forum Tell me about what you like to read and why.

Started August 19, 2020 by @Aizawa-Sensei group

tune

Tell me about yourself and your reading preferences; I'm curious to see if there's a pattern or not.

Note: if you feel uncomfortable sharing any of the questions below, feel free to leave them blank. I'm just so I can gouge readers' preferences, aside from my own. I don't want anyone to feel pressured or anything! I'll answer the questions, too.

Age: (Does NOT have to be exact; you can do a vague thing, like saying that you are 14-17 or 18-23 or something if you're not comfortable with sharing the exact)
Your Gender: (Please specify whether you are trans or cis, but this isn't necessary either if it makes you uncomfortable)
What's your favorite genre(s)?
In addition to the genre(s) above, what elements do you really enjoy to find in a story?
What POV do you prefer reading most? (First, or third?)
What tropes or cliches are you fond of, if they're done correctly?
Which tropes or cliches do you hate most, regardless of how they are handled?
Do you prefer reading about male or female protagonists?
Do you prefer stories with one POV character, or multiple?

Age: I am currently 18 years old.
Your Gender: I'm female. Always have been and, unfortunately, always will be.
What's your favorite genre(s)? Oh, boy. I love a lot of genres. Basically everything, but my #1 would be Science Fiction combined with Crime, Superhero Fantasy, and/or Dystopian. I'm also fond of apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic themes. I love dark stories.
In addition to the genre(s) above, what elements do you really enjoy to find in a story? Romance if it's done right, very dark themes (but not explicit content), adventure, etc. I guess it depends on how specific I want to answer, but for now I'm keeping it general. I like a lot of description about world-building and such.
What POV do you prefer reading most? It varies. Some first-person stories I read feel weak, but others are amazing.
What tropes or cliches are you fond of, if they're done correctly? If it's done right, every trope is a good trope. I mean, come on; every story has already been told in some way or another. But each person tells it differently, so as long as it's got a unique twist on it, it's not as cliche.
Which tropes or cliches do you hate most, regardless of how they are handled? Uh, I hate villains that you can't sympathize with or understand. Like pure-evil villains. That in itself is something handled poorly, but it's enough to ruin a story. The plot can be epic, the protagonist lovable, but if the villain is nothing but bad, it seems disappointing at best.
Do you prefer reading about male or female protagonists? Male.
Do you prefer stories with one POV character, or multiple? Uhh, varies. It's gotta be done right if you have more than one, but I don't think it's ever a good idea to try doing more than maybe two or three. Four should be the max. Anything more than this would likely tire me.

Age: 16
Your Gender: Cis female possibly nonbinary, feelings are hard lol
What's your favorite genre(s): Ooh, good question. Off the top of my head, I love historical fantasy, SFF (specifically queer SFF), hard-hitting contemporaries, and classics. I'll read anything besides straight-up erotica though.
In addition to the genre(s) above, what elements do you really enjoy to find in a story?: Flawed yet likable characters. I'm a very character-driven reader, and so if I don't like the characters, I'm less interested in the story. I also like banter, unique magic system, unconventional formatting, and diverse casts.
What POV do you prefer reading most?: It really depends. For SFF, I usually prefer third person, but for anything else, first is good. If there's multiple perspective shifts, I almost always prefer third.
What tropes or cliches are you fond of, if they're done correctly?: I love characters that seem like they don't care but really do (bonus points if they're a con artist or a thief), and just flawed, messy characters in general. And I'm a sucker for a good Rousing Speech^TM but that might be my love for Henry V talking.
Which tropes or cliches do you hate most, regardless of how they are handled?: I really hate resurrection in books. It lowers the stakes, since if Character X can be brought back, why should I be scared of Character Y dying? and it feels like a cop-out.
Do you prefer reading about male or female protagonists?: Female
Do you prefer stories with one POV character, or multiple?: Depends on the story and on how well it's handled.

