Anyone else fully stop reading formally published work in favour of fanfic?

[u/Warbleborble]

The title. I feel like mainstream "romantasy", "dark romance", "erotica" (I don't read erotica but many authors have a bad tendancy to shove it into the story even if its not in the synopsis), and even the more niche genres is just really objectively bad and cliche. Like with the same ten plots repeated every time, such as "petite feminine woman who is actually really badass is stuck with a dark haired broody man and they go from enemies to lovers 🥹❤️"

ik this isn't an uncommon sentiment with "booktok" and what not, but has anyone else just FULLY stopped reading formally published works? For a solid year I kept picking up books that sounded interesting and unique before realising its the same plot over and over again.

It might also be that my fandom tends to write AUs more than stuff that's very connected to the source material

EDIT: The general consensus in the comments is that I should be reading more genres and I even got some recommendations from y'all. Thank you all so much, I'm going to be reading them when I get the chances.

[u/No-Yam-1494]

I think you need to read more genres instead of romance.

[u/PeppermintShamrock]

I kept picking up books that sounded interesting and unique before realising its the same plot over and over again.

That's not uncommon in fanfic either, lots of fics take on the same tropes and premises. That's not necessarily a bad thing, a lot of people like the formula or else it wouldn't be a formula. Romance in particular is pretty formulaic.

[u/brachycrab → u/PeppermintShamrock]

I was just thinking that ironically, I see a lot of what OP is complaining about in fanfiction more than anything (though to be fair, I don't read tradpub romantasy)

[u/Lumpy-Draft9192 → u/brachycrab]

Romantasy is often fanfic-style works that don’t really dig into fantasy with enough depth to call it fantasy, and sticks to popular cliche romantic tropes.

Multiple recent published romance books are re-wrapped fanfics with the serial numbers scrubbed off, and not enough work put into revising it to stand solidly on its own, I feel.

[u/nyet-marionetka]

I think you need to venture beyond romantasy, etc.

[u/Solivagant0 → u/nyet-marionetka]

Yeah. Most of my reading is classics and litfic. I still read more tradpub than fanfic

[u/Warbleborble → u/nyet-marionetka]

Yeah, moreso the issue for me is that some authors tend to inject romance into literally every story, esp because I read YA (I worry if I read above my age-group I'll run into over-explicit material)

[u/XenomorphAlarm → u/Warbleborble]

Okay, you need to get over that fear and you need to start reading outside of the contemporary romance genre. There's a whole world of literature you're ignoring and it's not going to do you any favours. Fanfic is super fun, but it needs to be consumed alongside things that are actually challenging you and developing your taste and literacy skills, especially if you have any interest in actually writing (and writing well), fanfic or otherwise. (Nobody writes great fanfic by just reading fanfic, I promise you.)

There are infinite options but off the top of my head try Pride and Prejudice, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lord of the Rings, or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I'd even go for War and Peace if you want an incredibly rewarding challenge.

[u/Warbleborble → u/XenomorphAlarm]

Thank you for the recommendations, I got a lot from this post too and will likely be reading once I can get back to school and borrow some books.

[u/Hedgiwithapen → u/Warbleborble]

I also read a lot of YA (I teach, so I try to read current things so I'm not just recommending stuff I liked as a teenager) and there's so much of it, even fantasy, that isn't "tiny girl hot guy enemies to lovers" if you look. And there are plenty of adult novels of all genres, even romance, that aren't explicit. Ask your local librarians for some suggestions.

[u/lunammoon → u/Warbleborble]

Read Discworld. Any Discworld book. It doesn't matter which one.

[u/Hedgiwithapen → u/lunammoon]

Well let's not be hasty. Op shouldn't start with, say, the Shepherd's Crown, or The Light Fantastic, haha. 

But yes, OP, discworld is great, and there are several starting points within the universe so you can find a plotline that interests you and go from there

[u/nyet-marionetka → u/Warbleborble]

Are you quite young? You can always skip sex scenes, and in a lot of books they are less common than in YA romantasy like Fourth Wing. In sci fic Murderbot Diaries has no sex, Children of Time has no sex.

[u/Warbleborble → u/nyet-marionetka]

Thank you for the recommendations.

I'm between 13 and 18, and when I accidentally run into sex scenes I do skip them. I get quite anxious about possessing/borrowing a book that has them, as my mom already doesn't like me reading fiction because it's "a waste of time", in her words.

[u/shmixel → u/Warbleborble]

If you live somewhere you could get a library card, you could quietly download apps like Libby and Hoopla to download books to your phone so she wouldn't bother you about it. 

You can also read many of the old books people are recommending here on a site online called Project Gutenberg.

I think it's great that you love reading so much and it's really hard to be that young with controlling parents. In my opinion, as long as you keep that spark alive, you should read whatever makes you happy. Once you've moved out, you'll have your whole adult life to branch out to different kinds of books.

[u/TechTech14 → u/Warbleborble]

If you mean explicit as in sex, romance.io is pretty accurate for books that are romances and/or heavily feature a romance subplot. They give a "spice level" so you can check if a book will have graphic sex scenes and how many if so (then you can choose not to read those books with a lot OR you can go in knowing you'll have to skim/skip some scenes).

For explicit gore or dark material in general, you can always check out reviews. If you wanna avoid spoilers, make a reddit post just asking if the book features extensive torture or something and ppl can answer that without giving other spoilers.

[u/Warbleborble → u/TechTech14]

I'll check out romance.io, thank you! I don't really mind explicit gore and such. I also assume my parents don't mind because they showed me a lot of horror/thriller material when I was younger.

[u/MoonCat_42 → u/Warbleborble]

seconding the person who said read discworld, its so so good

[u/amethyst-chimera → u/Warbleborble]

Let's help with that! What kind of books would you say you like? And how much romance is tolerable for you? Do you prefer none at all or some romance side plots?

Check out Circle of Magic by Tamora Pierce. It's YA and has zero romance

For adult fiction, Brandon Sanderson has books with mild romance and no sex scenes. The first Mistborn book, The Final Empire, is my favourite book. It feels a little like YA. It has a small romance side plot but as somebody who usually doesn't like cishet romance, I didn't mind it at all.

Check out The Poppy War as well!

