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The Spinoff
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
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.
The Spinoff
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending July 4
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 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (4th Estate, $35) Butter has bumped Ardern's memoir from the top spot. The sales graph for this book must look like the Himalayan mountain range: what an extraordinary ride this brilliant novel has been on. 2 The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) A stunning debut novel by a writer of rare talent. That sounds like a giant cliché but in this case it's absolutely true. You will not regret reading this lovely, powerful, perfectly formed novel set in the Netherlands of the 1960s. This debut novel also features on The Spinoff's list of books that write sex exceptionally well. 3 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60) Rachel Morris wrote a superb feature on Ardern for The New Yorker, in which she contextualised the memoir for American readers, and said of the book: 'The tale of what it was like for Ardern to go from being adored to being reviled so quickly would have made for an unmissable book. That's not the story she wanted to tell. A Different Kind of Power is her manifesto for a kinder, less cynical form of political leadership, with her own life story as evidence that such a thing is possible.' Highly recommend clicking on the link above and reading the rest of what Morris has to say. 4 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 'Chidgey's latest novel is uncannily similar to Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (which she has not read),' writes The Spinoff's Claire Mabey. 'It takes similar aim at British identity by puncturing its society with the normalisation of skewed medical ethics. What both novels have in common are questions of nature versus nurture and the eternal thought exercise of what does it mean to possess a soul? The two writers share an interest in the dehumanising potential of such questions. Both Ishiguro (one of the greatest novelists of all time) and Chidgey (fast becoming one of the greats herself) investigate how whole societies, entire countries, can enter a path of gross moral corruption one person, one concession, at a time.' 5 Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall (John Murray, $38) Reese Witherspoon loves this novel. The actress/book club host says: 'Trust me—you are going to LOSE YOUR CHICKEN over it. Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall is an unforgettable story of love, loss, and the choices that shape our lives… but it's also a masterfully crafted mystery that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Seriously, that ending?! I did not see it coming.' 6 Eurotrash by Christian Kracht (Serpents Tail, $30) This novel was longlisted for the International Booker Prize and we can see why: there's a lot more under the surface of this novel about a mother and son road-tripping across Europe. It's a reckoning with the past, with the self, and with family. 7 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $38) 'James offers page-turning excitement but also off-kilter philosophical picaresque,' writes Anthony Cummins in The Guardian 'Jim enters into dream dialogue with Enlightenment thinkers Voltaire and John Locke to coolly skewer their narrow view of human rights – before finally shifting gear into gun-toting revenge narrative when Jim's view of white people as his 'enemy' (not 'oppressor', which 'supposes a victim') sharpens with every atrocity witnessed en route. It's American history as real-life dystopia, voiced by its casualties, but as you might guess from The Trees – a novel about lynching that won a prize for comic fiction – solemn it is not: 'White people try to tell us that everything will be just fine when we go to heaven. My question is, Will they be there? If so, I might make other arrangements.'' 8 Girl on Girl by Sophie Gilbert (John Murray, $40) The subtitle of this book is: 'How pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves.' (Which sounds like a possible tagline for the The Substance – anyone else seen that little movie with Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley?) And here's the blurb: 'Sophie Gilbert identifies an inflection point in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the energy of third-wave and 'riot grrrl' feminism collapsed into a regressive period of hyper-objectification, sexualization, and infantilization. Mining the darker side of nostalgia, Gilbert trains her keen analytic eye on the most revealing cultural objects of the era, across music, film, television, fashion, tabloid journalism, and more. What she recounts is harrowing, from the leering gaze of the paparazzi to the gleeful cruelty of early reality TV and a burgeoning internet culture vicious toward women in the spotlight and damaging for those who weren't. Gilbert tracks many of the period's dominant themes back to the rise of internet porn, which gained widespread influence as it began to pervade our collective consciousness.' 9 Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (Vintage, $26) This novel was originally published in 1995 in French. It's now being rediscovered as the dystopia of the premise catches up with the dystopia of the present. 10 T he Let Them Theory by Mel Robins (Hay House, $32) She's baaaaaack! WELLINGTON 1 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60) 2 Ghost Kiwi by Ruth Paul (Scholastic NZ, $20) Ruth Paul has a double-whammy this week as she launches two books! Ghost Kiwi is a middle grade novel about Ruby, who runs away with her dog to the one place she feels safe … her treehouse in the forest. 