Age: 17 in 6 days and boy I cannot wait
Your Gender: Cis female (though I guess I could appear slightly androgynous depending on what I wear)
What's your favorite genre(s)? I really, really like fantasy.
In addition to the genre(s) above, what elements do you really enjoy to find in a story? Um…I don't know, really. There's lots of books that I read that have nothing in common with other ones apart from the genre. If I like a book, I like it, I guess.
What POV do you prefer reading most? Normally third, but I enjoy first if it is done right.
What tropes or cliches are you fond of, if they're done correctly? Lowkey really like poly, if it's done right. It can just be super sweet to see people like that interact. A comic I read on Tapas.io, Dragon Husbands (it's mature), is poly and it's so adorable.
Which tropes or cliches do you hate most, regardless of how they are handled? I kinda hate love triangles? I just don't see the point. Especially because people will always want their fave person to end up with the main person (like Edward&Jacob over Bella or Adrien&Luka over Marinette (sorta) or even Marinette&Kagami over Adrien).
Do you prefer reading about male or female protagonists? Female.
Do you prefer stories with one POV character, or multiple? If it's done right, it can be multiple. One of my fave books, All Our Yesterdays, flicks between POVs (though technically they are the same person, long story). If it's done wrong, I probably wouldn't keep reading.

Age: 16
Your Gender: Cis female possibly nonbinary, feelings are hard lol
What's your favorite genre(s): Ooh, good question. Off the top of my head, I love historical fantasy, SFF (specifically queer SFF), hard-hitting contemporaries, and classics. I'll read anything besides straight-up erotica though.
In addition to the genre(s) above, what elements do you really enjoy to find in a story?: Flawed yet likable characters. I'm a very character-driven reader, and so if I don't like the characters, I'm less interested in the story. I also like banter, unique magic system, unconventional formatting, and diverse casts.
What POV do you prefer reading most?: It really depends. For SFF, I usually prefer third person, but for anything else, first is good. If there's multiple perspective shifts, I almost always prefer third.
What tropes or cliches are you fond of, if they're done correctly?: I love characters that seem like they don't care but really do (bonus points if they're a con artist or a thief), and just flawed, messy characters in general. And I'm a sucker for a good Rousing Speech^TM but that might be my love for Henry V talking.
Which tropes or cliches do you hate most, regardless of how they are handled?: I really hate resurrection in books. It lowers the stakes, since if Character X can be brought back, why should I be scared of Character Y dying? and it feels like a cop-out.
Do you prefer reading about male or female protagonists?: Female
Do you prefer stories with one POV character, or multiple?: Depends on the story and on how well it's handled.

I relate to the nonbinary thing but I'm just gonna keep saying I'm female because… I mean technically I am, even if I'm not happy about it.
But, thank you for your input! I forgot all about resurrection. I hate when they do that in fiction. Comics seem to be especially bad for that (I'm looking at you, Marvel).
Also, flawed-but-likable characters are always the best. It's almost impossible to follow a story with characters that aren't intriguing.

Age: 17 in 6 days and boy I cannot wait
Your Gender: Cis female (though I guess I could appear slightly androgynous depending on what I wear)
What's your favorite genre(s)? I really, really like fantasy.
In addition to the genre(s) above, what elements do you really enjoy to find in a story? Um…I don't know, really. There's lots of books that I read that have nothing in common with other ones apart from the genre. If I like a book, I like it, I guess.
What POV do you prefer reading most? Normally third, but I enjoy first if it is done right.
What tropes or cliches are you fond of, if they're done correctly? Lowkey really like poly, if it's done right. It can just be super sweet to see people like that interact. A comic I read on Tapas.io, Dragon Husbands (it's mature), is poly and it's so adorable.
Which tropes or cliches do you hate most, regardless of how they are handled? I kinda hate love triangles? I just don't see the point. Especially because people will always want their fave person to end up with the main person (like Edward&Jacob over Bella or Adrien&Luka over Marinette (sorta) or even Marinette&Kagami over Adrien).
Do you prefer reading about male or female protagonists? Female.
Do you prefer stories with one POV character, or multiple? If it's done right, it can be multiple. One of my fave books, All Our Yesterdays, flicks between POVs (though technically they are the same person, long story). If it's done wrong, I probably wouldn't keep reading.

