Book lover: Michelle Langstone

Michelle Langstone. Photo / Supplied

Actress Michelle Langstone stars as Michele in TV3's The Almighty Johnsons.

The book I love most is ... Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger. I first read this book when I was 17 and it was exactly what I needed to read at that moment in my life. I felt then, and still feel all these years later, very connected to the characters - particularly Franny, and her journey. I love her sensibility, and that of the whole Glass family, who are smart, fierce with their love, funny and eccentric. I read an article recently that said Salinger's stories are metaphysical works for humanity, and I'd agree. Franny and Zooey is about the soul. It is a book to comfort you when you are lost and keep you company when you feel alone. I was given a hard-cover first edition nearly a decade ago and it's the most precious thing I own.

The book I'm reading right now is ... The Passage by Justin Cronin. I don't usually read books of this genre - a kind of horror, thriller, fantasy amalgamation - and am finding it challenging because I can't fully engage with the created world. I am also fed up with vampires, and sick of the apocalypse. But it is incredibly addictive and imaginative - I can't put it down and think about it all the time. Paradox!

The book I'd like to read next is ... The Paris Review Book of Heartbreak, Madness, Sex, Love, Betrayal, Outsiders, Intoxication, War, Whimsy, Horrors, God, Death, Dinner, Baseball, Travels, the Art of Writing, and Everything Else in the World Since 1953. Fortunately I was given it for my birthday! Amazing authors, amazing subject matter ... I can't wait!

The book that changed me is ... Probably The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. When I read it the first time I was gobsmacked. I couldn't believe all those human thoughts that whistle through our brains were there on the page. Franzen is the most acute and adept observer, and somehow when I read The Corrections I feel there is a part of me in every character. I can't figure out how he does it. Franzen changed the way I see writing.

The book I wish I'd never read is ... Monster Love by Carol Topolski. It is extremely visceral and well drawn, but I can't read stories where children are harmed like the child in that book. Some of the images are burned in my mind, and still sicken me. I deliberately lost that book.