As I tell my intro creative writing students, after reading someone you love, wait at least an hour before starting to write.
So many characters are governed by the consequences of their actions, and I wanted to have a character who is the exact opposite.
I'd kill myself without music. Immediately. Life is pointless without music for me.
I think early on I was really into ambient music and like American original Emo.
What works for eating and swimming might work for reading and writing.
I'm not reading any novels right now, though not for lack of trying. Unless they're really good, my attention in most novels tends to sputter out after a hundred pages or so - an awful admission for someone who is trying to write one, but it's true.