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Top 10 bestselling NZ books: July 19
Top 10 bestselling NZ books: July 19

NZ Herald

time18-07-2025

  • Politics
  • NZ Herald

Top 10 bestselling NZ books: July 19

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Holding steady: Top three bestselling books remained unchanged. Photos / Supplied 1. (1) A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin) The former PM's memoir, the first such account since Jim Bolger, tops the bestsellers for a fifth week. Ardern's book has generally found favour among reviewers, including Henry Cooke for the Listener. He thought it intimate and fluent, 'compulsively readable, easily consumable in two or three sittings, and often very funny', even if it barely explained her government's policy decisions. 'Ardernism was always more a sensibility than a full ideology. It was a way of looking at the world and reacting to it, not a theory of change.' Cooke says 'there are some hints, near the end of the book, that perhaps she isn't so certain quitting was the right idea … There is little attempt to engage with the arguments against the latter half of the Covid period, when MIQ's usefulness looked shaky and vaccine mandates radicalised thousands of people.' Tracy Watkins, editor of The Post and Sunday Star-Times, agreed the book let us into some of Ardern's emotional highs and lows. 'We also gain some fresh insight into her own personal mechanisms for coping with such momentous events as the terror attack, and Covid. But we don't learn a lot more about what was going on behind closed doors within her government, which must, at times, have been under enormous strain.' The Guardian considered it 'an emotionally rich and candid read, [but] the downside of skipping the political detail is that it's hard to get a sense of how exactly her astonishing early popularity ebbed away'. Tim Stanley of the Telegraph was more acerbic, writing that 'the practicalities of the job don't interest her: this book hinges on how everything felt'. The natural disaster at Whakaari White Island and the Christchurch mosque killings 'brought out Ardern's best: authoritative and sensitive, she has a fine temperament'. But she subtly vilified her opponents, he says: 'I am so kind that anyone who disagrees with me must be nasty; so reasonable that my critics must be nuts.' A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir, by Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Supplied 2. (2) Leading Under Pressure by Ian Foster & Gregor Paul (HarperCollins) Demonstrating the rule that rugby memoirs are a sure bet in the NZ books market, Ian Foster's account of his time as All Blacks coach holds on firmly to second place in the bestsellers. I haven't read the book, but I hope it goes into the – in my opinion – unedifying way he was replaced as coach. Only super-retrospective refereeing stopped his team of All Blacks winning the RWC. From the publisher: 'Appointed as head coach 2019, Ian Foster led the All Blacks through one of the most tumultuous periods of the team's 120-year history. Leading Under Pressure is a fascinating look into the pressure cooker inner-sanctum of the world's most famous rugby team. With revelations about Foster's time in the job, it also delves into the politics of rugby, and the events preceding the dramatic 2023 Rugby World Cup.' Leading Under Pressure: My Story by Ian Foster. Photo / Supplied 3. (3) No, I Don't Get Danger Money by Lisette Reymer (Allen & Unwin) Waikato-born Reymer, after covering the Tokyo Olympics, found herself in the UK, where she became Newshub's Europe Correspondent. She burst into tears when she got the job, which the Listener's reviewer found instantly endearing. 'Her next three years were 'London, August 2021 … Przemysl, Poland, March 2022 … Bucha, Ukraine, May 2022 … Kahramanmaras, Turkey, late April 2023 … Tel Aviv, late October 2023 …' So it goes, with other locales in between, ending in Ethiopia, Lucerne, London again, and Barcelona, August 2024.'Her commitment to catastrophes starts with watching the Twin Towers fall on Mum and Dad's TV. It's the first of many, many narratives in a text that's anecdotal rather than analytical. But then, stories are frequently the best way of getting to the guts of an issue, and Reymer tells hers with clarity and competence-plus.' No, I Don't Get Danger Money by Lisette Reymer. Photo / Supplied 4. (5) Māori Millionaire by Te Kahukura Boynton (Penguin) The publisher says the book 'offers a beginner's guide to healing your money mindset, building better habits for your money and life, and understanding how you can increase your income. Because no amount of budgeting can compensate for not earning enough. 'Discover how to: — Introduce small, life-changing habits — Master your mindset to align with prosperity — Get out of debt — See real returns by investing in yourself — Protect yourself with insurance — Overcome obstacles to achieve your goals And so much more! 