The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending May 2
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books' stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.
AUCKLAND
1 Preachers, Pastors, Prophets: The Dominican Friars of Aotearoa by Susannah Grant (Otago University Press, $60)
This sound fascinating. Here is the publisher's full and fulsome blurb:
'Preachers, Pastors, Prophets draws on a rich collection of archival material and oral interviews to tell the story of the Dominican friars of Aotearoa New Zealand. Heirs to a spiritual tradition dating back to the early thirteenth century, the friars' lives are shaped by their commitment to the Order's motto: Veritas (Truth). They have served as university and hospital chaplains, parish priests, liturgists, itinerant retreat leaders and theologians, and in media and justice roles.
Never a large group, they have nevertheless reached deep into Catholic life in Aotearoa, working up and down the length of the country and across denominational boundaries. Although no longer involved in active ministry the New Zealand friars continue to fund and facilitate Aaiotanga – the Peace Place – a community space in downtown Auckland focused on peace and social justice issues.
More than the history of a religious organisation, this is the story of a group of dissimilar – often eccentric – individuals who worked in a range of ministries; of the faith that united them as brothers and gave purpose to their mission as preachers; and of their impact on the communities and churches they served in Aotearoa New Zealand. Alongside the many positive achievements of Dominican ministry, this account also addresses previously silenced stories of abuse of power. Preachers, Pastors, Prophets is not a sacred history. It's a human history.
Like Grant's previous book, a study of the Dominican sisters, Preachers, Pastors, Prophets offers a window into a particular world and the ways that world has transformed over time.'
2 Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, $30)
Hunger Games fans are calling this best book in the series yet.
3 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate, $35)
Hugely popular crime novel enjoying a sales bump due to the fact that the author is appearing at Auckland Writers Festival very soon.
4 When the Going Was Good by Graydon Carter (Atlantic Books, $40)
Nostalgic for the golden age of magazines? This is the book for you.
5 Unforgetting by Belinda Robinson (Quentin Wilson Publishing, $40)
The daughter of playwright Bruce Mason shares her memoir of abuse at the hands of a childhood nanny. RNZ's Kathryn Ryan talked to Robinson about her story, here.
6 Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Jonathan Cape, $26)
Wonder if anyone on the Blue Origin flight read this Booker Prize winner?
7 Careless People: A Story of Where I Used to Work by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Pan UK, $40)
'The shark brings Wynn-Williams many gifts, if by 'gifts' we mean big shark bite marks on her torso and lifelong trauma. It also seems to ignite her already eldest-sister-of-four levels of ambition and determination into shooting flames. But the shark's greatest gift, as far as the reader is concerned, is a truly unbelievable-seeming yarn and the ability to spin it.' Read more of Julie Hill's review of this book, here on The Spinoff.
8 Understanding Te Tiriti by Roimata Smail (Wai Ako, $25)
Welcome back! The small book that has done big things pairs well with The Spinoff's guide to Te Tiriti.
9 Northbound by Naomi Arnold (Harper Collins, $40)
'The way Arnold has managed to condense nine months and 3028 kilometres into bang-on 300 pages is impressive throughout. From the nature descriptions, to the meal recaps and interactions she has with other walkers – the story includes many small but perfectly formed vignettes – like that chat with Doug – that illuminate more than their page space would suggest.' Wrote The Spinoff's Liv Sisson in her glowing review of Arnold's odyssey.
10 Eurotrash by Christian Kracht (Serpents Tail, $30)
Purchasing for the cover and title typeface alone. Here's the blurb:
'A rambunctious, tragicomic absurd road trip novel about a wealthy Swiss-German mother and son. Realising he and she are the very worst kind of people, our unnamed middle-aged narrator embarks on a highly dubious road trip through Switzerland with his terminally ill and terminally drunken mother.
They try unsuccessfully to give away or squander the fortune she has amassed from investing in armament industry shares. Along the journey they bicker endlessly over the past, throw handfuls of francs into a ravine and exasperate the living daylights out of their long-suffering taxi driver. The crimes of the twentieth century are never far behind, but neither is the need for more vodka.Eurotrash is a bitterly comic, vertiginous mirror-cabinet of familial and historical reckoning.
Kracht's novel is a narrative tour-de-force of the tenderness and spite meted out between two people who cannot escape one another.'
WELLINGTON
1 Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, $30)
2 Covid Response: A scientist's account of New Zealand's pandemic and what comes next by Shaun Hendy (Bridget Williams Books, $40)
Professor Shaun Hendy returns us to the Covid years and how and why government made their decisions about what to do and when. It's a very readable piece of literature: smartly arranged in chapters with subheadings and including chapters outlining what to do in future.
3 Sea Change by Jenny Pattrick (Bateman, $38)
The unstoppable Jenny Pattrick (author of The Denniston Rose) is back with this novel imagining a tsunami has devastated the Paekākāriki community on the Kāpiti Coast. Aptly, the novel has been reviewed over on paekākāriki.nz.
'Four novels for the price of one,' enthuses this reviewer on The Guardian.
6 Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (Viking, $38)
Something about an heiress and two writers battling to tell her story.
7 Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Jonathan Cape, $26)
8 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber $25)
Welcome back brilliant friend! The slim novella that might well be staging a return to this hallowed chart due to the fact that the movie adaptation staring Cillian Murphy is now out in cinemas around Aotearoa.
