Reality TV

Survivor - Can’t beat a classic. It’s still going strong for a reason.

The Amazing Race - I admit that much of my love for this one comes from the wonderful Phil Keoghan. The beautiful locations they find and get permission to film at are fantastic too.

Dancing with the Stars - It’s totally cheesy and I know I shouldn’t watch, but I can’t help enjoying this show.

So You Think You Can Dance - I love this show. I love watching those kids live their passion for dance on TV. I like that it’s reality TV without any fighting or backstabbing. Each of those kids wants the others to do well. That makes it a joy to watch.

Project Runway - How can you not love Tim Gunn? I just want to put him in my pocket and have him tell me to “Make it work” when I hit a roadblock in a story.

Kathy Griffin: My life on the D-List - Kathy is a guilty pleasure, and I can’t help loving her. Love you, Kathy!

Dirty Jobs --Love Mike Rowe and the endless pleasure he gets out of saying ‘poo.’ Also love how he amuses himself when talking about lube.

Shark Tank -- I can’t explain why I like this show, just that I do. Maybe it’s because I made John from The Sweetest Tattoo and Grey from Grey’s Awakening venture capitalists and the owners of their own firm. Finding a great idea among people like those who come on this show is almost exactly what those characters do.

Comedy

The one two punch of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. – In my opinion, it is the sharpest hour on TV.

30 Rock - I still think this show is as funny as ever, and I still love Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin together. I heart Kenneth!

The Office - We finally got some Jim and Pam love (Yay!) and the show is still witty and funny. They somehow avoided jumping the shark.

How I Met Your Mother - If you can watch Neil Patrick Harris on this show and not crack up then you don’t have a funny bone in your body. Period.

The Big Bang Theory - I admit that most of my love for this show is in watching Jim Parsons portrayal of Sheldon. As with NPH, I would defy you to sit through his performance without laughing.

Glee -- Love, love, love Glee. The cast, the writing, the production value, the music… Everything about the show is fantastic. Plus, it allows me to get a weekly dose of Jane Lynch. That makes it a winner all on its own.

Modern Family -- Very funny show. I like the chemistry of each of the couples on the show, as well the whole ensemble as a group. I admit my greatest weakness is for big, lovable Cam.

Community -- One name: Joel McHale. I don’t need to say anything else. Except that I will. Major crush on the man. Love him on The Soup too. Love that he can quote the movie Fletch. Love that he’s a huge Battlestar Galactica geek fan too. Love him. Period.

Dramas

Nurse Jackie - I can’t entirely explain why I love this show about an extremely flawed woman except to say that it is well written, Edie Falco has a depth and complexity that few actors can bring to a character such as Jackie, and the entire supporting cast is perfectly set to play off her. Besides, how could you not love a show that brings The Fatch(!) back to TV?

Spartacus - Okay, this show is simply a purely wonderful guilty pleasure. A lush soap opera all the way. Plus, watching that many beautiful men walking around nearly-naked all the time ain’t a bad way to spend an hour once a week.

Battlestar Galactica - Is no more, but still a great show. RIP.

House - It’s all about Hugh Laurie for me. I could listen to him read a phone book and be all atwitter.

Friday Night Lights - I love this show. It seems destined to never find anything more than a loyal cult following, but I am one of the devoted and eagerly await each season we are given.

Mad Men - Jon Hamm is such a find. I can’t take my eyes off him when he’s on the screen. The supporting cast is stellar and the mood and atmosphere of the show hits every note beautifully.

Torchwood - I love everything about this show except for the not-very-small fact that they killed my Ianto! Bring him back, BBC! Aside from that, I still think Capt. Jack sharing a kiss with “Capt. Jack” was the single hottest thing on TV in 2007.

The Closer - Great cast, and a really finely acted, well written police procedural. Gotta love Brenda’s “thank you”.

Dexter - A serial killer has never been so sexy. Love, love, love Michael C. Hall.

True Blood - I’m actually not the biggest vamp fan, but I like the southern gothic twist of this show. I’m partial to the shifter, though, I gotta say. There’s just something about Sam that appeals to me.

Being Human - It’s still new, but I love it so far. Another vamp that I like, a wolf, and a ghost sharing an apartment. It’s a nice combo, and the writing is funny and sharp as well as touching and dramatic. Looks gorgeous too.

Bones - I’m a latecomer to Bones. A good friend encouraged me to watch the past seasons on DVD. After the first two or three episodes, I was hooked. Now that I’m all caught up, I can’t wait for new episodes each week.

A few books on my keeper shelf, in no particular order:

To Love a Dark Lord by Anne Stuart – She gives tortured heroes a whole new level of cynicism and darkness. This is the first book of hers I ever read and it’s still my favorite. I love her.

Texas Destiny by Lorraine Heath – I don’t think I’ve ever read a more well written vulnerable hero who just absolutely breaks your heart from page one on. His name is Houston, and if you haven’t met him yet, I implore you to run out and find him, pronto.

The Tin Star by J.L. Langley – Read it and just try not to fall in love with Jamie and Ethan. I dare you.

