Fic Reading Habits

[paraka]

So, I've been talking in a couple places to paradise_city about fanfic, and our preferences.
The thing is, I'm not really comfortable talking about which fics I like, and which ones I don't. To some extent, I don't like leaving *comments* to fics, because then people will *know* I read it. It doesn't matter if it's the fandoms latest *hit* that already has 8 pages of comments, or if I'm the first to leave a comment (and it's been up for a month) it makes me nervous. I have to be in a very specific mood, or be affected by a fic in a very specific way before I leave a comment. And yes, I feel shame over this. Especially considering how much of a feedback whore I am.

But it comes down to not feeling comfortable having people know what fics I read; what type I enjoy. Because sometimes? The fandom's latest hit just doesn't impress me, or one that I just couldn't stop reading? I know other people would mock. Also, I read a lot of kink fic, and I'm kind of freaked out about what those fics reveal about me.

It also feels weird to admit that I hardly read any fics with ratings less than NC-17. When you say things like that, it sounds like you're just there for the sex, and really, most of the time I'm *not.* I skim sex scenes a lot, and hardly ever read PWPs, but won't read a longer one that doesn't have a high rating. I was talking on a com about this (ok, it was a com about how author's rate their fic, and how there's no reason for us to under rate it, but this came up), and someone said that they do that too, because it generally guarantees that the main couple get together (even if it's only temporary), and sex often conveys a level of intimacy that she's searching for. I think that's sort of it for me. I want for there to be a certain lever of intimacy in my fics (and I like my subtext textual, so I look for ones with sex).

Anyways, wandering off topic here, but I wanted to ask:
How comfortable are you with sharing your reading habits?
Are there any fics out there that you like/dislike, but are hesitant to admit it?

I always have anon comments available on my LJ, so feel free to use it, but I'm really interested in hearing people's responses to these questions. :)

Comments

[keewick.livejournal.com]

How comfortable are you with sharing your reading habits? Are there any fics out there that you like/dislike, but are hesitant to admit it?

Somewhat comfortable. I don't comment as much as I should in response to fic I like, but that has more to do with general laziness on my part than wanting to hide my fic taste from others. Like anoel said above, I tend to think that the only people who'd read my feedback and therefore know that I liked such and such a fic would be those that shared my appreciation of it so that's not something I really worry about.

But yeah, there are a lot of "classics" by BNFs in my various fandoms I would never admit to disliking 'cause I don't want to piss people off.

Rec'ing fic on the other hand is trickier. To be fair, I rarely rec fic on my lj, but when I do, it's always stuff I think is amazing, objectively speaking, never the crack!fic that I so enjoy.

I also shy away from lower rated fic and balk at gen-centric fic. Ironically enough, I don't really care for sex scenes that aren't preceded by a lot of PG type stuff beforehand because it's the build-up I love. I'm a sucker for first time fic, and always feel cheated if somehow the characters are already aware of their feelings for each other or fall into each other's arms by the second page.

Meanwhile, it took me forever to try the Retrograde Series in SGA fandom because I knew it was gen for like the first five books and that when the slash finally cropped up it'd be in the form of Rodney/John/Teyla which isn't really my cup o' tea. But when I buckled down and forced myself to give it a go, I totally fell in love with it. Same with that HP Sacrifices Series I told you about before wherein there's 3 and 1/2 massive books before the slash enters into it, and I was so sure that the AU premise and the fact that it'd take so long for the H/D stuff to start up would put me off, but in the end, it wound up being my very favorite fic series to date. So yeah, I'm inconsistent to the max.

[paraka]

I don't comment as much as I should in response to fic I like, but that has more to do with general laziness on my part than wanting to hide my fic taste from others.
I know it didn't come off as such in my post, but the main reason I don't comment more is from pure laziness. The hiding fic habits is just a sort of side thing that only comes up once in a while with less than mainstream fic that I might read.

But yeah, there are a lot of "classics" by BNFs in my various fandoms I would never admit to disliking 'cause I don't want to piss people off.
Yeah, there are some fics that some people going on about being *soo* good, or really *deep* or what have you, that I read, and just go meh to. The most recent for me is Written by the Victors, people seemed to be going *crazy* about that fic, there were vids and art and fanfic made for it, but when I finally got to the fic... I didn't hate it or anything, but it didn't feel special to me either.

Rec'ing fic on the other hand is trickier. To be fair, I rarely rec fic on my lj, but when I do, it's always stuff I think is amazing, objectively speaking, never the crack!fic that I so enjoy.
See, I would so be behind people rec'ing more crack fic. Like, I love how eleveninches seems to always be rec'ing crack fic. I think the last one she linked to publicly was one where everyone was *Turkeys*. That's just awesome.

I also shy away from lower rated fic and balk at gen-centric fic. Ironically enough, I don't really care for sex scenes that aren't preceded by a lot of PG type stuff beforehand because it's the build-up I love.
Yes! Exactly! That's exactly what I'm like.

I'm a sucker for first time fic, and always feel cheated if somehow the characters are already aware of their feelings for each other or fall into each other's arms by the second page.
Yeah most of the pre-established fics that I read tend to be short, and just they guys having fun. Although I can think of a few that I love that aren't like that....

Meanwhile, it took me forever to try the Retrograde Series in SGA fandom because I knew it was gen for like the first five books and that when the slash finally cropped up it'd be in the form of Rodney/John/Teyla which isn't really my cup o' tea.
OMG, I don't know if I could read that. I do love the build up, but if there aren't strong hints and aborted actions along the way it would drive me *crazy*.
But then again, I spent a large part of my teenage years reading romance novels, so that kind of courtship is often what I'm looking for in fic.

So yeah, I'm inconsistent to the max.
You know, I thought I as too, but the more I respond to comments in this thread, the more I realize that I do actually have a pretty clear idea of what it is I like to read. I just had never really stopped to think about it before.

[keewick.livejournal.com]

I think the last one she linked to publicly was one where everyone was *Turkeys*. That's just awesome.

I LOVED THAT FIC! It was even more amazing than my heretofore favorite penguin!McShep fics. :D

[paraka]

I'm going to have to move it up on my To-Read list.
The premise alone sounded pretty awesome.