It Has to be Non-fiction

This is really annoying. Usually, when I am writing I try to avoid reading fiction out of a fear, perhaps, of being somehow influenced by what I've just read. So I read the NYR and non-fiction books. But at the moment I really would like to read a novel, but no matter what I try turns to dust. This is odd. And I know it's not that the books I've tried are no good - they are by authors I admire. Damn!