Yea, love triangles are kinda dumb, and most of the time the reader knows who they're gonna end up with. I like it when there are multiple ship options for each character, but not when it's done in love-triangle form.
Happy early birthday, by the way!! I hope it's the best. :3

Age: 16
Your Gender: Cis female possibly nonbinary, feelings are hard lol
What's your favorite genre(s): Ooh, good question. Off the top of my head, I love historical fantasy, SFF (specifically queer SFF), hard-hitting contemporaries, and classics. I'll read anything besides straight-up erotica though.
In addition to the genre(s) above, what elements do you really enjoy to find in a story?: Flawed yet likable characters. I'm a very character-driven reader, and so if I don't like the characters, I'm less interested in the story. I also like banter, unique magic system, unconventional formatting, and diverse casts.
What POV do you prefer reading most?: It really depends. For SFF, I usually prefer third person, but for anything else, first is good. If there's multiple perspective shifts, I almost always prefer third.
What tropes or cliches are you fond of, if they're done correctly?: I love characters that seem like they don't care but really do (bonus points if they're a con artist or a thief), and just flawed, messy characters in general. And I'm a sucker for a good Rousing Speech^TM but that might be my love for Henry V talking.
Which tropes or cliches do you hate most, regardless of how they are handled?: I really hate resurrection in books. It lowers the stakes, since if Character X can be brought back, why should I be scared of Character Y dying? and it feels like a cop-out.
Do you prefer reading about male or female protagonists?: Female
Do you prefer stories with one POV character, or multiple?: Depends on the story and on how well it's handled.

I relate to the nonbinary thing but I'm just gonna keep saying I'm female because… I mean technically I am, even if I'm not happy about it.
But, thank you for your input! I forgot all about resurrection. I hate when they do that in fiction. Comics seem to be especially bad for that (I'm looking at you, Marvel).
Also, flawed-but-likable characters are always the best. It's almost impossible to follow a story with characters that aren't intriguing.

Especially when a character is resurrected, but another is killed off for good, double especially if that death happens after the first is resurrected. Notable caveat is if the resurrection is done by the character who permanently dies like…giving their spirit to save the other or something.
Yes thank you! I adore messy characters with my entire shriveled-up heart lol

Age: 17 in 6 days and boy I cannot wait
Your Gender: Cis female (though I guess I could appear slightly androgynous depending on what I wear)
What's your favorite genre(s)? I really, really like fantasy.
In addition to the genre(s) above, what elements do you really enjoy to find in a story? Um…I don't know, really. There's lots of books that I read that have nothing in common with other ones apart from the genre. If I like a book, I like it, I guess.
What POV do you prefer reading most? Normally third, but I enjoy first if it is done right.
What tropes or cliches are you fond of, if they're done correctly? Lowkey really like poly, if it's done right. It can just be super sweet to see people like that interact. A comic I read on Tapas.io, Dragon Husbands (it's mature), is poly and it's so adorable.
Which tropes or cliches do you hate most, regardless of how they are handled? I kinda hate love triangles? I just don't see the point. Especially because people will always want their fave person to end up with the main person (like Edward&Jacob over Bella or Adrien&Luka over Marinette (sorta) or even Marinette&Kagami over Adrien).
Do you prefer reading about male or female protagonists? Female.
Do you prefer stories with one POV character, or multiple? If it's done right, it can be multiple. One of my fave books, All Our Yesterdays, flicks between POVs (though technically they are the same person, long story). If it's done wrong, I probably wouldn't keep reading.

