The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending August 1

The Spinoff

3 days ago

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.