From fairy tales and fables and Greek mythology. From the Indian stories. From picture books and nursery rhymes and names. I listen to all kinds of music when I write, and drink a lot of tea and coffee. But not when I'm reading.
Reading requires an inward absorption, an entrance into a kingdom of magic.
Writing is more outward, a reflection of all that is outside too, music, light, and landscape. It's a beautiful state to enter really, a kind of enchantment. A good country to visit.