I think it is the best way to experience the culture of a place and to get advice - it offers a very different way to see a place, from a local's point of view.

I adore absurdist styles of writing from authors such as Douglas Adams & Terry Pratchett, though my favourite author of all time has to be Neil Gaiman - American Gods and the books surrounding it being, in my opinion, his masterpiece. Also Tolkein is amazing but you already knew that :) My favourite movie is The Prince of Egypt, closely followed by Stardust, just because it's so charming. I love swing music, which is why I dance the styles for it, I love world music for singing and otherwise I enjoy pretty much everything (as long as it's recognisable as music)