Music:
The weepies, U2 (the older stuff), Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Decembrists, Bruce Springsteen, Green Day, Hot Chips, Death Cab, recently any song that even mentions California
Books:
The World According to Garp, Widow for One Year, anything by John Irving really, the Unbearable Lightness of Being, Les Miserables, The Plot Against America, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Count of Monte Cristo, and recently any nonfiction book on any subject I'm remotely interested in, particularly the state of our current food system and alternative sustainable options