I've had more than a few people when I say "I don't read fic because I don't have the time to wade through what's good" give me a bit of shade about it like "just read fic and if you don't like it quit it"
Nah, they can go kick rocks, because it's not even about identifying new fic. Sometimes, it's not just if the fic is good (although it is 90 percent of the thing) but if it suits the mood that you're in. Rec lists are good for that. Which is why you had crack_van over in LJ and a person reccing 4 fics over the month for various fandoms and pairings, it was awesome. You got a primer of the pairing, what the person liked about said pairing, and oh, here are fics showing exactly why the pairing is the ONE TRUE WAY.
Recommendations from people tend to include how a fic made them feel, and some people tend to be in the mood for domestic or coffee AU vs canon compliant, versus song fic, or wing fic or just plan PWP. Is it Tropey to the point of parody (which can be fun), or is it deeply poetic to the point of tears.
Even by reading someone's rec, you can go, "Ah, a fluffy fic about x/y picking gingham curtains for their bedroom? Adorable !" and read/listen to that under the covers on a Sunday with the terrible weather confined to outside. I UNDERSTAND DEM FEELS.
Also, rec lists help in terms of discovering new to you writers, and they do separate the wheat from the chaff (although one man's meat is another man's poison, etc). In addition, back in the day (fandom old, here), if you found one good writer, you were assured there were five more in the vicinity of their LJ, because they travelled in packs (be it beta'ing each other's work, or chattering in each other's LJs, or riffing through RPGs, etc) and they'd be in the same fandom.
Nowadays, I do know good writers in my part of Tumblr but they write for teams I can't be arsed to read about (which I won't go into there). I've got nothing but love for them and if push came to shove, I'd beta the fic in good faith and cheer them on, but... my fandom involvement stops there. Sorry, not sorry.
I know you know those feels like...I just want to consume the thing without doing the work sometimes. 100%.
Yes. Sometimes, you want to sit at a table and get a meal served for you, and not wanting to make the sausage, as it were. I do understand those feelings frightfully well.
I know that you are unapologetic about these things, so I won't do the "Oh, don't apologise...", I'll just say that I too, know those feels. Also, it's a fandom wishlist, no? In matters like these, if you don't ask, you don't get.
Re: no 3 isn't self serving at all
Nah, they can go kick rocks, because it's not even about identifying new fic. Sometimes, it's not just if the fic is good (although it is 90 percent of the thing) but if it suits the mood that you're in. Rec lists are good for that. Which is why you had crack_van over in LJ and a person reccing 4 fics over the month for various fandoms and pairings, it was awesome. You got a primer of the pairing, what the person liked about said pairing, and oh, here are fics showing exactly why the pairing is the ONE TRUE WAY.
Recommendations from people tend to include how a fic made them feel, and some people tend to be in the mood for domestic or coffee AU vs canon compliant, versus song fic, or wing fic or just plan PWP. Is it Tropey to the point of parody (which can be fun), or is it deeply poetic to the point of tears.
Even by reading someone's rec, you can go, "Ah, a fluffy fic about x/y picking gingham curtains for their bedroom? Adorable !" and read/listen to that under the covers on a Sunday with the terrible weather confined to outside. I UNDERSTAND DEM FEELS.
Also, rec lists help in terms of discovering new to you writers, and they do separate the wheat from the chaff (although one man's meat is another man's poison, etc). In addition, back in the day (fandom old, here), if you found one good writer, you were assured there were five more in the vicinity of their LJ, because they travelled in packs (be it beta'ing each other's work, or chattering in each other's LJs, or riffing through RPGs, etc) and they'd be in the same fandom.
Nowadays, I do know good writers in my part of Tumblr but they write for teams I can't be arsed to read about (which I won't go into there). I've got nothing but love for them and if push came to shove, I'd beta the fic in good faith and cheer them on, but... my fandom involvement stops there. Sorry, not sorry.
I know you know those feels like...I just want to consume the thing without doing the work sometimes. 100%.
Yes. Sometimes, you want to sit at a table and get a meal served for you, and not wanting to make the sausage, as it were. I do understand those feelings frightfully well.
I know that you are unapologetic about these things, so I won't do the "Oh, don't apologise...", I'll just say that I too, know those feels. Also, it's a fandom wishlist, no? In matters like these, if you don't ask, you don't get.