'The lessons in this book will teach you how to become 1% better every day — not only for you, but for your whānau too.' Māori Millionaire by Te Kahukura Boynton. Photo / Supplied You'll find Te Kahukura Boynton on the Listener online's 30 Under 30 – the young New Zealanders shaping our future list 5. (4) The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press) Holding its own on the list is Catherine Chidgey's much praised latest novel, which tells the mysterious, ominous story of three boys in an alternative 1970s Britain. It's a 'tense, compelling, genre-fusing book', said Emma Neale in the Listener. 'There is the hint of submerged identity; of aspiration and prosperity, rubbing skins with disappointment and neglect; a preoccupation with what is authentic and what is fraudulent; the self and truth only dimly visible … Calling on the deeply rooted psychological power of the storytelling rule of three, the novel is divided into The Book of Dreams, The Book of Knowledge and The Book of Guilt. Three women, Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night, care for a set of thirteen-year-old triplets in an all-boy's orphanage. There are three main narrative perspectives: Vincent, one of the triplets; the Minister of Loneliness, a government minister in charge of national care institutions known as the Sycamore Homes; and Nancy, a young girl kept in seclusion by fastidious older parents. This attention to pattern also coolly embodies the quest for order and control, the troubling obsession at the core of the fictional investigation.' You can read Michele Hewitson's interview with Catherine Chidgey here. The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey. Photo / Supplied 6. (6) Dr Libby Fix Iron First by Dr Libby (Little Green Frog) 'The one thing that changes everything,' reckons the subtitle of the latest book from Libby Weaver. Iron is essential for our health, and its lack is particularly common among girls and women. Menstruation, pregnancy and hormonal change can lead to iron deficiency, iron absorption can be an issue for some people, and it's often a trial to eat enough iron-rich foods. Weaver's new book Fix Iron First aims to address this. As her website, which also sells iron supplements made from organic peas, notes that low iron doesn't just make you tired. 'It can alter your brain chemistry, slow your metabolism, impact your thyroid, disturb your sleep and lower your emotional resilience. It affects how you think, how you feel, how you show up in the world – every single day.' Fix Iron First: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Dr Libby Weaver. Photo / Supplied 7. (NEW) Moto Mike the Motorbike (Nee Naw and Friends) by Deano Yipadee & Bruce Potter (Scholastic) School holidays have ensured the rise of the latest from Mosgiel's finest children's troubadour, Dean O'Brien, aka Deano Yipadee. From the publisher: 'Singer-songwriter Dean O'Brien has produced yet another toe-tapping, singalong song, this time about Nee Naw's friend, Moto Mike the Motorbike. Farmer Tom and his tractor are leading the annual pumpkin parade. When the tractor wheel jolts off the edge of the bridge, Tom finds himself in a precarious situation. Enter Nee Naw's mate, Moto Mike, who swiftly takes action and saves the day.' Moto Mike the Motorbike (Nee Naw and Friends) by Deano Yipadee & Bruce Potter. Photo / Supplied 8. (NEW) Ellie Copter (Nee Naw and Friends) by Deano Yipadee & Paul Beavis (Scholastic) And yet another from Dean O'Brien. This time: 'There's a fire in a field where two goats, Plinky and Plonky, are trapped. Nee Naw is on the way, but when a bridge collapses and Nee Naw can't drive any further, Ellie Copter whirs into action and saves the day.' Ellie Copter (Nee Naw and Friends) by Deano Yipadee & Paul Beavis. Photo / Supplied 9. (NEW) Mātauranga Māori by Hirini Moko Mead (Huia Publishers) A companion publication to anthropologist and historian Hirini Moko Mead's best-selling book Tikanga Māori. From the publisher: 'In Mātauranga Māori, Hirini Moko Mead explores the Māori knowledge system and explains what mātauranga Māori is. He looks at how the knowledge system operates, the branches of knowledge, and the way knowledge is recorded and given expression in te reo Māori and through daily activities and formal ceremonies. Mātauranga Māori is integrated into every activity people engage in. It touches the lives of people in whatever they do, in the way they act, in the way they think, in the way they learn and in the way their knowledge is shared with others.' Mātauranga Māori by Hirini Moko Mead. Photo / Supplied 10. (4) Whānau by Donovan Farnham & Rehua Wilson (Moa Press) This illustrated pocket hardback, ideal as a gift, aims to improve your te reo Māori one special phrase at a time. Donovan Te Ahunui Farnham and Rehua Wilson offer up dozens of expressions, often with metaphorical or proverbial origins, such as 'He toka tū moana' (stalwart) and 'Kei mate wheke' (never surrender). Whānau by Donovan Farnham and Rehua Wilson. Photo / Supplied Source: NielsenIQ BookScan – week ending July 12.