'Joined by her friend, Te Ariki (aka 'Spider'), the pair soon make a surprising discovery – there's a kiwi living in a burrow nearby, caring for a newborn chick. A white kiwi chick. Accompanied by a strange talking doll, and aided by the ancient wairua of the bush, Ruby and Spider step up to become true forest guardians, risking their lives to stop unscrupulous wildlife smugglers from stealing this rare native treasure.' 3 Anahera: The Mighty Kiwi Māmā by Ruth Paul (Puffin, $21) Paul also launched this lovely picture book – the true story of Anahera, a rescue kiwi who now roams the hills of Wellington. 4 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 5 Caledonian Road by Andrew O'Hagan (Faber & Faber, $35) The new format release of this novel by O'Hagan is giving the best-selling novel another best-selling life. 6 Mātauranga Māori by Hirini Moko Mead (Huia, $45) A major publication by Hirini Moko Mead who explores 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. Mātuaranga Māori is a companion publication to Hirini Moko Mead's best-selling book Tikanga Māori.' 8 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (4th Estate, $35) 9 Delirious by Damien Wilkins (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) The glorious award-winner from Wilkins. 10 Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Vintage, $26) Last year's galactic Booker Prize winner returns to this list like a comet in the night.
The Spinoff
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending June 27
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 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60) The Spinoff's own Madeleine Chapman reviewed Ardern's memoir – here's a snippet: 'Whether or not Ardern wrote this book herself (there is an 'editor' profusely thanked in the acknowledgements) is by the by. It is the story that she wanted to tell, or at least the parts of it she wanted to tell. Ardern ends her book by referring to herself as a 'speechwriter'. And her speeches are what have defined her career, whether impromptu or nervously rehearsed. But they're also deliberately limiting in what they offer. As a memoirist, Ardern has taken the same approach – offering just enough while still holding her cards close to her chest. It's an impressive move from someone who will now continue to be able to live a very private life while being extremely famous and a successful memoirist.' 2 The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) A stunning debut novel set in the Netherlands of the 1960s. Beautifully written, surprising, and hopeful even while it offers insights into traumatic episodes in history. 3 Papatūānuku: A Collection of Writings by Indigenous Wāhine by multiple contributors (Awa Wāhine, $30) The latest, beautiful publication from indie indigenous publisher Awa Wāhine. Here's the blurb: 'A collection of writings by Indigenous wāhine is a powerful anthology of writing by Māori and Pacific women, offering a fresh, raw, and deeply personal tribute to Papatūānuku, the Earth Mother. Through these stories, poems, and reflections, the contributors explore the sacred connections between land, identity, and Atua Wāhine (Māori goddesses), bringing ancient wisdom into the present moment.' 4 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $38) One of the great novels of the decade is this Pulitzer Prize-winning retelling of Huckleberry Finn. Here's the blurb: 'When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and with the electrifying humour and lacerating observations that have made Everett a literary icon, this brilliant and tender novel radically illuminates Jim's agency, intelligence, and compassion as never before. James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.' 5 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (4th Estate, $35) The hugely successful true crime novel that has stayed in the bestseller charts for over a year now. Way back in 2024 Josh Weeks reviewed Butter in The Guardian: 'Based on the real-life case of the 'Konkatsu Killer', in which a con woman and talented home cook called Kanae Kijima was convicted of poisoning three of her male lovers, Butter uses its sordid source material to interrogate the impossible beauty standards to which Japanese women are held.' 6 Eurotrash by Christian Kracht (Serpents Tail, $30) A black comedy about a mother and a son and a roadtrip. 'Eurotrash is a knowing book,' writes Marcel Theroux, 'with excursions into German history and allusions to Shakespeare, myth and pop culture. Part of its charm is the voice of its narrator, a self-aware snob-insider who is anatomising the avarice and insecurity of the privileged class he was born into.' 7 There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak (Penguin, $26) A moving novel about the ways water connects people, place and time. 8 Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell (Simon & Schuster, $40) Another 'unforgettable voice in Irish fiction'. Here's the blurb: 'On a bright spring afternoon in Dublin, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change her life. Grabbing an armful of clothes from the washing line, Ciara straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe. It was meant to be an escape. But with dwindling savings, no job, and her family across the sea, Ciara finds herself adrift, facing a broken housing system and the voice of her own demons. As summer passes and winter closes in, she must navigate raising her children in a hotel room, searching for a new home and dealing with her husband Ryan's relentless campaign to get her to come back. Because leaving is one thing, but staying away is another.' 