deborah

Right now, I'm participating in VERY few swaps. This is because I'll be moving about four times before September, but once that settles down, I'll be able to swap more.

Most of the books I read are YA, coming-of-age or fantasy, but I do love an apocalypse or dystopia--Battle Royale, The Hunger Games, Life as We Know It, I love this sort of thing. I love historical fiction, too, including myth like Robin Hood and King Arthur, though it's hard to find good historical fiction that's not romance. (I'm not a fan of romance books. They never feel realistic.)

Anything about castles, kings, knights and dragons...

J.R.R. Tolkien -- And not just Lord of the Rings, everything! Letters from Father Christmas, Farmer Giles of Ham, Smith of Wootten Major... Some of us are dorks to the nth degree. To be fair though, I do love Lord of the Rings.

Friars Club books and other books of jokes and riddles, I love the funnies.

Craft books (especially knitting and cooking/baking) are awesome, too. I like very, very basic science books, as I am especially bad at science but curious, and ancient history up through the rennaissance. Also books dealing with the social aspects of wars, though I'm less interested in battles and such.

Sometimes I really like memoirs. Day-to-day life in all circumstances, even normal ones, fascinates me.

When it comes to factual books, how things work or history, I like children's books as much as adults' books. They're always clearly laid out and, I admit, I like the pictures.

Generally I like short story collections, either of various authors or Agatha Christie.

*Knitting! I absolutely love knitting, knitted things, knitting patterns, yarn... I generally dislike garish colors, not crazy about orange or bright green.

*Origami

*Crochet

*Writing. It's my major and I still love it! I love writing and wordgames, crossword puzzles, that sort of thing.

I love modern Broadway stuff. I wouldn't say I'm properly into Broadway, but Spring Awakening, Next to Normal, Tick Tick Boom... I love that sort of thing.

Outside of that I listen to oldies (Beatles, Monkees, Eagles, Abba, that sort of thing) and, indeed, some modern stuff--Goo Goo Dolls, Snow Patrol, and other such bands in what my sister has dubbed "the wuss rock genre".

*Horror films

I love horror films, but not all of them. There is something to be said for slasher flicks (mostly that they offer an adrenaline boost and are laughably bad) but too much blood or a film with no plot is too much. Horror-torture is not something I enjoy. I can go for a psychological horror, though, like 'Believers'.

*Musicals (especially Rent and Fiddler on the Roof)

*all things Muppets

*Lord of the Rings -- I know generally people like either the books or the films, but I enjoy both. Admittedly I'm constantly making excuses for Faramir's behavior in the films... but, for one who enjoys fantasy and knights in shining armor, Lord of the Rings was a dream come true.

*Battle Royale-- I can't even begin to justify this one

*The Simpsons

*My Family

*Dr. Who

*Futurama

*Blackadder

*Robin Hood

*The Sarah Jane Adventures

*Father Ted

*Little House on the Prairie

*Little Mosque on the Prairie

-anything handmade

-soft things

-food: most snacklike things, shortbread cookies are awesome, chocolate (Who doesn't love chocolate? I love sweets as much as anyone but I'm definitely a dark chocolate girl, though things with gooey insides are nice, including chocolate with mint or caramel or peanut butter.)

-puzzle magazines

-anything related to magic, faeries, unicorns (particularly punk/serious unicorns), dragons or the Arthurian legend

-things nature themed

-anything Celtic themed

-Tea/coffee (coffee smells nice, but I don't drink either)

-Incense/candles (not allowed where I live)

Other than that, no worries. I'm fairly difficult to offend.