Do My Reading Selections Negatively Affect My Writing?

I picked up these books at a used bookstore here in Houston:  Some Women Won't Wait by Erle Stanley Gardner and Green Light for Death by Frank Kane.

 I love the old pocket book paperbacks.  I can put one in a cargo short pocket and read it whenever I am in a waiting room or at a red light or performing open-heart surgery.  I love the slang and the syntax of them-  A cigarette is never "lit" but "lighted" and a "swish" is not a term used in basketball.  Plus, these suckers are cheap entertainment- 2 books for three dollars!

The problem is they are not great books.  They are not classical reads.  They are not the classics even in their own genres.  My junior high English teacher, Mrs. Oakes, would never let me use one of these for a book report.

While Gardner is known as the creator of Perry Mason, the novel I got does not feature his well-known character.  When I looked up Frank Kane, one of things they mentioned about him was his "consistency".  That is not a great compliment.

Lately, I have started to wonder if these books are negatively affecting my writing?  Is it "garbage in, garbage out"?  Or does reading books that no one else does give me a fresh and different perspective that  others do not have?

What's your opinion?