[u/Warbleborble → u/amethyst-chimera]

Thank you! I usually like fantasy or sci-fi books (anything with world building), and don't typically like contemporary. Romance is tolerable for me when it's not the main focus of the plot or the characters. I also enjoy it when it contributes something to plot-characters-worldbuilding, as long as it doesn't take over everything (I love how The Hunger Games did it). This is also true for side plots.

The synopsis of Circle of Magic looks really interesting, I'm going to read it once I get back from the trip I'm going on!

[u/nyet-marionetka → u/Warbleborble]

I thought of another, you might like the Scholomance books by Naomi Novik if those haven't been recommended already. She also has some other books you might like. She was also one of the founders of AO3 and has fics there under Astolat that are very good (Heal Thyself is extremely good), but a lot are more explicit than her published work and even have noncon, so check the tags.

[u/Warbleborble → u/nyet-marionetka]

Looks interesting, I like the latin-based nouns. It reminds me abit of Nevermore, which is a webcomic inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poems.

[u/xo-milk → u/Warbleborble]

Tamora Pierce has another great series called The Song of the Lioness, about a girl named Alanna who takes the place of her twin brother to secretly train as a knight instead of as a court lady. It's a good read.

[u/amethyst-chimera → u/xo-milk]

Me with my Alanna tattoo haha. I recommended Circle of Magic as a starting point because it has zero romance, whereas Alanna has some, but if OP likes it maybe we can coax them into the other books!

[u/These_Are_My_Words → u/Warbleborble]

If you don't like fantasy then why are you picking up romantasy?

[u/Warbleborble → u/These_Are_My_Words]

? I said I usually like fantasy?

[u/These_Are_My_Words → u/Warbleborble]

LOL, I'm sorry - I read that sentence as "I don't usually like fantasy" because in my browser the "don't typically" later in the sentence appeared just below "usually" so my brain incorporated that in the wrong place.

[u/amethyst-chimera → u/Warbleborble]

It's my favourite childhood series haha. I have a reading disability, so when I was a kid I was super behind in my reading. My older sister brought home the Circle of Magic books as audiobooks when I was ten, and it changed my life. Turns out I needed to see the words at the same time I read them to make that connection in my brain. You can easily find them at your library! Check out Libby too. It's an app you can access your public library to read ebooks and audiobooks

About to info dump about it, sorry lol. Feel free to ignore.

The books are set in a country based on Turkey. Tris is a fat, angry redhead who loves books, and Tamora Pierce celebrates her for who she is. Sandry is a gentle person who never made out to be lesser because of it. Briar is mixed race with predominantly Asian features and is such an empathetic person. Daja is black, queer, and super passionate about her beliefs.

There's a second series set five to six years after the first where the characters are teenagers too. That one has some minor romance for Daja. And then there's a book set when they're 18-20ish, with the difficulties of adulthood. It has some minor romance for Daja, and Briar is a flirt, but none of the books have any descriptive sex.

Tamora Pierce also has a second world/universe set primarily in the country of Tortall. The series are all about different characters, but they span like a 30 year time period, so you see characters from previous books appear in later ones. Song of the Lioness is the first, and it's about a girl named Alanna who pretends to be a boy so she can become a knight.

The Tortall books have a little more romance in them than the other ones. It's slightly more prevalent in Alanna's books. The second series (The Immortals, about a girl named Daine who can talk to animals) only has romance in the last book that kind of appears out of nowhere, ngl. In the third series (Protector of the Small, about a girl named Kel who is the first openly female page following Alanna becoming a knight), the protagonist has some crushes through the books and has sex (entirely fade to black), but doesn't have a romantic partner by the end.

A prequel series (Beka Cooper. She's a city guard) is set 200 years before the other stories. It has some minor romance in the second and third.

[u/effing_usernames2_ → u/Warbleborble]

Have you ever read The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury? It's a collection of short stories, each about a different character or group of them, obviously colonizing Mars. It's sci-fi, but it also deals with racism, censorship, and the destructive nature of colonization. I will say that overall it's got a pretty bleak outlook for that very reason, but some of the stories are funny in a really dark way. That book, along with Les Mis, Notre Dame de Paris, Phantom of The Opera, 1984, Treasure Island, Jane Eyre, Sense And Sensibility, Pride And Prejudice, the Sherlock Holmes series...that's what I was reading for fun at your age. Some of it was a struggle to understand at first, Victor Hugo, especially, but my mom had started me early. Cyrano de Bergarac (think I spelled that right) and The Pearl were kindergarten bedtime stories for me because I'd found her old copies and asked about them. I slogged through A Christmas Carol all on my own around that time after watching the Mickey Mouse version. It's very unlikely you'll find any of those on booktok.

Also, and I say this very sincerely, booktok is absolutely the worst thing to happen to literacy. You're talking about a group of people who give such hot takes as "prologues are unnecessary author yapping," and "I skip over descriptions and only read dialogue." This problem you're noticing in YA fiction is one that has been part of the romance genre for decades. "Bodice-rippers" they used to be called, for obvious reasons. No one called it "dark romantasy" when I was a teen devouring my neighbor's old romance novels, but the formula was very much the same. Ironically, there's so much bleed over, now, because people are filing the serial numbers off their enemies to lovers fanfics. Very likely, most of what you're calling slop is, ironically, repackaged fanfic.

Edit: you mentioned Poe in another comment. Absolutely read more of him.

[u/Warbleborble → u/effing_usernames2_]

Oohhh I love it when stories explore the negative impacts of colonisation as a narrative theme. Does it also show cultural impacts or just environmental?

100% to booktok being horrible. Gotta love the influencers doing the fake "hand screaming" sign with caption "BEST READ OVER THE SUMMER" and swirly rose-sword design book titled "The Princess and Her Bodyguard" about a princess and her bodyguard. And then there's smut for some reason.

With Poe, I mainly read his poems and short stories (like tell-tale heart), but I only just found out after reading your comment that he also has longer stories... Definitely gonna check those out :)))

[u/effing_usernames2_ → u/Warbleborble]

Oh, yes, it definitely shows that. There's a whole thriving Martian civilization we see at the beginning and get little glimpses of throughout

[u/Solivagant0 → u/Warbleborble]

I think you might have outgrown YA tbh

[u/numblittlebunny → u/Solivagant0]

I thought that… but they 13-18 … according to another comment, which is quite an age range.

