Your top 3 favorite and least favorite fiction genres and why?

Stephen King might just be the classic case of a writer who's got ten really good books in him but writes a hundred books. Infuriating. Oh, well. He has fans who buy and read everything he writes uncritically, so more power to him, I guess.

 

I completely agree. I know I read his books because I keep hoping for that next really good one. > <

 

I gotta say mine are Horror, Mystery, and Thriller for favorites

My least are Sci-Fi, romance, and reality-fiction

 

Favorite:
Science Fiction: The grand "what-ifs" of sci-fi easily draw me in. I like the idea of exploring how one little thing (such as aliens, AI, time travel, FTL, etc) can drastically change a world and/or culture. It's not about the science; it's about what the science does to us. I prefer sci-fi that isn't too "far out" or, if it is, it shows us how things came to be that way.

Fantasy: I love fantasy for many of the same reasons I like sci-fi. The best fantasy, IMO, is fantasy that drops the supernatural/fantastical element into our world and explores the divergences that result. Gritty crime drama about cops? Boring. Gritty crime drama about cops tracking down a serial killer who is using magic? Sign me up!

Thriller: I have a very short attention span and, admittedly, I don't like to read. If I begin to feel like I'm reading, the book goes back on the shelf. For me, a book has to be well-paced and avoid tedium at all costs. For this reason, thrillers (and mysteries, to some extent,) are great for me. A writer has to drag me to the edge of my seat and punch me in the face every chapter or I'll quit.

Least Favorite:
Romance: I can't stand selfish, insular protagonists. I get rather testy when the story is all about one (or two) people, and everything else is shut out to a fault. Romance does this so damn often. I love a good romantic subplot, but when the romance is put front and center and is all the book has to offer, I don't even bother reading it. Give me a big cast of interesting characters with diverse problems, relationships, and goals, not two love-struck morons orbiting one another for 300 pages. Yuck.

Literary Fiction: Writing is both an art form and a form of communication. A good writer strikes a balance between the two. There is some great literary fiction out there… and then there's the stuff that looks like someone said "why should I write a grocery list, when I can perform it using interpretive dance?" The end result leaves me wondering if you're doing a tassel-twirling burlesque routine, or telling me to buy some milk.

Non-Fiction: I really struggle to get into most non-fiction. Be it a text book, an academic journal, a memoir, an (auto)biography or one of those "based on a true story" deals. Reality sucks. Usually, the non-fiction I actually like is so watered down and dramatized it's hardly real anymore and would be better off in another genre. Admittedly, I haven't read a lot of this stuff, nor am I particularly interested in doing so. I keep my non-fiction limited to research, not entertainment.

 

@AnonyMouse: Have to agree with you on the last one. Despite I like some mystery books with no fantasy elements. I'm not a big fan of Non-Fiction. You could say I dislike the way reality works or in you own words, Reality sucks. One of the reasons that motivates me to read is to escape a bit from reality also.

 

My favorite genres are crime thriller, fantasy, and dark fiction (think We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Book Thief, The Bell Jar). My least favorites are zombie, romance, and war fiction.