My top 3…

…books

I enjoy a wide variety of books – fantasy, historical fiction, drama… It’s actually really hard to pick just three! But here they are. I tried to make it a diverse bunch!

• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (and everything he wrote about Middle-earth)
  What can I say?
• The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan (and the rest of the Richard Hannay novels)
  I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did; I don’t go in much for thrillers of any sort. But this was a really good, well-written story, and got me hooked on Buchan!
• Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (and her other books)
  Yes, I like the old-fashioned phrasing, and seeing “shew” instead of “show”… Jane Austen is wonderful. I like Mansfield Park in particular; the romance is simply darling!

…movies/TV shows

I very much dislike modern Hollywood, but they have made some good films in their time. Still, I find myself preferring films made by small companies (see #3).

• Ben Hur (1959)
  I love Mos… I mean, Charlton Heston (Judah Ben Hur), and Stephen Boyd (Messala); and I love the reverence the filmmakers display by never showing Jesus’ face. Haya Harareet (Esther) was rather annoying, but that couldn’t prevent this from becoming my favourite movie!
• Pride and Prejudice (BBC, 1995)
  Lush costumes, perfect casting, stellar acting… Wonderful!
• a tie between October Baby and Courageous (both 2011)
  October Baby, a great prolife film; Courageous, a hilarious film with a good message for men. (Oh yes, and both make me cry…)

…musical works

Something you should know is that I’m obsessed with classical and baroque music. I could listen to it forever. On the other hand, much of the music written after 1900 (and especially since the 60’s) is something I wouldn’t listen to unless I had to. 🙂

• “Son qual nave ch’agitata” by Riccardo Broschi – hear it here
  Me wants to sing coluratura! No, but really, performed by someone as skilled as Julia Lezhneva (see link above), this piece is AMAZING.
• “Duetto buffo di due gatti (The Cat Duet)” by Gioacchino Rossini – hear it here
  The particular performance I’ve linked to above, had me rocking with laughter.
• The Lord of the Rings Soundtrack by Howard Shore – hear “The Riders of Rohan” here
  Howard Shore is the main exception to my dislike of contemporary music. He’s a genius.