[u/regularirregulate → u/Warbleborble]

just look up the books before you read them. usually you can find out a books spice level just by googling.

romance.io is also a very helpful resource, i use it all the time.

[u/panndorava → u/Warbleborble]

Please read any stories by Ray Bradbury. It’s more science fiction than fantasy but he really has some good stories that are not explicit but still mature (in themes not material). Most of his stuff is in PDF/public domain due to use in classrooms. Some good ones to start with are “A Sound of Thunder” and “There Will Come Soft Rains” or “The Veldt.”

[u/sockonaclothesline → u/Warbleborble]

I have the same issue with most fiction. I dont care for the romantic side plot and it kills my interest in the story more often than not.

[u/nyet-marionetka → u/Warbleborble]

I wish people wouldn't downvote you for asking a question and having a preference for what you want to read. Reddit can be awful for that.

[u/Warbleborble → u/nyet-marionetka]

Yeah it is quite awful lol. Is there genuinely something I said in that specific reply though? Nothing else is getting downvoted so aggressively.

[u/regularirregulate]

no, i read almost exclusively tradpub, but i don't read the genres you're talking about either so that might have something to do with it.

[u/Arschfeder → u/regularirregulate]

What are you doing on a fanfic sub if you barely read fanfic?

[u/yeettheveil → u/Arschfeder]

authors use this sub too, not just readers.

[u/Arschfeder → u/yeettheveil]

Authors and readers shouldn't be mutually exclusive categories. You can and should read fanfiction if you plan on writing it.

[u/yeettheveil → u/Arschfeder]

i read very little fic compared to what i write because most of it just isn't what i'm looking for. hence why i write my own.

[u/Arschfeder → u/yeettheveil]

That's totally fair! Especially when it comes to longfics and AUs i feel like the only thing that matches my taste are my own. Oneshots though, these i could eat all day. Hopefully it's the other way around for some others so we can all feed each other.

[u/regularirregulate → u/Arschfeder]

i have, at periods, been an incredibly voracious fanfiction reader. i have niche interests in a smallish fandom, which i guess upsets you for some reason.

you don't need to audit my history with fanfiction.

[u/Arschfeder → u/regularirregulate]

Why should it upset me that another person has niche interests or is in a smallish fandom? I like pretty niche stuff myself. But i don't run to tradpub as a substitute. Tradpub writers are often so openly hostile towards fanfiction, choosing them over fanfic as someone claiming to like fanfic is shooting yourself in the foot. They don't want us in the writing community, so why should we give them attention?

[u/regularirregulate → u/Arschfeder]

i'm sorry you have problems with some subset of tradpub authors but that has nothing to do with me or what i'm doing.

i am not interested in sneaking into their "community." i do not care what they think about me or what i'm doing.

[u/Arschfeder → u/regularirregulate]

It's not just me though. They hate fanfiction as a whole. It's a community issue.

[u/regularirregulate → u/Arschfeder]

i don't know what to tell you. i don't care about this even a little bit.

here's what's going to happen: i'm going to keep reading mostly tradpub, i'm going to keep writing fanfiction, and you're going to have to make peace with that because there's literally nothing you can do about it. i do not know you and i do not care about your opinion on this. have a great day.

[u/Arschfeder → u/regularirregulate]

This approach doesn't work when it's an issue affecting fanfiction as a whole. As a fanfiction writer, you should care about this.

[u/anachromatic → u/Arschfeder]

no you should read good writing if you plan on writing. that can be fanfic or not. period lol

[u/Arschfeder → u/anachromatic]

If you want to get a feel for the fandom, looking into it's fics first can't hurt. Their is some fandom-specific terminology you will simply miss when only ever reading tradpub.

[u/Beesandbis]

No, not reading traditional fiction in general. But I have stopped reading books like the ones you describe that are now heavily marketed and written for YA. 

Not because I believe they are bad, but because I've grown out of a lot of the mindset in YA protagonist. That happens a lot (not just with YA) where certain stuff doesn't speak to you in your current stage of life. 

With fanfic, it can cover any genre, so it makes sense to still read that when certain other stories no longer appeal. 

I can't say if that is what's going on with you too, but it wouldn't surprise me. I stopped reading tradfic for a while before realizing I was just looking for a different kind of book then the stuff I had been enjoying before. 

[u/but-the-roses]

I did for a long while, but not I’m trying to get out of that rut and read published books. There was a great tumblr post that pointed out that fanfiction is great but it’s not challenging you and in order to work on your writing skills you need to read more challenging books. I’ve implemented a rule that I need to get at least 100 pages in before DNFing

[u/ksveins3 → u/but-the-roses]

do you happen to have a link to that post?

[u/st__jimmy24]

I think you need to read more books.

[u/According-Paper4641]

No, but I don't have tiktok so I don't read booktok books.

[u/almostanart]

Other books besides romance and romantasy and erotica exist in the world. There are millions of them, in fact.

[u/Due_Back_9062]

Romantasy, dark romance, and erotica ARE the niche genres.

Literary and other genre fiction is much more common and much of it is exponentially better written than what you'll find in fan fiction.

[u/TechTech14 → u/Due_Back_9062]

I wouldn't call romantasy niche. It's everywhere. It's been the fastest growing genre for a while now (prob bc romance in general is the biggest genre).

[u/Due_Back_9062 → u/TechTech14]

Romance isn't the biggest. Science Fiction and traditional Fantasy beat it out. Romantasy is pretty new, making it more niche than a lot of other genres.

[u/Piperita → u/Due_Back_9062]

Romance outsells every single other genre by a huge margin.

Romance has consistently ranked as the highest-grossing fiction genre in literature over the past several years—$1.44 billion in revenue for May 2022-2023—nearly twice the next bestselling genres

https://www.writersdigest.com/the-billion-dollar-genre-why-romance-writing-matters

Some years it has sold more than all of fantasy, science fiction and mystery combined. It is an absolute behemoth and one of the few genres where an author can still hope to make a living off of the writing craft alone.

