January Activities 2012

Every time I go through my old reviews and favorites on the archives, I find something that takes me aback. I wonder why I would read a certain something or, moreover, why I would like it so profusely. It is almost like a trail of breadcrumbs, leading from the noob who read fluffy Harry/Ginny and stayed up all night reading alternate Book 7s to the person who stalks Dark/Angst and most anything rarepair. It is my evolution as a reader.

So, with that, I ask you:

Can you trace your changing tastes as a reader back to the beginning?

Care to share?

As usual, please ask and answer one TQ, and please, by all means, come back and reply to more TQs, even after you've already posted. Discuss!

As most of you know, the Susan Bones Book Club discusses 2-3 stories each month, after which they vote on whether the fic is worthy of their fine stamp of recommendation or even of the calibre necessary to make their hall of fame. We're going to be picking from their fine collection of recommended fics (which also includes their hall of fame!). Here is a link to the list: http://fanfiction.mugglenet.com/foru...BBC-Recommends

Bear in mind that some of these stories are no longer posted on MNFF. If a link isn't posted, then the story is probably no longer available. Just keep searching...there are droves of great stories on this list. For stories discussed from 2009 on, the discussions are still available in the SBBC Burial Grounds. Feel free to look these over, as it might help give you insight into a story which you hadn't previously considered. Please don't read the discussions and just vomit back what you read in review form; be original. Use the discussions to open doors in your mind and in your thought process.

Same drill…ask and answer at least one TQ. Here are a couple to get you started.

Does observing others' thought processes help kickstart your own?

How often do you take others' recommendations into consideration when searching for reading material?

Hello, and welcome to SPEW Buddies! If you've never participated in this before, SPEW buddies is an activity in which you are paired up with a fellow SPEWer. You both review each other and then participate in a character chat, an example of which can be found here. You can conduct these chats either by IM or by PM (total word count should be at least 500 words between both characters); the IM chats should be dialogue only and the PMs written like letters, as illustrated in the chats thread. Which you choose to do is up to you.


If you're interested, please sign up in this thread by no later than the end of the day (US Pacific Time, GST -8) on January 6th.

It's been so long since I did this-definitely want a SPEW buddy :)

I've never done this before, but I'd love to try =) Sign me up!

Jumping in headfirst!

May I please have a SPEW buddy too?

Oh, go on then. I'll sign up :)

Can you trace your changing tastes as a reader back to the beginning?

Definitely, Jess. I remember when I first discovered fan fiction, and I automatically read through all of the top tens, to see what I liked. I was super into alternate universe as well as over-dramatic Harry/Ginny and James/Lily. Now, I have found a serious love for all things Next Gen. wise as well as dark/angsty. I'm not as much of a sucker for happy endings, I guess. I was really into the whole romance scene, for some odd reason, but now I have issues writing serious fluff and reading it. I think I'm starting to get a mild 'Founders Phase', but I'm still obsessed with Next Gen. I have no idea why, but it has always been my favorite. I love seeing how different Harry's children come out, as well as Scorpius. Anyways, I digress. Overall, I went from being a total 'OMG James and Lily are in love', 'I would have never paired these two together, but it works lol' and 'Why did Harry marry Ginny when he had this OC?' to a Next Gen. and dark/angsty lover that I am right now. I'm still not really into rarepairs or slash, but I still love a good Neville/Luna.

Looking back at my reviews, I see how truly awful they were. Most didn't even hit two lines. :P I feel so bad looking back at them, as they didn't help the author at all. I'm glad I joined SPEW, though, because now I feel I'm starting to make up for it. :)


New TQ: When you first discoverd fan fiction, where did you start? (Did you immediately divulge into a pairing or genre, float around, check the top tens, or most recent?)

When I first joined fanfiction, the first thing that caught my eye was Draco/Hermione, and I was all, what is this, so I started reading that. Like most of the stories that were up at the time. Later, I discovered Snape/Hermione. THat was my OTP for a long time. I had read ALL the Snamione on the site - actually, it was why I joined...so I could read all the professor rated Snamione fics...namely Denial. Then I started reading Hermione/Other, and I haven't really left. I have branched out a bit into next gen, but other than that, I search for Hermione/Oliver, Hermione/Remus, and Hermione/Fred. I love time travel fics and marriage law fics, regardless of how cliché and dumb they can be. They remain my favourite plot lines.

NEW TQ: What is one genre/cliché/pairing did you loved at one point that you shudder to read now?