My literary and other educational pursuits are, sadly, as varied as the rest.
(Translation: I'm into a lot of stuff, but profit little from it)
I read (and write) Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery and the occasional bit of Non-Fiction, generally science or history related. Among writers who have shaped the way I write (and, coincidentally, think) are:
Robert Heinlein. Probably just about every Speculative Fiction writer and reader in the past 70 years has been influenced by Heinlein, especially his short stories and "juveniles", though much of the stuff he did after 1965 is a bit odd for my tastes.
Isaac Asimov. Asimov wrote everything, and did enough of it very well that it proved to me that that sort of diversity hadn't died out in the Renaissance. His easy, conversational style, especially in his science essays, is still something I strive to emulate when writing non-fiction.
Steven Brust. The man is a brilliant and devious SOB, and though he claims to eschew style in favor of substance (something always to be hoped for), he's also a master stylist. Paarfi of Roundwood is a student of Brusts's that I recommend to everyone.
Barbara Hambly. She's a character-driven writer, but also a master world-builder, and throws the occasional element into her works that has me sitting up in the middle of the night, wondering how she did it.
C.S. Forester. The Hornblower Series sparked my interest in sailing, and in deep characterization. Though many have written "great sailing sagas," few of their charcters are (to me) nearly as deep or interesting as Hornblower. (And yes, I think the recent series of TV films sucked.)
Raymond Feist. Ray's a writer who makes his world live, and that's not as simple as some would have you believe. He's also a friend who's shown that it's possible to make it on sheer brains and talent and guts (and hard work).
Ray Bradbury. A man who encouraged me early, and continues to do so. Read his stuff, then sit back and wonder.
And, as always, way too many others, including:
Dave Brin (a good tenor!),
Jeff Mariotte (still too underappreciated, though he's finding his audience),
Thorne Smith, (in some ways just as topical now as he was during prohibition)
Lawrence Watt-Evans, (who manages to write intelligent fantasy - not an easy thing!)
Bill Moody (who ties the music and books together),
Harry Turtledove (who ties the books and history together),
Dave Gerrold (who will finish the Chtorr series someday!),
Harlan Ellison (who scared the crap out of me when I was 11, and still shakes me up 40 years later),
Manny Moore.
A couple of short stories are linked here, in case you want to see how my "mind" works (on the rare occasion when it does.) The first is the first story I ever got paid for. It's badly dated now, but was fun way back when. the second was turned down by several magazines who just didn't 'get' the concept, but I still like it.
I also wrote a screenplay after seeing what they did with the latest "Star Trek" film about Kirk and Spock at the Academy. I didn't think much of it, to say the least, and my reaction was "Things blowing up is nothing special". So someone at work dared me to do my own. Needless to say, it has things blowing up, but I tried to make it fit into what we know of the Trek Universe.