[u/Due_Back_9062 → u/Piperita]

Okay, you got me. I'd still call Romantasy niche compared to other genres.

[u/TechTech14 → u/Due_Back_9062]

Romance isn't the biggest.

It definitely is and has been for a long time.

As for romantasy, it's the combination of two of the biggest genres (both romance and fantasy), so I'd never consider that niche. I honestly wish I cared for romantasy just bc they're always getting new books nowadays.

[u/Warbleborble → u/Due_Back_9062]

Sorry cuz I know this isn't the place to ask, but do you have any recommendations? I read YA and am worried about reading out of my age group because I don't want to run into the over-explicit stuff

[u/MoonCat_42 → u/Warbleborble]

some adult fiction books that don't have anything explicit in them that I've really liked are:

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency(and its sequel The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul) by Douglas Adams

[u/LightxSpeedx3 → u/Warbleborble]

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (YA, crime) (seriously try this! Don’t be put off by the crime tag)

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga (YA, crime)

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting (YA, paranormal)

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (YA, SF)

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (YA, paranormal)

This is off the top of my head—books that stuck out to me as memorable.

Edit: you can check if your local Overdrive public library carries the audiobooks too. Mine does.

Edit 2: also, check Goodreads for the top choice award contenders of each genre of each year. That’s a way to find popular books that aren’t currently trending. https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/
In the side bar, click on the previous years, then each genre, and scroll down to the other nominees.

Edit 3: added another book.

[u/Beesandbis → u/Warbleborble]

I'm not sure what you are looking for in a story, but what brought back my love for reading once I no longer enjoyed YA was Friends of Dorothy by Sandi Toksvig. 

It's a very easy read that will feel comfortable if you like the formulaic set-up, but not the formulaic execution. It deals with the idea idea of 'coming of age' but in the way it feels in your mid 20s trying to figure out life. Nothing graphic or age inappropriate. The most graphic scene has a non graphic description of a woman giving birth in a supermarket isle on the first page, but mostly focussed on one of the main characters helping her. So I think it should be fine. 

Don't get me wrong, the classics are great. I especially come back often to 1984 and the great Gatsby, but it can feel a bit daunting if you haven't read anything except fanfiction in over a year. But at the end of the days, the classics are just good stories and if you want to dive right in, please do! 

[u/Due_Back_9062 → u/Warbleborble]

How old are you? Just asking so I can try to recommend something appropriate.

[u/Warbleborble → u/Due_Back_9062]

14-16, I don't mind the really complex words and stuff as I have a pretty wide vocab and can like building my internal dictionary anyways. I just don't like the smut, tbh.

[u/black_widows_wine → u/Warbleborble]

If you are into fantasy here are some recommendations:

- Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (any of her books really. They are beautiful)

• Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat
  
• Caraval by Stephanie Garber (Once Upon a Broke Heart is great too but it is more romance based)
  
• Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker
  
• A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
  
• A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

[u/kpg_on_ao3 → u/Warbleborble]

i mean literally just read anything that wasn't written in the past fifty years; there's almost no smut in literature from before then (it exists but is soooo much rarer)

that alone is more books than you could hope to read in a lifetime

[u/Lost-Design-8382]

Idk, as a writer myself, I find it's really important for me to keep exposing myself to different types of writing. A lot of that is traditionally published work. But you just have to find the stuff you're interested in. The 2026 romance best seller you find on the shelf at Barnes & Noble is not going to be that for me, but browsing a used bookstore to find something old and interesting is a better bet.

[u/telwrynn]

No. I also don't use booktok for recommendations, so I don't really have an issue with repetitive romantasy tropes. I read the synopsis/summary just like I do with fics, read a chapter preview if that sounds good, and keep reading if I'm still interested after all that.

You aren't some cool "elitist" because you read fic and bash on trad works. Maybe that wasn't your intention but that's lowkey how this reads. There's so many genres and books out there. You just aren't taking enough time to find the ones for you. Heck, there's ao many good indie books out there right now too. Crazy how you might have to do some work to find what best suits your tastes vs grabbing whatever popular book.

[u/brachycrab → u/telwrynn]

I find a lot of posts and perspectives on this sub come off as elitist, even if it's probably not the intention. Reading fanfic vs traditionally published work, using AO3 instead of other sites, preferring gay ships to hetero, enjoying or writing dark "dead dove" themes over vanilla "normie" stories... and the list goes on

[u/LightxSpeedx3]

No.

When Twilight became a hit, the YA paranormal romance section was populated with similar stories because publishers follow market trends.

The same thing is happening in your romantasy corner. Furthermore, booktok runs on algorithms, right? You’ll be shown similar content by people who like similar things.

Go beyond your romantasy corner and you’ll find more variety.

[u/beemielle]

Did I stop in various points? Yeah, because fanfiction is convenient. When life is busy, it fills my need to read. 

Did I stop because tradpub content is bad? No, and I think this is as flawed a view as the one that all fanfiction is literarily meaningless. I read plenty of genres. Romantasy is pretty formulaic these days, but that’s just encouraged me to dive more into poetry and plays and literary fiction. 

[u/numblittlebunny]

I mean.. no because I read good books.

[u/mayonnaisejane]

No. Never. Restricting my reading to only fanfic would make my writing suffer. Read All The Things!

[u/Toakiri]

You need to read books outside of booktok, seriously. I got into danmei like over a year ago now, and have not had that problem, at least not yet. It gives me more fandoms to read fanfic of, too.

[u/lunammoon]

I love fanfiction. So don't misunderstand this as me disliking the medium. I probably read more fanfiction than publishes books.

But ☝️ I do read published books and you should also be doing that. Branch out. Got to your library and just grab something random from a shelf. If you don't like it, return it, yhe library gets money either way

[u/stitchesinadream]

I feel like this only applies to romance and erotica

[u/NicInNS]

Nah…I might read 2-3 fanfics a year (because I’m too busy writing), but I listen to over 150 books a year via my library.

I try to avoid tiktok hyped books, and romantasy isn’t my thing. I stick w/traditional smutty (and not smutty) romances, horror, mystery, thrillers…toss in some biographies and topical stuff about the world/politics to keep myself well read and knowing what’s going on in the world.

