Book lover: Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben. Photo / Frank Ward

Harlan Coben is a United States author of best-selling thrillers whose latest, Live Wire, ($39.99 RRP, Orion) was released last month.

The book I love most is ... Oh how can a man answer that? The book I love most is one I haven't read yet. Don't you love that hope that the next novel you read will be your favourite of all-time? If I had to pick one I guess it would be Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth.

The book I'm reading right now is ... The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.

It is about the relationship between black maids and their wealthy employers in the southern part of the US. Great stuff.

The book I'd like to read next is ... The one I should be writing because that would mean it's done. Actually, I have no idea what book I will read next. I probably have about 10 lined up.

The book that changed me is ... Marathon Man, by William Goldman.

I was maybe 16 and was held in so much suspense that you could have put a gun to my head and I wouldn't have put the book down. Subconsciously I think I knew that I wanted to be able to do this to readers someday.

The book I wish I'd never read is ... Who has time for that kind of regret? If I don't like a book, I'm not afraid to put it down. I've stopped books after one paragraph sometimes. There are books you like and dislike but they all shape you. There is no book I wish I'd never read.