Book lover: Justin Brown

Justin Brown. Photo / Supplied.

Justin Brown's book, Myth New Zealand, is a comical, thought-provoking look at the country.

The book I love most is ... A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. It inspired me enough to visit India and put my own thoughts into a book, Bowling Through India. Although five Kiwis playing backyard cricket with street kids in Jaipur is no match for one of the finest books ever written. Then again, Rohinton never hit a six into an open sewer in Darjeeling.

The book I'm reading right now is ... The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. Initially I thought it would be nothing more than a PC rant, but the issues of an Aussie Greek family in the wake of a kid being slapped at a family barbecue is a damn good read.

The book I would like to read next is ... I will most likely get stuck into Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.
The book that changed me is ... Asterix in Spain or Asterix in Britain by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo - those are books that got me into reading.

The book I wish I'd never read is ... the second half of Shantaram. It could have done with a stroppy, Twink-yielding editor.