[u/KanineKodiak]

honestly you should read more horror and thriller books, at this point. published romance is absolutely full of slop (not that other genres aren't, but romance has become totally oversaturated thanks to booktok.) i recommend Annihilation if you want a really good story with brilliantly written characters and no romance aside from the MC reminiscing about her missing husband. very brief past-tense sex scene between them but that's it, and it's treated as a character moment rather than erotic. all the main characters are women and they're all layered and unique. the first book can be enjoyed on its own but there are multiple sequel books as part of the "Southern Reach" series if you want to sink your teeth into the lore.

[u/Warbleborble → u/KanineKodiak]

ooh this seems interesting. When I was younger and had more time to read, I got into the habit of avoiding horror and thriller since it gave me nightmares. I'm not that weak-minded anymore, so it's good for me to get into these genres. I'm probably going to start a reading list from the comment section of this post, I got some really good recommendations

[u/KanineKodiak → u/Warbleborble]

very glad to hear you're open to broadening your horizons! i also used to be really scared of horror, but it's now my favourite published fiction genre. Annihilation isn't really a pants-shitting horror as it is a deeply creepy and thought-provoking story with themes of being an outcast (i think the MC is implied to be on the autism spectrum and finds it hard to connect to others as a result) and nature vs. technology. if you've ever heard of or read SCP, it's a lot like that, i.e. a team of scientists trying to understand something that cannot be understood. get ready for some mind-bending descriptions of otherworldly flora and fauna!

[u/Solomon_C-19]

Nah, I continue to read traditionally published books too.

[u/koalaisabear]

I'm a bit like this. I still read mystery, epic fantasy, sci fi, historical romance but have essentially stopped reading any contemporary romance and am now writing my own hockey romance, rock star romance etc. Some of it is on ao3 and some of is published on amazon through kdp. I just can't cope with how modern romance stories are written these days.

[u/Star_Shine2123 → u/koalaisabear]

Same here. A good chunck of romantasy/dark romance/sports romance/college romance is super repetitive these days, but most of the other genres are still pretty good actually

[u/Ok-Supermarket-8994]

Nope.

[u/DisPizzza]

For a while, yes, when I went through a really bad reading slump. but I did get back into reading more regularly and I’m honestly glad I did. I did get tired of the popular booktok books tho, and started venturing out of my comfort zone more this year. Most romances I’ve been reading this year have been classics (with the occasional Shoujo manga thrown in). I’ve also been reading a lot of literary fiction, which I didn’t really notice until my Fable account showed me so. I’ve even gotten back into Greek/Roman mythology this year, which has been fun.

I love fanfiction of course, and I read almost as much of it as I do my ever growing TBR, but as a writer I try to keep a balance to better develop my own writing style and voice. 

Try venturing out of your comfort zone a bit. I don’t mind reading the occasional Emily Henry or Mhairi McFarlane, but I’d probably get bored if that’s all I ever read too (read a lot of contemporary romances in a row, and you will notice the paint by numbers formula). Maybe even try out some Shoujo manga while you’re at it. A Sign of Affection, Fruits Basket, and Yona of the Dawn are some of my personal favorites.

[u/Warbleborble → u/DisPizzza]

I do love the manga, though light novels will always be top of my heart in terms of that area of literature (not sure what it's called). Apothecary Diaries is amazing, and the AU fic I'm working on right now is inspired by it.

[u/umbre_the_secret_dog → u/Warbleborble]

If you like light novels and are a fan of engagement/marriage of convenience turning into real romance plots, True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends is really cute and Bride of the Barrier Master is quite funny. 

[u/kpg_on_ao3 → u/Warbleborble]

> not sure what it's called

young adult

light novels are targeted at teenagers

[u/DisPizzza → u/Warbleborble]

Oh I love Apothecary Diaries, I was going to rec it, but I’m not sure if it’s shoujo or not. I always like to pick up a manga whenever I feel myself heading for a reading slump. I feel like my romance is more inspired by shoujo more than anything. An Apothecary Diaries inspired au dose sound fun

[u/Warbleborble → u/DisPizzza]

I think it's likely not shoujo? given the darker themes, i mean. Gotta love the shoujo inspired romance

[u/Green_Elevator_7785]

As a writer I think it’s important to consume tradpub so that you won’t stagnate in style, but if you don’t write and only read? Fic absolutely is more targeted to my tastes, since I only want to read queer lit and horror— and recently all the horror my library has had was just women in abusive relationships 🙃

[u/Hedgiwithapen]

Nope. But I don't particularly care for romance, so i both have more limited options in fic and also have a greater variety in fiction that doesn't tend to follow the current trends. 

[u/DanyStormborn333]

I started writing original works because I was tired of all the erotic dark romances and Romantasy books I was reading. The genres have shifted because of TikTok and many books are basically the same. So I now write the “books” I want to read instead and post them for others like me.

I mostly read my fave authors new releases now. Or old books of theirs I haven’t read before. Occasionally I’ll find a gem by someone I hadn’t read before. So don’t give up hope! There are authors writing more diverse stories. You just have to find the. They’re getting buried under the viral hits.

[u/ORF1Live]

No but I read really great books of which there are many.

I love fic but I also love trad published writing

[u/HeAintHere]

No, but I generally don't read popular commercial genres anyway. The writing style that's in vogue now isn't my cuppa.

[u/silvermouth]

I've been getting really into tradpub recently - mostly older books, though, and not in the romance or fantasy genre. AO3 really does have a "house style" that writers who don't read much outside of fanfic can get bogged down by, and I've found it refreshing to sink my teeth into something new.

But it's true that for some dynamics, fanfic is just better

[u/Panacea-to-Sirens]

What trade pubs I read are very different from what I tend to read in fanfiction. Both mediums serve different purposes for me.

If you’re struggling to find books that interest you, talk to your librarians when you visit the library or the booksellers when you’re browsing a bookstore. They’re bibliophiles with a huge knowledge of books (esp. librarians) and can offer recommendations tailored to you or direct you to resources that can help.

If you search for book recommendations online, try StoryGraph. Users provide thorough reviews done to pacing, character development and themes.

Another thing I also do is browse fiction and non-fiction book award short and long-lists for my next read. Try finding lists for romance books that interest you.

