
In front of my TV
Watching you as Sonny
And smiling the entire time!

Demi L.!
Love you, girl!

[For you, Demi! You rock! Hope you recover soon!]

Day 2 of 30: My Favorite Movie

I had abandoned the "30 Days" thing, so I figured I should get back to it.  So, what is my favorite movie? You might expect me to say Star Wars, or a movie starring Anne Hathaway or Victoria Justice.  However, as the picture suggests, my favorite film is Spider-Man 2.  The other two parts of the trilogy were good, but this is easily the best installment.  Plenty of action, wonderful messages, amazing special effects, dashes of humor, and a low amount of offensive content, especially for a "PG-13" film.  I love most superhero movies; the X-Men movies (minus Origins: Wolverine,) Sky High, every Batman movie since 1989, and even Superman Returns are all part of my collection, and are great movies.  However, Spider-Man 2 is my favorite movie of all-time in any genre.
Any comments?