Is this really a change among modern readers? As a young reader many years ago, I gravitated towards stories that were the most alien -- not just science ficti

Is this really a change among modern readers? As a young reader many years ago, I gravitated towards stories that were the most alien -- not just science fiction, but history, cultures, and experiences that were completely different from my own, populated with characters that thought and interacted with the world in ways I would never have considered. I typically found books about suburban kids "just like me" boring. And I rarely stuck with a series for more than a handful of books because even the most inventive premise and characters often become repetitive after more than a few books. But many equally voracious friends prefered reading stories set in the countries and cultures with which they already felt comfortable, populated with protagonists who were stand-ins for themselves encountering situations that they themselves had dealt with. The lovely thing about the world is that we have an effectively infinite supply of good literature of both types and indeed anywhere on that spectrum, so both types of readers will continue to be well supported.