The first half of this dark urban fantasy series by Rob Thurman is fantastic. It's extremely creative and just gets better and better over the course of five books. I enjoyed them so much that I created a plethora of artwork for the series, and plan to do more in the future.

True, the rest of the books were a bitter disappointment, but that certainly shouldn't stop you from tearing through (and re-reading often) five highly addictive novels before you go.

My mother sent me Nightlife, the first book, as a birthday present several years ago, knowing how much I love dark dramas, snarky humor and the supernatural...all of which are in abundance when it comes to the Leandros brothers. I was hooked from the first page.

These characters are NOT heroes, and that's part of their charm. To have leads who are such an absolute mess, but presented with a sense of humor that mixes perfectly with the dark, intense drama behind it, is refreshing. Be aware, though, you have to love Cal. If you can't embrace his bitchy and often punch-worthy personality early on, this series definitely isn't for you.

I could rave about this author for days. I could write a lengthy, in-depth review of each and every individual book, but that would be a waste of time. Just go read them. Go read them all.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is one of the best book series out there. Sure, my being a lifelong ancient mythology buff enhances the experience, but even if you know nothing about the source material, his modernization of classic tales and figures is thoroughly engaging.

Jirka Vaatainen has created a series of exceptional real-world depictions of famous Disney characters, old and new alike. His portraits are gorgeous and do an incredible job of not only capturing how the Disney characters were drawn but making them look like portraits of real people.

For all animal lovers, THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST-SEE!!! It's a powerful short film that uses amazing visuals to show what life is like for some of the planet's smaller creatures, cutting between the individual stories of a young chipmunk and a baby scorpion mouse as they brave the dangers of their tiny world and come into their own. It does an epic job of showing what life looks like from their point of view and is simply one of the most wonderful things I've ever seen. I was laughing and crying my way through it, and so was the rest of the audience. It's currently playing on IMAX 3D at the Museum of Natural History, so don't miss it!

After putting together a rotating art gallery for my mother for Christmas (multiple prints within multiple frames so that she can mix and match throughout the year as desired), I thought it would be nice to share my favorite modern painters of landscapes and cozy seasonal scenes. So here we go...be sure to look these guys up!

In my humble opinion, Aimee Stewart makes the most staggeringly beautiful photo manipulations ever.