I sometimes feel like things that make me work hard just don't actually resonate with anything in me. And that's perfectly fine, not everything can be something to everyone. But if I don't feel some sort of chord with what I'm reading, it's hard for me to feel inspired to put in the work to make a connection with it.

I agree with this — but I also feel it's harder to have an emotional connection with a work of short fiction, because there's so little space to establish that connection. Characters tend to be very thinly fleshed out, the story hinges on a single event, etc. I find with short stories I'm looking for a sort of flash of cleverness — an interesting idea or scenario, an unexpected twist on something familiar.

Folklore- and fairytale-based short stories are definitely my preferred subgenre as well.