9 Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins (Hay House, $32)
The latest book that's telling you how to change your life.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Students band together for foodbank drive
St Joseph's Cathedral School pupil Katherine Binu, 11, holds some items from the collection in front of her peers from other Dunedin Catholic schools including Trinity Catholic College and St Francis Xavier School yesterday. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH A Dunedin foodbank has been overwhelmed by a combined collection by Catholic schools from across the city. The nine schools in the Dunedin Catholic Schools Kāhui Ako collected food for St Vincent de Paul's Dunedin foodbank for Catholic Schools Day yesterday. St Joseph's Cathedral School principal Jo Stanley said the day was a chance for the schools to showcase their Catholic values and get involved with the community. ''Social justice and caring for others is a big part of who we are as Catholics. ''We wanted to show the Dunedin community how we shine together as Catholic schools,'' she said. Ms Stanley said St Vincent de Paul youth co-ordinator Jo Bell said the donations would go towards feeding the homeless and filling children's lunch boxes, so items that did not need to be cooked in a kitchen and could fit in containers were preferred. The students and pupils were encouraged to empathise with the homeless and other children their age and consider what would be easily consumed by them. Ms Bell said the charitable organisation was overwhelmed with the quantity and types of items brought in yesterday. ''Our children are great examples of generosity and care for others. ''Their enthusiasm inspires us to continue to work for change.''
Otago Daily Times
27-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Well-represented German dept alumni to hold reunion
Nearly 100 former students of the University of Otago German language department will be saying "auf wiedersehen" to the department for one final time on Saturday. The department, which was discontinued last year during Otago University's restructures, had a long history with the institution — the first recorded German-language course at the university dated back to 1875. Former department head Dr Alyth Grant said this weekend's reunion would bring together people from all over the world. They had at least 60 people attending the celebrations at the Otago Yacht Club's clubrooms on Saturday from 4pm, and another 30-40 participating via Zoom. "For many of them, studying German at Otago University led to jobs in foreign affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade [Mfat]. "At present, there are at least four of our graduates working for Mfat. "One's the consul in Los Angeles. Another is the deputy commissioner in Canberra. "Somebody else has just come back from the New Zealand Embassy in Germany. So, the qualification of a languages degree, so often in combination with another degree, was what got them where they wanted to go in careers." For more than 70 years, the department held a production of a German play. Dr Grant said this was crucial for people developing connections and friendships. "The fact that it was a small department, so they were in smaller groups and got to know all their contemporaries very well. "Students could come and we knew them personally and they knew us well. "I think all of that helped — we used to retain really quite a lot of students who would go on to do German honours, so they would be there for four years." Dr Grant was able to retrieve several old posters and German play memorabilia from the Hocken Collections, while there would be an appearance by a representative from the German Embassy. "Oh, I'm really looking forward to seeing so many people again," Dr Grant said. "Participants will mourn the loss of German at the University on Saturday. But primarily, the reunion will be a celebration of the travails and laughter of their time in the department, and a sharing of all that German has meant in their lives since."
Otago Daily Times
22-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
45 years of resolute dedication
A dyslexic Timaru Catholic school boy with just two School Certificate subjects to his name has received one of the highest accolades from Hato Hone St John. Major Brendan Wood, deputy chancellor of the order in New Zealand, was promoted to Knight of Grace at an investiture ceremony in Christchurch earlier this month, acknowledging 45 years' service to the organisation across a diverse range of portfolios regionally, nationally and internationally. He now serves as deputy chancellor and deputy chair of the board of Hato Hone St John New Zealand and chairs the clinical governance committee. His involvement with the organisation began as a school boy in Timaru. A St John Cadet from the age of 11, he also volunteered with the organisation while he was at high school. After a stint working at his father's Stafford St jewellers, he gained his first qualification in 1984 and began his career with Hato Hone St John as a first aid instructor — first in the organisation's Latter St headquarters, and then to the new premises in Bank St. Moving over to the ambulance service, Mr Wood moved up the ranks and gained more qualifications as the years went by. Then the Timaru lad with just one university entrance and two school certificate subjects to his name, became Timaru's team leader, and then district operations manager. He left Timaru in 2005 to join the New Zealand Defence Force, based at Burnham, serving nine years before taking up a new role in 2014 as senior lecturer with Auckland University of Technology's department of medicine, teaching programmes at Burnham Military Camp that allowed defence force members to obtain civilian qualifications. While moving away from operational St John roles, Maj Wood's involvement with the organisation continued in governance roles. He is in his second term as deputy chancellor, and is deputy chairman of the board and on the priory of New Zealand for the Order of St John. The organisation described him as a strong and visible advocate for organisational diversity and inclusion, ensuring commitments to essential partnerships are met so St John can be of service across the country. "Major Wood displays remarkable leadership and commitment through his priory roles and is also a registered paramedic." Now based in Christchurch, Maj Wood works at Burnham and commutes to Auckland when required for his university and St John responsibilities. He still occasionally gets back to Timaru, and has been a bit chuffed to hear some practices still described as "the Brendan Wood method", and to see the town's new purpose-built facility in operation. He said he had enjoyed the challenge of his roles with St John, and said the organisation provided opportunities for everyone. "St John offers people from of all parts of the New Zealand community the opportunity to participate in community activities at varying levels. "It's a real reflection of New Zealand society." The investiture ceremony honoured both volunteers and paid staff for their outstanding contribution and dedication right across the organisation — including the emergency ambulance service, community health portfolios, support services, and governance.
