What relationships do you see between the writing you do and the reading you do?

         The only commonality between the reading I do outside of my classroom courses and the writing I do within those courses is that they are non-fiction. My written pieces have typically been argumentative papers or literary analyses. The books I read outside of class have nothing to do with literature.
        I love to read business books. (Yes, I am one of those evil capitalists.) I have a certain admiration for those who strive to produce a result in the private sector. The topics vary. I have read on how to execute business strategies, how to coach employees, and how to confront one's colleagues and come out gracefully. The books are geared toward practical results. My academic papers are mainly arguments to prove a point, and apart from helping me gain knowledge and a degree, have no impact on the real world.
           My other area of interest has been Catholic theology. Apart from some of the novels I have read in Spanish that address Catholic themes and the writings in my Medieval and Renaissance classes, scarce mention of religion or the Church is made in my other papers. Part of the reason is that faith is ultimately a matter of belief and cannot be proved empirically, although aspects of faith can be defended by philosophical reasoning, as Thomas Aquinas so ably did in his Summa Theologica.
           I would like to increase more leisure time writing in the great works of English literature. Given that I do not have a Bachelor's in English, there are still gaps in the writings to which I have been exposed.  I especially like Conrad and hope to read Heart of Darkness by the end of the year.
          Coincidentally, I often think of that book when I look at some of my writing: "the horror, the horror".