I'm glad you liked some of the stuff!
1. I had no idea what was on the CD, it was in a box of stuff my mom put in the attic when I moved back in from college.
2.
The books are NOT the first in their respective series. You may want to get the #1s (#1 and 2 in the case of Xenocide). EDIT: The Shannara books ARE #s 1 and 2. You will just need 3 and 4. They are, however, a sequel series to the original Shannara series, which is epic in the way LotR is, so you should give that a read, too.
3. The little dancing yeti never survived our house. It was always knocked off by a cat
4. Yes, a little grammar Nazi still survives in me.
5. On the topic of Garfield, I'm most proud of the one joke you didn't highlight, the really terrible Tide pods joke. >.>