Dancing with the Stars! This season looks like it’s going to be so much fun! For the most part, everyone seems to be having a really good time. Kristi Yamaguchi blew me away! She was sooooo good. And Marlee Matlin… Good grief! She can’t hear the music and she’s amazing. Mario rocked it out of the park on the men’s side, so did Jason Taylor (who’s pretty hot, BTW…) Penn is having a great time, as is Marissa. Overall, I think this might be their most enjoyable season yet.

And Dexter! Fabulous! I was hooked from episode #1 and it just gets better every week. I got my mom hooked on it, too. Great, great stuff. His inability to understand or feel emotion and how he deals with that deficiency is endearing, yet sometimes chilling. The relationship with his adopted father is golden. And Julie Benz… how great is it to see her again? Their “romance” is fascinating to watch.

I’m still loving the new cast of Law and Order. The show lost me a couple seasons ago, but I’m back now. I still miss Benjamin Bratt (yum) and Angie Harmon (she’s all-around kick-ass) — although I do like her on Women’s Murder Club. (I hope WMC comes back now that the strike is over.)

I’ve always loved L&O: SVU and that’s never changed. They haven’t lost me ever. The cast is pitch perfect, although I miss Alex Cabot.

I dig Cold Case. I didn’t catch on to that show until fairly recently, so I enjoy finding the reruns on cable.

I’m still happy with CSI and I like CSI: NY, but CSI: Miami lost me last season, so unless they shake things up, I’m not going back.

Nip/Tuck… Love it, although I rarely get to see it. I think I’ve only caught maybe 10-20% of the episodes over its lifetime, but I’ve loved every one I’ve seen. Julian McMahon had me at Charmed and he’s kept me as Christian Troy. The show is so over-the-top, like Boston Legal (James Spader has always rocked), but the characters are so true to themselves that it’s riveting to watch.

What’s on your “must see TV” list?

I’ve noticed for a while now that my movie and TV favorites aren’t similar to the books I like to read. There’s somewhat of a disconnect between them.

For instance, my most often watched shows are Law and Order:SVU, NUMB3RS, all three CSIs, and Cold Case. I like ER (used to never miss an episode, but I haven’t watched faithfully in two years) and the regular Law and Order (again, I used to watch constantly, now not so much.).

However, I don’t read hardly any romantic suspense or medical mystery/thriller books.

For movies, I prefer big blow ‘em up action flicks. They don’t have to be believable. They don’t even have to have much of a plot. Just blow things up and have some hot male eye candy; I’m a happy camper. I love science fiction and paranormal movies, too.

But I don’t read action adventure books and I buy very few paranormals. Those I do buy sit for long lengths on my TBR pile and I skim much of them.

For my reading, I pick up predominantly romance, mostly historical romance. However, I rarely watch romantic movies. I never pick them myself. Anytime I watch a romantic movie, it’s because I’m with someone who rented it or is watching a rerun on TV.

I enjoy Stephen King and Dean Koontz. I have a few books from each of them that are on my keeper shelves. Rose Madder and the Christopher Snow books come immediately to mind, as well as The Dark Half and The Bad Place, yet I really don’t like watching horror on the screen. I’m a big chicken. I cover my eyes and go, “What’s happening now? Is he hacking her up?”, but when it’s in book form, I can’t tear my eyes away from the page.

I’m not sure what that means, if anything. Maybe most people have reading tastes in opposition to their viewing tastes?

These aren’t absolutes, of course. I loved Emma and The Painted Veil. I dug the first two Final Destinations (the third was major suckage) and the Scream movies (which are kinda horror, right?). My last all-nighter read was Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs (a paranormal). Although it’s only a novella, I was hooked and what was supposed to be a one-chapter-before-bed treat became a wee-hours-of-the-morning binge. (I’m so thrilled she’s writing a series with those characters!) But for the most part, these preferences hold true.

Are you like that, too? Do you watch movies/shows in genres you don’t read much of and vice versa?