Yea, love triangles are kinda dumb, and most of the time the reader knows who they're gonna end up with. I like it when there are multiple ship options for each character, but not when it's done in love-triangle form.
Happy early birthday, by the way!! I hope it's the best. :3

Love triangles only interest me when both sides are evenly matched. It sucks how love triangles in YA are usually so obvious about who the endgame will be, they're only intriguing when I can genuinely see the MC with either of them. And I loathe the trope where a couple is steady and solid throughout the book, but at the end there's suddenly a new love interest tossed in solely for ~drama~ and to pad out the next book.

Age: 17 in 6 days and boy I cannot wait
Your Gender: Cis female (though I guess I could appear slightly androgynous depending on what I wear)
What's your favorite genre(s)? I really, really like fantasy.
In addition to the genre(s) above, what elements do you really enjoy to find in a story? Um…I don't know, really. There's lots of books that I read that have nothing in common with other ones apart from the genre. If I like a book, I like it, I guess.
What POV do you prefer reading most? Normally third, but I enjoy first if it is done right.
What tropes or cliches are you fond of, if they're done correctly? Lowkey really like poly, if it's done right. It can just be super sweet to see people like that interact. A comic I read on Tapas.io, Dragon Husbands (it's mature), is poly and it's so adorable.
Which tropes or cliches do you hate most, regardless of how they are handled? I kinda hate love triangles? I just don't see the point. Especially because people will always want their fave person to end up with the main person (like Edward&Jacob over Bella or Adrien&Luka over Marinette (sorta) or even Marinette&Kagami over Adrien).
Do you prefer reading about male or female protagonists? Female.
Do you prefer stories with one POV character, or multiple? If it's done right, it can be multiple. One of my fave books, All Our Yesterdays, flicks between POVs (though technically they are the same person, long story). If it's done wrong, I probably wouldn't keep reading.

Yea, love triangles are kinda dumb, and most of the time the reader knows who they're gonna end up with. I like it when there are multiple ship options for each character, but not when it's done in love-triangle form.
Happy early birthday, by the way!! I hope it's the best. :3

Love triangles only interest me when both sides are evenly matched. It sucks how love triangles in YA are usually so obvious about who the endgame will be, they're only intriguing when I can genuinely see the MC with either of them. And I loathe the trope where a couple is steady and solid throughout the book, but at the end there's suddenly a new love interest tossed in solely for ~drama~ and to pad out the next book.

That's a really valid and solid point, with which I thoroughly agree.

Age: 18+
Your Gender: I've ascended beyond gender….(fluid/non-binary/eldritch being)
What's your favorite genre(s)? FANTASY and science fiction, especially if they're merged together in some way. I love a good high fantasy with technology (not modern…not a huge fan of urban fantasy but sometimes) Mystery can be good too although it's rare I read a mystery novel. Same with horror. I used to a lot when I was younger
In addition to the genre(s) above, what elements do you really enjoy to find in a story? Grim-dark. I love a story that makes me feel dead inside. Adventure and rich world-building is an absolute weakness. If the book has a map and an interesting world I'll probably forgive it for a bad plot and characters. High fantasy, magic, unique races/cultures and creatures
What POV do you prefer reading most? Because I mostly read and write in third person, it's what I prefer. In particular, third person limited because it's a lot more immersive. But I won't hate a book written in other POVs (except for second person)
What tropes or cliches are you fond of, if they're done correctly? I couldn't pin-point one in particular. If a trope I recognise is turned on its head or done really well I'll love it.
Which tropes or cliches do you hate most, regardless of how they are handled? Most dodgy romance tropes like romantisizing questionable behaviour, owning other people, that sort of thing.
Do you prefer reading about male or female protagonists? No preference although I find that a lot of people, for some reason, make female protagonists really odd. But, of course, there's no shortage of bad male protagonists either. Wouldn't it be cool if there was a non-binary protagonist? You can't get that wrong surely.
Do you prefer stories with one POV character, or multiple? Depends on the story. If it's a big, complex plot more characters to carry it is often helpful but I find that sometimes POV characters can be really dull and unnecessary in comparison to say the main protagonist. If it's one POV character, I don't want one random chapter where it changes POV. So…consistency is good also.