9 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) A magnificent new novel from one of New Zealand's great fiction writers. Here's a snip from The Spinoff's books editor Claire Mabey's review: 'Fading seaside towns are microcosms for faded histories and dreams – and the UK's coastline is littered with them. The layered architecture of eras gone by affects a kind of haunting; the bright surfaces and ice cream shops pasted on top peddle dreams of beachside holidays often, in reality, rudely spiked by hyper-aggressive, Hitchcockian seagulls. Pastel-coated shopfronts and dusty vintage stores soften the detection of darker underbellies and thinly disguise the failures of capitalism to inject the buoyancy required to keep the nostalgia at bay.' 10 The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb (Simon & Schuster, $40) An epic new novel from the superstar that is Wally Lamb. WELLINGTON 1 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60) 2 A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan (Allen and Unwin NZ, $37) Narrated by a 10-year-old girl, this immersive summer holiday novel is awash with a sinister undertow. Read a review of A Beautiful Family on The Spinoff, right here. 3 If I Must Die by Refaat Alareer & Yousef Aljamal (OR Books, $59) Renowned poet and literature professor Refaat Alareer was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City alongside his brother, sister, and nephews in December 2023. He was just forty years old. This book is a collection of his essays and poetry about literature, politics, and family. 4 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 5 The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) 6 Bombard the Headquarters! by Linda Jarvin (Black Inc., $32) For anyone interested in China then and China now: 'In 1966, with the words 'Bombard the Headquarters!' Mao Zedong unleashed the full, violent force of a movement that he called the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. By the time he died ten years later, millions had perished, China's cultural heritage was in ruins, its economic state was perilous, its institutions of government were damaged and its society was bitterly divided. The shadow of these terrible years lies heavily over the twenty-first-century nation. The history of this period is so toxic that China's rulers have gone to great lengths to bury it – while a few brave men and women risk their freedom to uncover the truth. For as both they and the Party know, to grasp the history of the Cultural Revolution is to understand much about China today.' The award-winning novel about ageing, loss, and living. The Spinoff's Gabi Lardies and Claire Mabey loved it. A succinct guide to the conflict – essential reading. 9 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $38)
The Spinoff
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending June 20
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 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60) Spot New Zealand's former prime minster on this week's New York Times bestseller list. 2 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) The un-put-downable alternate history that explores some of life's biggest questions, including what does it mean to have a soul? Can a human ever not have one? 3 Eurotrash by Christian Kracht (Serpents Tail, $30) Auckland really loves this hectic mother-son roadtrip novel. 4 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $38) Everett's biggest book yet is his stunning, funny and profound retelling of Huckleberry Finn. 5 Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum (Bloomsbury, $25) Cosy and charming and perfect for a long Matariki weekend. 6 The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) This year's winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction. One of the most exquisite novels you'll read this year: it is moving, sexy and surprising. 7 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (4th Estate, $35) The smash hit novel based on a true crime story of a serial killer who lured her victims in with stunning food. 8 A Dim Prognosis by Ivor Popovich (Allen & Unwin, $38) An utterly gripping, energetic memoir from Dr Popovich. Revealing! See The Spinoff this weekend to read an excerpt from this brilliant book. 9 Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (Penguin Random House, $38) Vuong's second novel. 10 King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby (Hachette, $38) A fiery crime novel. Here's the blurb: 'Roman Carruthers left the smoke and fire of his family's crematory business behind in his hometown of Jefferson Run, Virginia. He is enjoying a life of shallow excess as a financial adviser in Atlanta until he gets a call from his sister, Neveah, telling him their father is in a coma after a hit-and-run accident. When Roman goes home, he learns the accident may not be what it seems. His brother, Dante, is deeply in debt to dangerous, ruthless criminals. And Roman is willing to do anything to protect his family. Anything. A financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, Roman must use all his skills to try to save his family while dealing with a shadow that has haunted them all for twenty years: the disappearance of their mother when Roman and his siblings were teenagers. It's a mystery that Neveah, who has sacrificed so much of her life to hold her family together, is determined to solve once and for all. As fate and chance and heartache ignite their lives, the Carruthers family must pull together to survive or see their lives turn to ash. Because, as their father counselled them from birth, nothing lasts forever. Everything burns.' WELLINGTON 1 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60) 2 Towards Modernism: Walter Cook Collection at Te Papa by Justine Olsen (Te Papa Press, $75) This handsome new publication celebrates the Walter Cook Collection of Decorative Arts (held at Te Papa) and the ceramic, glass and metal objects therein. 