Reading vs Writing

The other day the thought occurred to me that what I love to read and what I love to write don't quite sync up. Not that I in any way think that because I read a certain type of book I should also write it, but I've heard before that writers should read in the genre they write as much as possible. I of course see the good in doing so, but if they don't, so what? My favorite genre to read is YA fantasy, but nowadays I find myself more drawn to writing adult fantasy, specifically Urban Fantasy. I say nowadays because it wasn't always that way. I started writing books at fourteen, so naturally the characters in my books through my teen years were also teens and the books were most decidedly YA. Last year was actually the first time took the plunge into adult fantasy, and of the twelve books I've written, the ratio of YA to Adult is still heavily in favor of YA, but I feel like that may change. I love reading YA fantasy because of everything it encompasses; the fantasy aspect, the angst, the romance, the conflicts. But when it comes to the stories that choose to write, I find adult fantasy to be more open to me, I love the dialogue I can come up with, the action, and I like writing romance that is more on an adult level. And yet...I don't read much of what I write? I find that strange, honestly, and I've long determined to do something about it, but all these YAs that I want to read keep coming out so what am I supposed to do? There are only so many hours in a day. Currently I am reading an adult UB, so go me! (Hit List by Laurell K. Hamilton).

I don't plan to force a fight between what I like to read and what I like to write, but I think that I will be trying to broaden my horizons because it can't hurt. I just may need a bigger bookcase...