I think I can add 'fiction preferences' to my list of reasons why you and I are very different people, because my taste is basically the opposite of yours. ;)

I've read only a handful of fiction that didn't come from the 'modern/classic literature' section of the library.

Ever since middle school, I've been focused on that...plus mostly pre-20th century poetry. It's great that people read other things like you mentioned, but that's just not my happy place. The first time I read (Ellison's) Invisible Man, 1984, and The Sun also Rises, to name a few, I was hooked.

In the past couple of years, I have gotten into a fair amount of non-fiction, and I've enjoyed it. I don't mind biographies or memoirs, generally, but I've only read a couple of those.

Oprah's book club is definitely not my thing, regardless of the types of books that get covered.

ITA on this: that takes me to a place or a world that feels vivid and real to me, and that, in short, fills me with the sense of being immersed in the author's world

Re: Television -- I love Battlestar Galactica for quite a few reasons. Yay.

Serious fiction makes me feel manipulated

I've never thought abut fiction in this way, because I tend to look at writing in terms of the ways an author uses words, how they create images and meaning in each sentence, and how those come together over the whole work. I guess you could compare that to a mechanic dismantling a car to learn/appreciate how it works. It's the same with films; I love camera angles, lighting, sound design--the structure underneath the story.

Anyhoo--This was a very interesting post. And if you have any non-fiction favorites/recommendations, I'd love to hear about them.