Reading is actually a key component of writing, so you're doing the right thing there. But if you're actually serious about writing a novel, then taking a workshop is not a bad idea. Writing is at least as much about the craft as it is about the ideas. All you have to do is look at some of the dreck that is available self-published to know that ideas are easy, it's the actual writing that is hard. I've been doing this for >25 years now, and I've learned a lot about my craft. When we started, my wife was the writer, I was the techie. And I'm embarrassed to think of some of the things I put on paper (well, actually, electronic bits, even then.) And I still make mistakes, and have "ticks", though I try to learn. But wouldn't even think of publishing something without an editor involved in the process.
Meanwhile, back to the topic at hand. I finally settled on reading a Miss Silver. Reading
She Came Back (APA: The Traveller Returns). Number eight in the delightfully cozy series by Patricia Wentworth. And all available in the public domain in Life+50 countries such as Canada.