taolie

After reading this article, I am calling shenanigans on the whole idea of "favorite" books, movies, etc.

I could make a long list of my favorite books, movies, music, and food, and it would no more tell you who I am as a person than a list of my favorite consonants or my favorite shades of grey.

And I am also not particularly concerned with what your favorite books, movies, etc. are, either. Some of my best friends have favorite books and movies that I absolutely detest. It doesn't change the fact that I really like who they are as people.

What I really want to know, and what I would love to have a conversation about with someone I've just met, is why do you like the books you like, or the movies you like. What is it about a particular one that draws you to it, and makes it one of your favorites? Is it the story? Is it the message? Is it the chemistry between characters? Is it how you are able to relate to one of the characters as if that character were you?

The answers to questions like these, or inablility to answer, will tell me far more about someone as a person than whether or not he or she likes some book I've never read, or some movie I have never seen.