(This question is about reading but it pertains to writing as well).
I write fantasy, and as a result, I've read a lot of fantasy books that are supposedly the "best," that are beloved by all fantasy fans ... except me.
Some examples:
Lord of the Rings trilogy - I loved the Hobbit, but couldn...
@eyeballfrog, I beg to differ. The question is about how reading habits and preferences influence writing. To my mind this is about preparing for writing, as the OP emphasises "learning something" from reading.
If you liked The Sword of Truth better than the stuff in the list above, yes, there's definitely something wrong there. Particularly when the above list contains The Wheel of Time, which The Sword of Truth is a blatant (and terrible!) ripoff of. (The first few books, at least, before it switches full-on into being a blatant ripoff of Ayn Rand. I think that has a lot to do with the "declining quality" bit you noted; at least Jordan's source material was worth reading!)
You are absolutely correct that TLOTR has pacing problems, particularly at the start; 17 years pass between Frodo getting the ring and starting his journey, which works against a sense of urgency, and Frodo then spends literally half of the first book walking from one house to another, four times. It is interesting to read Christopher Tolkien's analysis of his father's notes. JRRT did not know how TLOTR was going to end when he started, or even what it was about, so he kept doing walk, get attacked, get to safety, repeat, until the story emerged.
And yes, you should force yourself to read things you dislike; not for pleasure, but so you can take extensive notes describing what precisely you dislike, and why the element was included by the author. Again with TLOTR: when Frodo makes it to Rivendell there is then a multi-thousand-word chapter describing a committee meeting that introduces unnecessary characters and tells a complicated story completely out of order. Whether you think that brilliant or confusing, how did Tolkien arrive at a point where it was necessary? That level of critical reading will inform your writing.
FWIW I like fantasy with a pseudo-basis in science and issues rather than swords and sorcery. So, looking at your list, my faves and anti-faves do not match yours. One of the interesting things in Mistborn, for example, is the musing subplot about the role of religion in 'movements.' Likable characters is a strong plus and I liked Kelsior and Vin (and Sazed). In other words, differing opinions is fine. But read stuff outside your zone anyway--if for no other reason than to be conversant about a wide range of fantasy.
Instead of forcing yourself you might consider giving it a try again later. The first time I read Harry Potter I thought it was dumb and juvenile. The second time was five years later and it held my interest much better.
@souzan I looked at your list of fantasy books you don't like, and I thought: "Red Rising? What's that?" Wikipedia tells me there's a book with that title that's the first of a science fiction series written by Pierce Brown (whom I'd never heard of before). Is that the one you were thinking of?
There are people who don't like the entire genre. Also, as you stated, you like HP and it's really a bestseller. Maybe someone can say it's a bad measurement of quality of a book. But anything else is more subjective. Also, don't you like politics in fiction at all?
Out of that list, I love Tolkien and Sanderson not for their stories... but for their worlds. They are incredibly imaginative world builders, and their worlds have depth. Explaining the world in depth, though, may require slow passages which do not contribute much to the plot... (oh, and Sanderson has created so many beautifully logical magic systems!)
I get having different taste and all and it's fine to prefer faster paced books or a character focus over a worldbuilding one, but hating Mary Sues and liking Sword of Truth just don't fit together at all...
@Pahlavan In the case of liking Sword of Truth, I don't like Richard but I like almost all of the other characters (Zedd, Cara) etc. so it balances out
Not enough for an answer, but I find it funny that your list of likes/dislikes almost exactly matches mine. ... That said, I consider myself not a big fan of Fantasy (I prefer SciFi); I view e.g. Earthsea Quartet as an outlier in the genre, and Hyperion Cantos counts as SciFi for me.
Sorry to be so pedantic but: Game of Thrones is a TV show based on the A Song of Ice and Fire series of books (the first entry of which is A Game of Thrones)
@souzan, except for what you listed already, I found "The Deed of Paksenarrion" (I only know the first book) enjoyable, but that's about the extent of my Fantasy library (very sparse). SciFi wise, my all-time favourites are Peter F. Hamilton (esp. Nights's Dawn Trilogy); Neal Asher (everything); Ian M. Banks (everything); Vernor Vinge (everything); Richard K. Morgan (Market Forces...); Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game and others); and plenty of other authors which are not in my head right now.
Discussion on question by souzan: Is …
Discussion on question by souzan: Is …