Also, if you have Instagram, follow bookstagrammers — especially people who read diversely. You’ll discover books you may not usually pick up (and are not in the Top 100 popular reads) that are absolute hidden gems.

Yes, yes, this is all a little bit of work, but once you venture off solely looking at the popular titles on BookTok — and whatever else the algorithms serve up for you — I believe you will find some great books that keep you up past your bedtime.

[u/TheHushedQuill]

I'm always reading, watching, or listening to other stories.

Can't find inspiration for things new, if all I read is the same thing.

[u/agoldgold]

I read mostly fanfic for convenience and relaxation, but if I'm reading a real book, it's either nonfiction on rather gruesome topics or murder mysteries. I'd rather what I read as a book doesn't have much overlap with my fic time, honestly.

[u/Kaigani-Scout]

[u/Demonika_86]

No. I just never gave a flying duck about what is popular on social media. Because the book world is far wider than that. Broaden out, read older classics and older published works.

As a writer you need to be reading. Fiction and NON-FICTION. You need to be learning things, or ironically enough, you'll end up like those social media authors you call out. Able to write only one thing, and thinking you're all that.

I do mean it, you need to read non-fiction. Because how are you to describe / explain anything to anyone else if you don't know what it looks like, or how it works, yourself? 🍵

[u/britneys_bigtoe]

yeah. i find better gay stories in fanfic. probably converted to reading 95% fanfic over published works ... 21 years ago?

[u/lostinthemidwest19]

I read both! I read a lot of different genres and I specifically read a LOT of queer media through the Queer Liberation Library which is a ton of fun! I think reading a variety of things makes me a better writer so I read fanfic, YA, sci-fi, high fantasy, modern romance, mysteries, even some non-fiction. If what you're reading right now isn't fun then just pick up something else! You have the entirety of the human written word to choose from and humanity is a very creative place!

[u/MoonCat_42]

i read a lot of fanfic, but i also read a lot of books (mostly classic novels, but some fantasy/scifi stuff)

[u/whimsikatt]

I tend to only read fanfics for a few weeks or months nonstop, then suddenly get the urge to read only published work for a while. It's like reader's block except i just read one or the other

[u/ClimateMom]

I tend to go in phases. When I’m in the first flush of fannish enthusiasm in a large new fandom, I can easily read a million words of fanfic a month and that doesn’t leave a lot of time for tradpub books.

But when I’m in between fandoms, I circle back to read more tradpub books again, and also watch more movies/tv, partly because I’m looking for another fandom to get excited about and partly just because it’s refreshing and good for your brain to read multiple different genres and styles. It helps prevent the kind of genre burnout you seem to be experiencing with romantasy and YA right now.

[u/TraceyWoo419]

I read 90% fanfiction. I've been doing this for a long time and I have a very finely tuned radar for picking good quality writing from summaries. And I find I can more easily find quality written fanfiction than traditionally published books, which are so often formulaic and trope-ridden without any subversion or originality.

I do still read published books, and there are some good ones, but a lot of the time, I'm disappointed. Especially when looking for the depiction of non-heteronormative relationships.

I have had good luck with indie published queer romance, particularly with recs from the MM romance subReddit. r/MM_RomanceBooks

Also with fanfiction, you can choose shorter works before committing to a longer piece by the same author. (That's another point in favor of using the Kindle unlimited subscription for books: if you don't want to finish a book, you can just stop, you haven't wasted any money on it.)

[u/MinervaJB]

I stopped reading romance/romantasy some ten years ago because I was tired of spending money to read the same tropes over and over, and the writing wasn't wowing me most of the time. Fanfiction does the same thing, a lot of times better, and for free.

My reading was 80% romance, so I read a lot of fanfiction, but I still read tradpub.

[u/koreanmermaidpuke]

I read exclusively fanfiction and non-fiction. /shrug

[u/bartleby-scribe]

I feel like the act of editing for mass audience appeal (at least in romance) is what really hurts published stories. The reason I think that is I'd felt disappointed before that some stories felt rushed, werent deep enough, not enough happened to justify where the story went, things were very abrupt. And then I found a fic I really liked, she got it published, and the finished product was not the fic I had loved in the least. And this was a loosely-based RPF ofc fic, so there was breathing room already. It was shorter, rushed, lacked the depth and up down that made the original story interesting. Fan fic has less constraints. Or it can depending on the author.

Maybe try different genres? I dont look to printed media to give me a diverse romance or even a diverse story anymore, but for other stories it's probably fine.

[u/black_widows_wine]

Romance and romantasy are fun, easy reads. They are by no means groundbreaking. People are reading them because they want the formula. These books are not trying to be more than that. If you are looking for something different I would branch out. I fell into the booktok trap for awhile. I was buying all these books I saw on booktok rec lists. I was blindly buying them and was disappointed many times. I quickly realized I needed to spend more time researching the books I was buying.

Spend some time finding a niche within the genre you enjoy and read authors within that. I am really into fantasy but I don't enjoy popular romantasy books. There are tons of lovely authors who are writing beautiful books.

[u/SpencerKnight]

I think you’ve gotten good input but I’ll throw in my two cents!

I read a mix but I will say this year the fanfic/tradpub ratio leans very heavily towards fanfic compared to previous years.

Generally I just don’t enjoy most traditionally published romance (or romance adjacent >> romantasy etc) and prefer it for things like speculative fiction.

The shift in tradpub towards writing to tropes instead of to genre is a turn off for many because really you need to already have an appreciation for the character motivations for a trope to appeal, which is why it works so well in fanfic but not so well when you’re on page six of a book with characters you’ve never met before.

[u/Rein_Deilerd]

Nope, still reading published books all the time. Sure, a lot of it is for the book club I'm in, but I also know people who are published authors, and I just love reading books in general. I read classics (still have a lot to catch up on), all kinds of horror, Nobel book prize winners (that's what the book club's for), magical realism, science fiction both old and new, fantasy (currently on a Ursula Le Guin marathon, covering both science fiction and fantasy), and basically anything that falls into my hands. Though, admittedly, I don't remember the last I've read traditionally published romantasy or erotica, so maybe it's those genres specifically that are experiencing the downfall into cliche-dom right now? Which sucks, but it's a good thing fanfiction has us covered on those fronts.

