Star Donovan's Favorite Stuff
Favorite Books
- Anything by Enid Blyton, the prolific British children’s author. I cried when she died.
- Books by James Herriott because he lives and works in glorious British countryside, and I love farms and cows, sheep, horses, lambs, and chickens
- The Harry Potter books, especially the first one because it’s about how Harry first found out he was a wizard
- The Lightning Thief series by Rick Riordan. Gappy thinks Percy Jackson is like him
- Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Dracula is Gappy’s great-great-great-great-great-something uncle
- The Narnia books by C.S. Lewis
- The Five Children and It and The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit
- The Little Vampire series by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg, about a young boy who makes friends with a vampire
- The Golden Compass books by Philip Pullman
- Winter of Enchantment by Victoria Walker
- The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkein
- The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomarth by Alan Garner
- The Belgariad series by David Eddings
- The Goosebumps series, recommended by a FaceBook fan
- The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. On his advice I haven't read the spoiler on the last page
- It, The Stand, Salem’s Lot, Thinner, and The Langoliers by Stephen King
- The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. Thay make you believe it could be possible to travel to a parallel world.
- Michael Lewis books about stockbrokers and the stockmarket - I know, right? Contrast.
- David Baldacci, John Grisham, Michael Crichton, Robin Cook, Desmond Bagley, Duncan Kyle, Georgette Heyer, Victoria Holt, Alistair Maclean. I've just discovered Maeve Binchey, Jilly Cooper, and Nora Roberts.
- My ultimate favorite author of adult books is Dick Francis. and now his son, Felix Francis, is carrying on the great tradition.
- A Secret Garden and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Favorite TV and Netflix Shows
- Walking Dead!!! Fear the Walking Dead, The 100, The Last Ship, Survivors and other plague or end-of-the-world shows.
- Dark Shadows – I cried when they took it off, but that’s what usually happens to shows I like.
- Prison Break - I never wanted the episodes to end but it looks like it's coming back!
- 24 - the ultimate in suspense. So glad it's back.
- Some reality TV shows, especially Amazing Race and Hell's Kitchen. I used to be a big Survivor fan too ‘cause I’d love to spend time on a desert island. Knowing my luck, however, I’d probably get voted off the first week!
- Downton Abbey, Poldark and similar British TV shows
- Seinfeld
- Glee and Smash
- Seinfeld and The Big Bang Theory - great fun
- Once Upon a Time
- Desperate Housewives
- Fawlty Towers
- 60 Minutes - they always have such great stories
- Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul
- Madmen
- House of Cards - The U.S. version, especially season 1. I like the British version too.
- Orange is the New Black
- Bachelor/Bachelorette - yes, I know. My husband watches too, but don't tell anyone
Favorite Movies
- Towering Inferno
- Halloween
- Nightmare on Elm Street
- The Final Destination movies
- Jurassic Park movies
- Juno
- Foreign and British films.
- Movies about the stock market
- Documentaries on the state of America's public schools and the healthcare system
- Secret Garden (TV movie)
- Welcome to the Dollhouse
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Blue Jasmine
- Most Woody Allen movies, e.g. Midnight in Paris
- Lost in Translation - don't know why but it really got to me