Every author is a reader, that's true. But when specifically reading a piece of work and writing your own at the same time, do you think what your reading affects how you write, because sometimes you might think up a catchy sentence or a phrase or something. And later, you might not. So how much of an influence do you think the pieces you have read before and are reading while writing your own, hold over your writing?
There would be no benefit in reading if it was not a positive influence on my writing. I read to improve as well as for pleasure.
I strongly believe that good writing habits develop from reading the best classical and contemporary literature. Reading inspires me to write. I also believe that through reading, ideas manifest from the sub-conscious.
'The writer who does not read good literature is as disadvantaged as the person who cannot read' - Mark Twain.
reading*
I like ready fantasy, and that is what I write.