I very much enjoy Harry Potter, especially if you actually think about what is really happening. The plot and the characters are far better than the writing, although I hated the fact that JKR suddenly included a lot of Christian symbolism mumbo-jumbo in the story. I'm rather preferential to stories about Lord Voldemort/Tom Riddle, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, Lucius Malfoy, and/or Severus Snape. As far as shipping is concerned, I'd like to think of myself as open-minded, but I'm probably not. I can live with Harry/Ginny, personality-wise, but if you think about it they're a fairly twisted couple: Ginny looks very much like Lily Evans, and Harry looks quite a lot like Tom Riddle. Ron/Hermione I can see as a short-lived thing: they have chemistry, but Ron just doesn't challenge Hermione intellectually, and she seems to need those sorts of challenges posed to her on a rather regular basis. In fanfiction I therefore prefer Lord Voldemort-Tom Riddle/Hermione Granger, LV-TMR/Harry Potter, LV-TMR/Luna Lovegood, Lucius Malfoy/HG, Severus Snape/HG, LM/HP, and SS/HP - all highly unrealistic pairings. As for the stories that make me laugh out loud and look like an idiot (probably an insane one), they usually include Harry going back in time and doing everything all over again with his old memories, adding a bit of 'spice' to the story, Harry and Sirius dimension-jumping, and the like.

Jo Rowling probably based Voldemort's character off that of a psychopath's, but failed to actually make him one: he is too patient, too observant, too intellectual, possibly too intelligent, and too charming, even when he is not trying to be. He completely lacks empathy, yes, so if that was the only criterion ... but it is not. Then again, I'm not a psychologist.

Anything else? I'm terrified of snakes but find them extremely fascinating. The way they move.