J.D. Salinger

Jerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980. Catcher in the Rye was one of my all time favorites. Loving Salinger seems to follow my pattern of liking authors popular from the 1920's and up.

Darren Aronofsky

I may have only seen one of his movies, but it was amazing. "Black Swan" was one of the best movies I've seen this year. I saw it twice, even though it was insanely bloody and raunchy. His ideas to warp the ballet "Swan Lake" into a psycho, schizophrenic ride through the mind of an insanely disturbed ballerina (Nina) is both stunning and horrifying. Natalie Portman won the Oscar for her role as Nina and the movie was nomiated for Best Film. It may have lost to "The King's Speech," but it's still amazing.