I all but abandonned fantasy (with the exception of harry potter, which has more to do with my having kids than actually enjoying the writing) about 10 years ago. I still read some SF and horror, tho not much hard sf. Tim Powers, Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, John Shirley, etc.
I do have a solution. I consider a college degree irrelevant, and don't consider it at all in hiring. And I lament pubically the state of the american university system, and suggest people spend the time they owuld have spent in college in the army or working to learn a trade. Unless they don't need to earn a living later in life, then I suggest they study whatever the hell they want, and milk it as long as they can.
I quit reading 1/3 of the way through book 7. I've never quit a series like that before, but damn, that 7th book was complete crap. 800 pages of braid tugging.