In My Wildest Dreams by Christina Dodd – Hot, hot sex scenes that also pack a great emotional punch. Just Great.

Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie – This is the first book of Crusie’s that I’d ever read and when I finished it all I could think was, “Wow. I want to be just like her.”

Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas --A must read purely for the hero of the story. I adore all of Lisa Kleypas’s books, so this easily could have been Dreaming of You or Devil in Winter, too. Love the heroes in both of those equally well.

A Lady of the West by Linda Howard --There are some tough scenes in this book, but with three compelling, satisfying romances between the pages, this is a story I go back to again and again.

Bound by Deception and Bound to Him by Ava March - Regency set male/male novellas. I fell in love with Vincent and Oliver in the first book, and adored them even more in the second. I think there might be a third, and I can’t wait for it.

Jackson’s Pride by Lynn Lorenz - Historical male/male. I love Jackson so much in this book. He is my kind of hero. So poignantly written. The second half is so powerful you won’t be able to stop reading.

The Assignment by Evangeline Anderson - One of my favorite male/male books ever. I read it in one sitting and there wasn’t an off moment in the entire book, in my opinion. If you haven’t read it, give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.

Bareback by Chris Owen - The emotion of this book is so subtle and well-written (I know nothing about subtle myself. LOL) that I was almost shocked to find myself tearing up at certain points in the second half of the book. You don’t even realize that it grabs you until you’re choking back tears.

Also in no particular order. And just a side note, there isn’t going to be anything brand new on this list. I haven’t been to a theater in at least two years.

Shelter - A wonderfully quiet, lovely movie about two young men finding each other, discovering who they are and what they’re made of, and falling in love. Kudos to the director for the brilliantly subtle way he filmed this movie. And bravo to the two leads for finding such great chemistry and playing so well off of each other.

Pay It Forward – For my money one of the most wonderfully romantic movies ever. Plus, I’ll watch anything with Kevin Spacey at least once.

Beautiful Thing – Small British movie about two teenage boys who fall in love. It’s not stylized or preachy in any way, just a nice story of new love.

Christmas Vacation – Mindless fun, but the saucer scene still makes me laugh every time I see it. Also, if I don’t watch it at least once during the holiday season I feel as though there’s something important I’m forgetting to do.

Brokeback Mountain –The only thing that would have made it better is a happy ending. I’m just sappy that way.

White Palace – For me, James Spader has never been better or more heart wrenching than in this film. It’s a really good little movie.

The Reader - I haven’t read the book, but the movie was excellent. SPOILER ALERT! When he starts putting books on tape for Hannah and sends them to her while she’s in prison so that she can still hear these stories that she so loves, I have to say I thought that was one of the single most loving things I’ve ever seen in a movie or read in a book.

Just A Question of Love - A very sweet, wonderful little French film about two young men falling in love. It’s not sappy or manipulative, it’s just a great movie where the young men actually get a happy ending.

Big Eden - I can’t really explain why I love this movie so much. Maybe it’s just the pure flat-out goodness of Pike, a quiet, soft-hearted man who is in love with Henry and just wants him to be happy. Or it might be the townsfolk who all love Pike and want him to be happy and try to help him get Henry. It’s a romantic comedy that happens to feature two men finding each other, rather than a man and woman.

I tend to skew old school where music is concerned.

I am a true kid of the eighties and early nineties, so give me anything from those old MTV days and I’m generally happy. It can be anything from Guns-n-Roses Appetite for Destruction, to U2’s The Joshua Tree. I will say that my favorite soundtrack of all time is Empire Records. It was a so-so movie, but the CD is exceptional. Strangely enough, when I write, I always have CMT or GAC playing very softly in the background. For some reason I find country music to be very soothing and it allows me to focus when I sit down at my computer to write. Go figure.

Other stuff I love:

Hockey – Something about it turns me on, in particular hockey goaltenders. I enjoy football and baseball as well, and I make it a point to keep up with my local Tampa Bay teams.

Ice-cold apple juice – We stop drinking it when we grow up and I don’t really know why. Make it a point to try it again and just see if your taste buds don’t thank you for it.

Giving a little bit of something every month to charity – It can be hard when times are lean, but it always makes me feel good when I write a check, even if on some months it can only be ten dollars. (Trust me, I’m not rich…yet. I have big plans though. Do you hear me Publishers Clearing House, Lotto, Deal or No Deal… Somebody? …Anybody?) My most recent fave is the RED campaign, but I also love Habitat For Humanity, America’s Second Harvest, Heifer Project International. If you’re not sure I don’t think you can ever go wrong with Oprah’s Angel Network. She covers a wide variety of bases with that organization, and I love that every single penny of your donation goes directly to the cause.

The Internet - I honestly don’t know how I ever lived without it. It’s as simple as that.

Great friends who are always there for you – This is for my Gold Crown Gang. B, J, J, J, M, and C. Most of you will never see this, but that’s all right. It was important for me to acknowledge your friendship. We’ve managed to stay connected when others did not, and that makes us all pretty damn special.
 

Go to the 'Tell me about you’ page and share some of your favorites. I’m always looking to discover something new. This page will be added to quarterly, so check back often!

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