The secret open letter of .. Sir Ian Taylor
The secret open letter of .. Sir Ian Taylor

Newsroom

time05-07-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Newsroom

The secret open letter of .. Sir Ian Taylor

MONDAY Dear Jacinda, How are you? Good, I hope. Here I am at Auckland international airport on my way to Europe, with a copy of your new book. I am writing this Open Letter to you at the Stuff website because you no longer reply to my emails. You are very often in my thoughts. They are very animated thoughts. Not in the sense that I am founder and managing director of Animation Research. But actually a bit like it. Because the way I think about you is like some sharp-nosed sprite from the underworld, waving to the commoners with one hand and stealing their hopes and dreams with the other. That's what I see when I sit at the Koru Lounge and stare at the photo of you on the cover of your book. I cannot take my eyes off of it. TUESDAY Dear Jacinda, I missed my flight thanks to you. I didn't hear the boarding announcement because I was too busy staring at the photo of you on the cover of your book. So here I am still stuck at Auckland international airport and I've had better meals. I don't like the coffee. I need to change my clothes. And the fault is all yours. I stare at the photo of you on the cover of your book and see someone consumed with self-interest. I see the embodiment of evil, a white walker who brings winter with it—I see death. The coffee really is that bad. WEDNESDAY Dear Jacinda, Here I am at last on my flight to Europe. I am in the middle seat of an aisle in cattle class inbetween an obese conspiracy theorist with bad breath and a hollow-eyed woman who keeps breastfeeding an otherwise screeching infant. You know whose fault this is. I can see it in your eyes in the photo on the cover of your book. It's a look of guilt. 'Damn right,' says the man next to me. He expands on his theories the entire flight. I pray that this waka will reach its destination before I lose the will to live. THURSDAY Dear Jacinda, It's quite a long flight. FRIDAY Dear Jacinda, Here I am in the streets of New Delhi. I got on the wrong flight. An easy mistake to make. Not my fault. Your fault. Also I have lost my luggage. I gather it has gone to Paris. I think of it going around and around and around and around on the carousel as I stare at the photo of you on the cover of your book. I am vaguely aware of the traffic. I would like to change my clothes. I wonder how it is I lost my wallet and passport. The world is full of thieves. I don't have to tell you that. You are a light-fingered criminal who has feathered the nest of your own waka. You took and you took and you took. 'Come along with me, sir,' says a policeman. 'You cannot stand in the middle of the road.' Did you know that the Tihar prison is one of the largest prison complexes in the world? They tell me I can read your book in my cell while I wait to see what they will do with me. But I don't want to read it. I just want to stare at the photo of you on the cover. A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin, $59.99) is available in bookstores nationwide.

