The book I love most is ... Something I first read when I was staying at an aunt's house when I was 14. A Girl of the Limberlost, by Gene Stratton-Porter, is a wonderfully rich story set in a swamp, with oil bubbling out of the ground and enormous moths that the character catches and sells to pay her school fees.
The book I'm reading now is ... Another old favourite. One from the series of James Herriot books about being a vet in Yorkshire.
My favourite bookshop is ... Terry's Bookshop. Mum got me a job there when I was 13. I worked in the children's section at the back on Friday nights.
The book that changed me is ... It was one of my own. My first book, Here's How, published in 1966, changed quite a few things for me and our family - in a good way.
* Dame Alison Holst is celebrating the publication of her 100th book, a memoir called, A Home-grown Cook (Hyndman, $39.95)
