In the end it always comes down to how it's writen rather then what and by that I mean you can get away with a lot of cliches if it's done well. Edding's Belgariad is basically every Fantasy Cliche and stereotype ever invented all pressed into one (fairly short) series but because it was well done and hit the right balance it worked.
I'm sure there's even a great 'it was all a dream' story I've just never read it yet.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever is a fantasy series by Stephen Donaldson. The main character starts out in the real world and is transported into a fantasy setting and throughout the series he moves back and forth between them (note: Thomas isn't your whiter then white hero in fact a lot of the time he's not even very likeable). I did like Greg Bear's
Songs of Earth and Power which is kind of similar.
There's lots of good stories involving characters that move between the real world and a fictional one, there's probably even a name for the specific genre. As to whether you should read them now as research I'll leave that to yourself, I don't know will it help to see how it's been done before or will it just make it harder to create your own ideas?
By the way, I've never published anything
*stops for astounded gasps* so take any suggestions with a grain of salt
.