The written word means something to me.  It has saved my life on many occasions and got me through some really dark times.  I do not claim to be be a John Steinbeck, or Victor Hugo, or Alexandre Dumas.  But am a writer and take writing very serious.  I don't care what you read just read it may be crap stuff at the beginning but you will progress.  Stephen King is a good place to start.  He is a great writer and still entertaining. To me he is a living legend that will go down in history as one of the greatest, right up there with Dumas, and Hugo, Dickens.

Read, read, and read some more.