Also, even though I used to be an avid reader as a kid, I admittedly have a huge-ass backlog of pretty much everything from Azimov to King, so someone who's more well-read than me could very likely see every new book as a cliche storm now, as they've already seen the best there is. Still, even if that's your case, I think would be still worth it to give tradpub one more chance! I don't think there is anything wrong with only reading fanfiction for entertainment, it's not like you are writing a literary thesis or want to become a professional book reviewer, but you might be missing out of some hidden gems! Also, checking books through trigger warning sites like doesthedogdie.com or commonsensemedia.com might help weed out those that have stuff you don't like.

[u/EmberRPs]

I mean, no not in general but almost entirely for romance. Tradpub romance is uncomfortable to bland, fanfic at least let's you filter things and makes it easier to find unique romance. Tradpub I won't read romance anymore unless it's a secondary genre, every time someone is like omg read this romance book I'm like wow what a waste of time and money.

[u/Kamzil118]

Nope

I still read published work so I can note the technical writing details and see if I can bring them into my fics.

[u/OtterlyOddityy]

I read a lot of trad books, recently more trad than fic. I am really good at picking out books for myself; I never miss!

[u/bachennoir]

Honestly don't think I read many books in my 20s because they cost money or required a trip to the library (with no car/time). Fanfic was free, accessible, and I enjoyed reading it. Plus it didn't require the same attention investment as a new work would.

So, yeah, I did basically stop reading published books for a while. I started back up a few years ago and now I'm up to like 150+ books read this year.

[u/krendyB]

For romance? Yes. Fanfic is miles better and fresher. If I never read one more love triangle between a hot-but-doesn’t-know-it 18 year old and her ancient obsessive (for…reasons?) lovers, it will be too soon.

For well-written thought-provoking works? It’s published novels for me.

[u/Runner8274]

I basiclly only read fanfic of 2 fandoms and nothing else so pretty accurate for me

[u/noodlbean]

You sound like you discovered fanfiction through the tradpub stuff you described 

[u/narcomance]

If I want to read real books, it would never be het romantasy. Ew. I'd better reading classic books or anything where romance is not the main purpose for the book.

[u/caihuali]

Books are just too expensive now and i have no easy access to a library unlike my school days 

[u/kpg_on_ao3]

Aside from the fact there are incredible writing being published in novel form these days (you're just not looking), there's so many works from the past you haven' read yet that are incredible. Mieko Kawakami is incredible, for example. Read Heaven. Or read Idol Burning by Rin Usami. Etc. These are works of contemporary fiction.

"Everything nowadays is garbage" is a bad justification for reading fic. not only is it wrong, but it tacitly ignores that your reading choices aren' limited to what's come out in the last five years.

[u/Valuable_Asparagus19]

Yeah... I don't read romantasy, dark romance or erotica in "published" form. That's what fanfic is for. A huge chunk of it is badly written money grabs, especially if you're looking somewhere like Kindle Unlimited. Haven't once checked Booktok for a recommendation...

I read normal fantasy, horror and sci-fi traditionally published books. Honestly finding ones that don't meander into iffy fan fic is harder than you'd expect now. And even the ones that don't you sometimes get surprised by an author's earlier work being clearly fan fic with the serial numbers off...

But lots of authors used to get paid to write "canon" fan fic, see the giant star wars and star trek expanded universes.

[u/Interesting_Tutor766]

In this economy? Of course 😂

[u/lunammoon → u/Interesting_Tutor766]

Get a library card. You only need to be there in person once. Bring mail. Get a library card. If you can, get library cards from the neighboring county.

Download libby.

You now have access to all the free ebooks you could want.

[u/Fast_Stage_6296 → u/lunammoon]

Not necessarily. In my country libraries aren't free😢

[u/lunammoon → u/Fast_Stage_6296]

You know what? That's on me. I did the dumb "not think about other countries existing and their differences" thing.

[u/M3tal_Shadowhunter]

I usually read traditionally published books but yeah anything romance forward, i go for fanfics. For trad pub works i go for fantasy, sci fi, lit fic, non fiction or literally anything that isn't romance heavy. Because fuck even if it's queer it so often has a delicate damsel and a big strong brooding rescuer

[u/Longjumping-Idea8552]

I still read a lot of published books but I am pretty picky with fiction. Nonfiction I branch out a lot more but that's not as comparable with fanfic.

When it comes to smut and romance (when that's the main focus) I prefer fics because I can have it more tailored to what I like and I can choose how long I want it to be with word count.

[u/caffeinequeen24601]

I don’t read booktok books and I’ve stopped reading romance entirely. Now whenever I reach for a tradpub book it’s crime or historical, and I find those are less mind numbing

[u/fragarianapus]

No, but I read very few booktok books or books that are focused on romance. I've read the first two in the Empyrean-series (decent) and India Holton's books (really enjoyable). Very few booktok books seem like something I'd like to read.

[u/loveliest316]

i did stop for about a year when i was around 15 or so but that was because i was depressed and really only had energy to doomscroll on my phone all day. i quickly went back to traditional books (alongside fanfic!) when my mental health started getting better and i started to find what i liked (it was a weird taste transition period too). turns out  that oddly enough, despite the usual types of fanfic i like to read being romantic (and loving romcom movies), i just don’t particularly care for romance books too much! it’s like i prefer horror and sci-fi (my favorite movie & show genres) and get my romance fix from fanfic? i do read a romance book every so often though (i’ve read 16 books this year so far and only two were entirely romance, maybe 2.5 if we count one that was a drama with a strong romance plot? others had romantic subplots but it wasn’t the focus).

maybe you need to try books similar to whatever genre of movies or shows you consume, but not necessarily similar to the fanfic you like? that’s what works for me somehow lol! shoutout searching up “books like (insert current media i’m obsessed with)” every time i need something to read…while ignoring my long tbr… 

edit to add: if you can (i know it’s available in several countries), i really, really recommend getting a library card and using libby (i assume if you read fanfic, you’re probably chill with ebooks to an extent lol). you can filter with genre and age range (i saw you specify that you prefer to read YA books and that is an option to search with!), and as a picky reader, i like that i can easily return a book if i’m not feeling it!! plus you’re also supporting your library :D

[u/im-gwen-stacy]

I did in my early twenties, but I got back into reading trad published work within the last 5ish years or so.

