Have you ever had a period where you didn't read as much as usual, and do you think it affected your writing? If so, in a good or bad way?

I just ran out of time to read at one point, and my Kindle had broken so buying books just wasn't as convenient. However, I recently downloaded my Kindle to my laptop, so I have been reading a lot more than usual. I really feel it encourages me to write, and I seem to have a lot more ideas coming to me due to inspiration from reading quite a lot of books. They say the more you read, the better your writing will be; do you find this to be true, and if you haven't had as much time to read, do you notice a change in your writing?

With my job and the summer heat chasing me out of my bedroom most of the time, it's hard to find a time where I can sit and concentrate on reading, and I don't do well in a room with other stuff going on. XD It took me nearly a week to finish a novel the length of your average NaNoWriMo project. XD And yeah, I think it affects my writing. I know that whatever I read directly bleeds into what I then go to write, whether the inspiration for new projects, or a difference in flavoring of the old ones. And if I'm not actively reading, it tends to make my writing feel stale.

On the other hand, when I've had time to simply focus on my own writing and not be distracted by all the other wonderful authors and their styles and projects and themes, it can also be helpful. I find myself building on concepts and and discovering accents of style I never noticed before. XD

I often go through reading phases where I devour every page I can get my hands on, but then they are followed by long times of book boredom. I don't think it does anything terrible to my writing. When I read too much of one author, my writing sounds like a cheap attempt to copy them whether I mean to or not, so the time off of reading helps it all to simmer together rather than being a single author's style.