Top 10 bestselling NZ books: June 21
Top 10 bestselling NZ books: June 21

NZ Herald

time21-06-2025

  • Politics
  • NZ Herald

Top 10 bestselling NZ books: June 21

1. (1) A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin) The former PM's memoir, the first such account since Jim Bolger, tops the bestsellers for a second week, and is unlikely to be dislodged for some time. It also holds the No 3 spot in this week's New York Times hardcover nonfiction chart (beaten only by a book on national economies and the benefits of owning a dog). Ardern's book has generally found favour among reviewers, including Henry Cooke for the Listener. He thought it intimate and fluent, 'compulsively readable, easily consumable in two or three sittings, and often very funny', even if it barely explained her government's policy decisions. 'Ardernism was always more a sensibility than a full ideology. It was a way of looking at the world and reacting to it, not a theory of change.' Cooke says 'there are some hints, near the end of the book, that perhaps she isn't so certain quitting was the right idea … There is little attempt to engage with the arguments against the latter half of the Covid period, when MIQ's usefulness looked shaky and vaccine mandates radicalised thousands of people.' Tracy Watkins, editor of The Post and Sunday Star-Times, agreed the book let us into some of Ardern's emotional highs and lows. 'We also gain some fresh insight into her own personal mechanisms for coping with such momentous events as the terror attack, and Covid. But we don't learn a lot more about what was going on behind closed doors within her government, which must, at times, have been under enormous strain.' The Guardian considered it 'an emotionally rich and candid read, [but] the downside of skipping the political detail is that it's hard to get a sense of how exactly her astonishing early popularity ebbed away'. Tim Stanley of the Telegraph was more acerbic, writing that 'the practicalities of the job don't interest her: this book hinges on how everything felt'. The natural disaster at Whakaari White Island and the Christchurch mosque killings 'brought out Ardern's best: authoritative and sensitive, she has a fine temperament'. But she subtly vilified her opponents, he says: 'I am so kind that anyone who disagrees with me must be nasty; so reasonable that my critics must be nuts.' A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir, by Jacinda Ardern. Image / Supplied 2. (2) The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press) Ardern's memoir continues to hold out of the top spot Catherine Chidgey's latest novel, which tells the mysterious, ominous story of three boys in an alternative 1970s Britain. It's a 'tense, compelling, genre-fusing book', said Emma Neale in the Listener. 'There is the hint of submerged identity; of aspiration and prosperity, rubbing skins with disappointment and neglect; a preoccupation with what is authentic and what is fraudulent; the self and truth only dimly visible … Calling on the deeply rooted psychological power of the storytelling rule of three, the novel is divided into The Book of Dreams, The Book of Knowledge and The Book of Guilt. Three women, Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night, care for a set of 13-year-old triplets in an all-boys orphanage. There are three main narrative perspectives: Vincent, one of the triplets; the Minister of Loneliness, a government minister in charge of national care institutions known as the Sycamore Homes; and Nancy, a young girl kept in seclusion by fastidious older parents. This attention to pattern also coolly embodies the quest for order and control, the troubling obsession at the core of the fictional investigation.' The Book of Guilt, by Catherine Chidgey. Image / Supplied 3. (5) Whānau by Donovan Farnham & Rehua Wilson (Moa Press) This illustrated pocket hardback, ideal as a gift, aims to improve your te reo Māori one special phrase at a time. Donovan Te Ahunui Farnham and Rehua Wilson offer up dozens of expressions, often with metaphorical or proverbial origins, such as 'He toka tū moana' (stalwart) and 'Kei mate wheke' (never surrender). Whānau by Donovan Farnham and Rehua Wilson. Photo / Supplied 4. (3) Dr Libby Fix Iron First by Dr Libby (Little Green Frog) 'The one thing that changes everything,' reckons the subtitle of the latest book from Libby Weaver. Iron is essential for our health, and its lack is particularly common among girls and women. Menstruation, pregnancy and hormonal change can lead to iron deficiency, iron absorption can be an issue for some people, and it's often a trial to eat enough iron-rich foods. Weaver's new book Fix Iron First aims to address this. As her website, which also sells iron supplements made from organic peas, notes that low iron doesn't just make you tired. 