The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending April 25
AUCKLAND
1 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate, $35)
Fictionalised true crime for foodies.
2 Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, $30)
Unity Wellington bookseller Eden Denyer says 'Believe the hype on this one, it really is that good. Even though you ultimately know how it will end (not well), you can't help rooting for these brilliant characters to topple the odds.' Read more of Eden's review on The Spinoff, here.
3 When The Going Was Good by Graydon Carter (Moa Press, $38)
A former editor of Vanity Fair reminisces about the time when print was most certainly not dead.
4 See How They Fall by Rachel Paris (Moa Press, $38)
Compulsive homegrown crime about a stupidly wealthy Sydney family and their violent tendencies. Read an interview with the author on The Spinoff, here.
In which Sarah Wynn-Williams goes from shark attack survivor to Meta whistleblower.
BookTok has propelled Dostoevsky's 1848 novella to bestsellers heights the world over!
The book that cemented Becky Manawatu as one of the great novelists of our time. Poet Ben Brown reviewed Auē for The Spinoff way back in 2020.
8 Kia Mau: Resisting Colonial Fictions by Tina Ngata (Kia Mau Campaign, $15)
Welcome back to this brilliant book about of essays in which Ngata is highly critical of the decision by the NZ government to commit funding and resource to the TUIA250 Commemorations of James Cook's voyages to New Zealand and the Pacific.
9 The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins (Hay House, $32)
Just like, let them?
10 Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Fourth Estate, $38)
Four interweaving stories about the lives of women. (PSA: Adichie's virtual event at Auckland Writers Festival has sold out!)
WELLINGTON
1 Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, $30)
2 Careless People: A Story of Where I Used to Work by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Pan UK, $40)
3 There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak (Penguin, $37)
Novelist and activist Elif Shafak's latest, moving novel about how the waters unite us across place and time.
4 Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Fourth Estate, $38)
5 The Vegetarian by Han Kang (Portobello Books, $28)
Since Kang won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2024 her novels have been selling in huge numbers. The Vegetarian is her most well known and for good reason: it is painful and painfully beautiful.
6 Long Island by Colm Tóibín (Picador, $38)
The sequel to Brooklyn.
7 Star Gazers by Duncan Sarkies (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
The propulsive novel about the collapse of democracy among a society of alpaca breeders: you'll find greed, you'll find media hi-jinks, you'll find goodies and baddies and you'll find furry, innocent animals and what they can teach us about living a good life.
8 The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins (Hay House, $32)
9 Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson (Profile Books, $49)
Pricey but sounds like a dose of what we all might need around about now. Here's a snip from the publisher's blurb:
'In this once-in-a-generation intervention, they unpick the barriers to progress and show how we can, and must, shift the political agenda to one that not only protects and preserves, but also builds. From healthcare to housing, infrastructure to innovation, they lay out a path to a future defined not by fear, but by abundance.'
A magnificent collection of short stories from an exceptional writer: each one is smart, funny and surprising. Read about how Michelle discovered the surplus women at the heart of her book in a wonderful essay published right here on The Spinoff.