A big turnoff for me is when a book has multiple first-person POVs but they all sound the exact same. Especially when you've got, like, a noble, a peasant, a thief, and a priest or something like that. There's no way that all four of them think and speak in the exact same way.

A big turnoff for me is when a book has multiple first-person POVs but they all sound the exact same. Especially when you've got, like, a noble, a peasant, a thief, and a priest or something like that. There's no way that all four of them think and speak in the exact same way.

Yes! Character voice is so important in multi-POVs

Age: 18+
Your Gender: I've ascended beyond gender….(fluid/non-binary/eldritch being)
What's your favorite genre(s)? FANTASY and science fiction, especially if they're merged together in some way. I love a good high fantasy with technology (not modern…not a huge fan of urban fantasy but sometimes) Mystery can be good too although it's rare I read a mystery novel. Same with horror. I used to a lot when I was younger
In addition to the genre(s) above, what elements do you really enjoy to find in a story? Grim-dark. I love a story that makes me feel dead inside. Adventure and rich world-building is an absolute weakness. If the book has a map and an interesting world I'll probably forgive it for a bad plot and characters. High fantasy, magic, unique races/cultures and creatures
What POV do you prefer reading most? Because I mostly read and write in third person, it's what I prefer. In particular, third person limited because it's a lot more immersive. But I won't hate a book written in other POVs (except for second person)
What tropes or cliches are you fond of, if they're done correctly? I couldn't pin-point one in particular. If a trope I recognise is turned on its head or done really well I'll love it.
Which tropes or cliches do you hate most, regardless of how they are handled? Most dodgy romance tropes like romantisizing questionable behaviour, owning other people, that sort of thing.
Do you prefer reading about male or female protagonists? No preference although I find that a lot of people, for some reason, make female protagonists really odd. But, of course, there's no shortage of bad male protagonists either. Wouldn't it be cool if there was a non-binary protagonist? You can't get that wrong surely.
Do you prefer stories with one POV character, or multiple? Depends on the story. If it's a big, complex plot more characters to carry it is often helpful but I find that sometimes POV characters can be really dull and unnecessary in comparison to say the main protagonist. If it's one POV character, I don't want one random chapter where it changes POV. So…consistency is good also.

I agree to the fact that female protagonist do strike me as being weird in a lot of scenarios. Like… in most of the books I've ever read with a female protagonist, I find it nearly impossible to empathize with her or care about her, and I'm not sure what the deal is. That happens with male protagonists too, but I see it happen more with female protagonists… and usually by female authors, too. I don't really know what causes this, but it irks me sometimes, because I would love to read a story with a better female protagonist to root for.

A big turnoff for me is when a book has multiple first-person POVs but they all sound the exact same. Especially when you've got, like, a noble, a peasant, a thief, and a priest or something like that. There's no way that all four of them think and speak in the exact same way.

Yes! Character voice is so important in multi-POVs

It's so bland when all of the characters have the same voice. Even in single POVs, I don't like it when all or most of the characters have no variation in speech patterns or behavior; like they all are kind of just… generic and similar.

Age: 10-18
Your Gender: Female(unfortunately)
What's your favorite genre(s)?: Romance, and apocalyptic(Preferably both smashed into one)
In addition to the genre(s) above, what elements do you really enjoy to find in a story? Dark, anything dark.
What POV do you prefer reading most? (First, or third?) First
What tropes or cliches are you fond of, if they're done correctly?Tbh I don't know
Which tropes or cliches do you hate most, regardless of how they are handled? Objectify people.
Do you prefer reading about male or female protagonists? Male, but almost everything I read has a female.
Do you prefer stories with one POV character, or multiple? Depends, if a romance multiple, but if an apocalyptic or just generally dark multiple

Age: 16-17
Your Gender: Cis Female

What's your favorite genre(s)?
Shoujo, Psychological Horror, BL, Romance, Slice of Life, Drama

In addition to the genre(s) above, what elements do you really enjoy to find in a story?
Something that makes me think/messes with my head, Symbolism, Complex drama, Deconstructions

What POV do you prefer reading the most? (First, or third?)
First

What tropes or cliches are you fond of, if they're done correctly?