'It can alter your brain chemistry, slow your metabolism, impact your thyroid, disturb your sleep and lower your emotional resilience. It affects how you think, how you feel, how you show up in the world – every single day.' Fix Iron First: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Dr Libby Weaver. Photo / Supplied 5. (RETURN) My Matariki Colouring and Activity Book by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Scholastic) A 96-page companion to Matariki Around the World from a couple of years back, it's a colouring-in book based around all aspects of the star cluster, with activity guides, word puzzles, drawing tips and some recipes, written with a sprinkling of te reo Māori. My Matariki Colouring & Activity Book by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White. Photo / supplied 6. (RETURN) See How They Fall by Rachel Paris (Moa Press) Sydney-set thriller from Auckland writer features a Succession-style family gathering in their retreat after the patriarch dies. Tragedy ensues and, as the Listener noted: 'the gilded family will fall … Some of the family will fall by dying. By poison. Others by other methods: loss of reputation, loss of fortune. Those golden sands turn out to be quick sand which swallows nasty rich people up. You have to applaud.' See How They Fall by Rachel Paris. Photo / Supplied 7. (6) The Bookshop Detectives: Tea and Cake and Death by Gareth and Louise Ward (Penguin) The bestselling Bookshop Detectives, owner of Sherlock Tomes, have another mysterious case to solve. From the publisher: 'In this rollicking new adventure, Garth and Eloise (and Stevie) must sniff out a prolific poisoner ahead of a vital fundraising event, the Battle of the Book Clubs. As time runs out and the body count rises, it seems the bad actors are circling closer to the people and places they care about. Could Pinter, the infamous serial killer from Eloise's past, somehow be involved? And when anyone could be a suspect, how can Garth and Eloise keep their customers, their small town and their beloved bookshop safe?' The Bookshop Detectives: Tea and Cake and Death by Gareth & Louise Ward. Photo / Supplied 8. (RETURN) Matariki Around the World by Miriama Kamo & Rangi Matamua & Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Scholastic) Stories from here and elsewhere about the constellation we know and celebrate as Matariki. Matariki Around the World, by Miriama Kamo & Rangi Mātāmua, with illustrations by Isabel Joy Te Aho-White. Photo / Supplied 9. (7) End Your Fight with Food by Claire Turnbull (A&U) From the publisher: 'We are bombarded with advice on what we should do to be healthier or lose weight, but making that happen feels overwhelming, if not impossible. This cycle of trying and 'failing' then leaves you stuck in frustration, shame and self-blame. 'In this compassionate and practical guide, nutritionist and wellbeing expert Claire Turnbull helps you break free from the struggle. She explains how our eating is influenced by our psychology, why diets often fail to deliver lasting results — and why willpower alone isn't the answer. Plus, she shows why focusing exclusively on the number on the scales can get in the way of truly looking after our health. 'Learn how to unpack your eating patterns and change your habits for good, so that you're eating in accordance with your health and wellbeing goals, rather than focusing on your weight. 'Beyond food, Claire shares the latest research on the key pillars of genuine wellbeing: nourishment, sleep, movement, relationships, managing stress and connecting with your purpose.' End Your Fight with Food by Claire Turnbull. Photo / Supplied 10. (NEW) Easy Weeknight Meals by My Food Bag & Nadia Lim (A&U) Tenth anniversary edition of this co-production with the meal-delivery company. From the publisher: 'Here is the solution to every cook's weeknight dilemma – what to cook tonight? Delicious, simple-to-follow, nutritious recipes that your family and friends will love from the My Food Bag team and Nadia Lim. These recipes have been rated as favourites by My Food Bag customers, so you can relax in the knowledge that each recipe is tasty, easy to make and foolproof. They're organised by season, and Nadia's background as a dietitian and her strong healthy food philosophy ensures that they are nutritionally balanced and good for you.' Easy Weeknight Meals by My Food Bag & Nadia Lim. Image / Supplied Source: NielsenIQ BookScan – week ending June 21.

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