I typically will read whatever I currently have from the library during the day, and then I’ll read fic at night before going to bed.

It’s a system that’s worked out really well for me! I read so many more genres now than I did before

[u/mauvaisang]

Not the point, but it’s very funny that my “booktok” consists of people reading like Stephen Zweig, Clarice Lispector and obviously John Williams’s Stoner

[u/Sensitive_Reserve_96]

Yep.

[u/Agamar13]

Well, I read MM exclusively. I started reading it about 25 years ago when M/M romance genre practically didn't exist so the bulk of my reading was fanfiction with occasional fantasy or sci-fi thrown in. Throught the fanfiction journey I encountered original online slash, which I read eagerly and when the genre exploded, I started to published novels too. But the tendency to be obsessed with a fandom never went away so fanfiction still remains the the bulk of my reading. When I'm between obsessions I go back to published novels. I can usually find something good to read, but I'm not too stuck on genre, I'll read danmei, fantasy, contemporary, dark, darkish and not- dark at all. There's such a backlog of slightly older books that there's plenty to choose from. However, my between-fandoms phases don't happen that often and are not very long, so I never get the chance to go through all of my reading list.

[u/Preix_131]

Not really for me, no

[u/Absofruity]

What Ive noticed is that I read fanfics for romance, the plot is the little bonus that makes me happy (but usually the plot is enough). For actual published books, romance as a genre is hard to get into, bc you dont know these characters, you don't have an inkling on who they are, so if the tags or dynamic don't mesh, well, that's an DNF waiting to happen.

I prefer alot of horrors and thrillers and mystery. Even the kid books with adventures and fantasy (I tend to prefer those than the adult versions bc idk, feels more whimsy and the characters are alot more over the top which is entertaining)

[u/errant_night]

I did for a long time, buy recently started reading books that fic author friends have gotten into because I feel like I can trust their judgements because they know what I like/hate. I'm super into Heaven official's blessing now!

[u/Away-Investigator602]

Are you talking about the isekai or villainess genres, anyway if you want recommendations trash of the count's family is my favorite (tho the first 40 chapters are very very boring but there's a reason for that for spoiler reasons the story really needed a boring start) some of my other favs are Pandora hearts and d gray man 

[u/Simple-Animator-8640]

I have. I can't read books. I just can't. My brain can't cooperate.

[u/Clairifyed]

Not by choice exactly, but fanfics of seem frustratingly better at exploring the trans experience than published works 🤷‍♀️

[u/Subject-Gur6957]

I go through periods where I switch between fanfic and normal books. NGL western het romance feels very hollow to me, so I've been branching out.

[u/warlockmel]

In my case the only romance books I read are acrually fanfic. Actual published books my taste changed a lot so I cant enjoy YA anymore or anything like that. I now read a lot of non fiction, but recently tried with a japanese author trying to get myself into reading something that I think I could enjoy since I love asia content in general. So maybe try to venture out of that genre + find a topic that might interest you outside of it. It's hard but with some pages in if you like it you'll likely finish it easier.

[u/LadyoftheFaeFolk]

I think you need to start broadening your horizons friend. I still read vastly more published books than fanfic.

[u/deadlevia]

You could try reading books for adults instead

[u/viridianvenus]

I stopped reading published books about 20 years ago because of the abundance and convenience of fanfic. I'm starting to try to read books again. So far I've read Project Hail Mary and the entire Dungeon Crawler Carl series.

[u/plaper]

I sort of stopped reading trad. published books, yeah, but it isn't because I got bored of them. I know how to find stuff I'd like, but I'm gravitating towards fanfiction for comfort and to be certain I'll find tropes I'm looking for, to prop up my mental health, I guess.

My kindle is full of books, but they're in the wait-list purgatory.

(Last traditional books I read were in the full Witcher series)

[u/LittleMissSugar126]

I just find it extremely difficult to find any mainstream books that can hold my interest like fanfics I find on AO3. I think that’s largely in part because I read mostly dark romance and traditional books have too much censorship.

[u/SereneConsumption]

Honestly think I might die if I ever had to read fanfic over published work lol

[u/TechTech14]

Nope. My writing would suffer.

[u/Erza88]

No.

Fanfic writers are just not as good as professional writers so there's no way I'm gonna stop reading professionally published works.

That being said, I am very particular with the genres I read and I think that's important. And the cliches you talk about are present in fics too. They are tropes for a reason.

And this is coming from a fellow fic writer and reader.

[u/JustWowinCA]

Yep.

[u/fanfic_devourer27]

I haven't read a new book in over six years. When my internet is out, I reread books I already own. But otherwise, I've only been reading fanfic for many years.

[u/highgroundservitude]

Holy shit please try reading real books, not whatever romantasy garbage tiktok is trying to sell you

[u/SatisfactionEven508]

Romance and smut dont interest me outside of my fandom, so only fics do it for me. For other genres I still read books, like song of ice and fire for example. In this case, I don't think I want to read fics about that.

[u/Mortifer]

In my personal reading, I would still say the average formally published work is higher quality than the average fanfic. However, I've definitely noticed a downgrade in average published quality since the rise of Amazon.

Regardless, I have continued to accumulate kindle books while hardly ever reading anything but Ao3 works. I've got thousands of kindle books I haven't read, but I feel angst whenever I take a break from Ao3 to read anything else. I always imagine coming back to Ao3 to find someone has given up because I would have been that lucky first person to find their work and commented, but I was busy reading an established author.

[u/sockonaclothesline]

I still read some non fiction but otherwise have stopped reading fiction books.

Fanfic is cheaper and often better written 🤷‍♀️

[u/RawbonedHound]

I sometimes imagine my blorbos starring in adaptations of novels instead of the real characters. Ask me about my Locked Tomb edition of Jeff Vendermeer’s Annihilation

[u/RawbonedHound → u/RawbonedHound]

Imagine Jane Eyre but it’s Raven from teen titans and John Constantine

[u/highlord_alundi → u/RawbonedHound]

[jason momoa snapping a camp chair out and sitting down dot gif]

[u/Panzermensch911 → u/highlord_alundi]