Shrinking Violet- Being shy and introverted myself I can relate to being a stuttering blushing mess when social interaction is included, bonus points if they're really competent in other areas

Love Triangles- I know this a hated trope and I get but I kind of love it when they kind have a different meaning that hot good boy vs hot bad boy instead represent two different choices like Freedom vs Safety, Progress vs Preservation, Safety vs Hope, that type of stuff

Girly Bruiser/Agent Peacock/Badass Adorable
I like a character who looks like they would be weak, feminine, and defenseless only to be a total badass, like can I have a character that can bake me a cake and be able to break my arm

Sibling Rivalry/Cain and Abel
Idk why I like this trope but I find it interesting about sibling rivalries, like it sometimes gives a lot of depth in family dynamics like what if the parents were putting against each other, even unintentionally,

Yandere
I know this a controversial trope and for good reason but I kind of find it interesting when one of the so-called purest emotion, love being the one thing that corrupts someone will the yandere try to work through and resist their urges? Will they give in? How will their relationship with their love interest work? What about their rivals? Or other people? Why are they like this?
I typically prefer Heroic/Protective/Romantic Yanderes

Tragic Past
I know this is a bit cliche but I love seeing how tragic past can affect the character in the present and learning to manage their trauma

Which tropes or cliches do you hate most, regardless of how they are handled?

Abusive Love Interests
I could write an entire book on how much I hate this trope. First I don't care that they're fictional characters if the only way you can make an interesting romance you need to relearn what romance actually is. Honestly, it's usually the same shit
Hot boy is an abusive asswipe because his dad took his Xbox and his teddy bear screwed his gf or Hot girl hates men bc her dad left her and now she's an ultra-violent tsundere (and that's if the female character has a reason)
Look I can get the appeal of dark, broken characters but can you not fetishize literal abuse when you do it, I get it that a tragic past can fuck someone up and cause them to develop negative traits but hurting and violating other person is a choice and last time I checked Gina but your dad didn't make you hit your boyfriend, you did that. Portraying abuse is fine but it should be handled with care and treated as what it is, abuse

Slut Love Rival
Seriously why does any female character who gets in the way of MC and her man-candy is automatically portrayed as an annoying skank whose only reason for existing is ruining the MC's life for showing an interest in the LI, My main problem which this trope outside of blatant slut-shaming and misogyny, It's usually a lazy and annoying way to add conflict and to villainize someone. It's even more annoying when the MC steals the love rivals man. LIKE HOW IS THE LOVE RIVAL THE BAD ONE IN THE SITUTATION, LIKE IF SOME ANNOYING NLOG STOLE MY MAN I'D BE PISSY TOO

TLDR; If you're going to write a love rival give them a personality outside of "STEAL MC'S MAN"

Annoying Pervert Best Friend
This mainly a harem thing but can we please make the pervert bromantic foil against the law, first it feels like their exact same character, second, half of them are creeps who usually make unwarranted remarks towards the female cast which is supposed to be funny which is just gross

NLOG MC
MCs like this is why I cringe every time I hear the word "feisty" or "sassy", I have no problem with bold, stoic and tomboyish heroines but can we have one without either every other girl being weak, stupid, shallow, slutty, and mean and they usually end being completely useless in the end and saved by a man, so you're telling me you spend all this trying to be better than all the other bimbos only to become a damsel in distress, the moment tall, dark and brooding walks in your life, at this point I just want the doormat heroine back, at least she's honest about being useless

Lewding the loli/shota
Need I say more

Do you prefer reading about male or female protagonists?
Female, though I do read some books with male MCs

Do you prefer stories with one POV character or multiple? I'm down for either