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The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending August 1
The top 10 sales lists recorded every week at Unity Books' stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND Highly educated Professor Ings hated school. He was always put in the problem class and was eventually kicked out of high school. His latest book looks at the problematic ways in which we define intelligence and how that leads to kids being labelled 'dumb' when they're not. 2 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate, $35) Books are better value for money than butter. 3 Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton (Canongate, $28) A beautiful, and bestselling memoir about Dalton's relationship with a rescue baby hare and how the long-eared creature changed her life. 4 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin, $60) New Zealand's most successful political memoir? At least in terms of sales? 5 When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Rizden (Doubleday, $38) Fresh fiction! Here's the blurb: 'Bo is running out of time. Yet time is one of the few things he's got left; his body is failing him and his quiet existence is only broken up by the daily visits from his home care team. His hands soon too weak to open the precious jar housing the scarf of his Alzheimer-stricken wife Frederika, which still bears her scent. Fortunately he still has his beloved elkhound Sixten for company, only now his son insists upon taking the dog away. The very same son that Bo is wanting to mend his relationship with before his time is up. The threat of losing Sixten stirs up a whirlwind of emotions that make him look back at his life, his fatherhood and the way he expresses his love.' 6 The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) Exquisitely wrought historical fiction that brings the past to life. 7 The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (Arrow Books, $26) A killer classic. 8 Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn (Viking Penguin, $26) A collection of conversations with people named Candice and Dolly and Alain and Esther on the various states of love. 9 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $27) The Huck Finn retelling that's taken over the world. 10 A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan (Allen & Unwin, $37) The kind of novel you need on a long haul flight: absorbing. Read a review on The Spinoff, right here. WELLINGTON 1 M ātauranga Māori by Hirini Moko Mead (Huia Publishers, $45) Mead's earlier book, Tikanga Māori, was a bestseller and now, too, is this latest one. 2 Invisible Intelligence: Why Your Child Might Not Be Failing by Welby Ings (Otago University Press, $45) 3 Secret Art Powers by Jo Randerson (Barbarian Productions, $35) One of Aotearoa's most interesting and acclaimed theatre makers and writers, Jo Randerson, has created an absolute asset for anyone interested in creative thinking. Secret Art Powers draws on Randerson's extensive experience in art for social change to reveal what creative thinking really does and how it really can be used to respond to problems both big and small. Art powers include Lies, Multiplicity, Fluidity and Imagination. The production is exquisite, too: with brilliant illustrations and superb design by Sarah Maxey. 4 No, I Don't Get Danger Money by Lisette Reymer (Allen & Unwin, $38) A superbly entertaining memoir from journalist Lisette Reymer who recently starred in The Spinoff's My Life in TV column. 'Terrifically compelling,' says The Spinoff's review, here. 6 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin, $60) True crime. 8 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $27) 9 Men in Love by Irvine Welsh (Jonathan Cape, $38) The sequel to Trainspotting. A beautifully produced book for the family to learn from and share. Learn more about Farnham and his bookish life over on The Spinoff's Books Confessional.
NZ Herald
29-07-2025
- NZ Herald
‘Disturbing': Mrs Doubtfire star's wild plan to revive Robin Williams with AI
The idea came to Lawrence after watching one of Williams' old commercials. The actor, who died by suicide in 2014 at age 63, had done a computerised voiceover that Lawrence found eerily before its time. 'It's kinda like this very contemporary, modern, almost sort of foreshadowing of what's going on commercial that he did, where he did this computerised voiceover,' he said. 'And it always stuck with me. And then, during his passing, with the AI coming out, I'm like, 'Man, he's gotta be the voice of AI He's gotta be the voice in something.' So yeah, I would love to do that.' There's no denying Williams' voice is instantly recognisable. Hearing it again would likely spark nostalgia and joy for many. Still, using AI in a project like this raises serious concerns. Lawrence, clearly enthusiastic, suggested plenty of possibilities for Robin's voice in tech – even using it for driving navigation. 'It would be Robin!' Lawrence said. 'It would be so cool. I'm telling you.' Yelling at Siri or Alexa when you miss a turn is normal these days. But yelling at the voice of Robin Williams might come with some follow-up guilt. Williams' daughter, Zelda Williams, has publicly slammed AI recreations of her father. During the SAG-AFTRA strike in October 2023, she posted a statement on social media expressing her discomfort with the technology. 'I am not an impartial voice in SAG's fight against AI,' Zelda, 35, wrote. 'I've witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/recreate actors who cannot consent, like Dad.' 'I've already heard AI used to get his 'voice' to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my own feelings,' she continued. 'Living actors deserve a chance to create characters with their choices, to voice cartoons, to put their HUMAN effort and time into the pursuit of performance.' Lawrence was just a pre-teen when he played Williams' son in 1993's Mrs Doubtfire, and their relationship clearly made a lasting impression. At the first annual '90s Con in 2022, Lawrence shared how Williams – who struggled with substance abuse – warned him about the dangers of drugs during filming. '[Williams] was very serious. He was like, 'You know when you come to my trailer and you see me like that?'' Lawrence shared. 'He's like, 'That's the reason why. And now I'm fighting for the rest of my life because I spent 10 years doing something very stupid every day. Do not do it.' I stayed away from it because of him.' In an earlier interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lawrence reflected on two key lessons Williams taught him: the importance of compassion, and not judging others without walking in their shoes. 'He really quantified what it was to be a real artist for me in the sense that he was definitely,' Lawrence said, 'and I worked with some great people, and he was definitely the most brilliant artist I've ever worked with.'