3 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 4 It's A Bit More Complicated Than That by Hannah Marshall (Allen and Unwin NZ, $25) A brilliant new YA novel from a huge new talent. Here's the blurb: 'Zelle and Callum used to be best friends, but they haven't spoken in three years: not since the tragedy that wrenched them apart, and Zelle moved away. But now Zelle is back, and their lives are about to get a whole lot more complicated. Zelle is in denial about her alcohol use that threatens to spiral out of control, and she's deeply annoyed at having to leave the city. Callum's future is thrown into jeopardy after both a disastrous uni interview and his budding romance turning sour. But they can't keep running from the past forever, and circumstances force them to examine their grief and guilt and find a way through.' 5 A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan (Allen and Unwin NZ, $37) 'Trevelyan's narrator is 10 years old. She's unnamed until the very end of the book (I won't reveal it here: best to find out for yourself). It's this naive perspective that makes A Beautiful Family both easy to read and impossible to put down. The narrator's innocence is pitted against several disturbing factors, all orbiting her summer in various shapes and shades, and it's that persistent dance of disturbances that creates the sustained and unrelenting tension in the novel.' Read more of Claire Mabey's review on The Spinoff, right here. 6 The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) 7 Delirious by Damien Wilkins (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 'I don't want to say that Delirious is the pinnacle of what Damien can do because that would be like putting a curse on his future work. But I am going to say it's almost impossible for me to imagine how he could do better. I think this is a great book – Great with capital G.' Even before Delirious won this year's Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, Elizabeth Knox was rapturous about Wilkins' beautiful novel. 8 Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq (Scribe, $37) Shortlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize. 'In the twelve stories of Heart Lamp, Banu Mushtaq exquisitely captures the everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India. Published originally in the Kannada language between 1990 and 2023, praised for their dry and gentle humour, these portraits of family and community tensions testify to Mushtaq's years as a journalist and lawyer, in which she tirelessly championed women's rights and protested all forms of caste and religious oppression. Written in a style at once witty, vivid, colloquial, moving and excoriating, it's in her characters – the sparky children, the audacious grandmothers, the buffoonish maulvis and thug brothers, the oft-hapless husbands, and the mothers above all, surviving their feelings at great cost – that Mushtaq emerges as an astonishing writer and observer of human nature, building disconcerting emotional heights out of a rich spoken style. Her opus has garnered both censure from conservative quarters as well as India's most prestigious literary awards; this is a collection sure to be read for years to come.' 9 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $38) 10 The Māori Millionaire by Te Kahukura Boynton (Penguin, $35) 'Te Kahukura Boynton is Māori Millionaire, and her debut book is here to help. Learn how to make money by clearing debt, saving for an emergency, finding work and increasing your salary, and even starting your own business and investing in shares and yourself. With tips on building better habits with your money and your life, Māori Millionaire is the positive mindset change you might be missing.' So goes the blurb.
The Spinoff
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending June 13
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 A Different kind Of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60) The former prime minister's reign continues! Do make sure you're buying the legit copy and not any of these AI fakes… 2 Delirious by Damien Wilkins (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) The moving, immersive novel about an ageing couple navigating how to be in the last segments of their lives. 3 The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (Penguin Random House, $38) The second novel from celebrated writer Ocean Vuong. Here's the publisher's blurb: 'One late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and out of options, he quickly becomes her caretaker. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond, one built on empathy, spiritual reckoning, and heartbreak, with the power to alter Hai's relationship to himself, his family, and a community at the brink.' 4 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate, $35) Did you know that former prime minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, has a podcast called A Pod of One's Own? Well now you do. And season seven, episode four is all about Butter. 5 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) The sinister and spectacular alternate history that raises a lot of philosophical questions … a gripping read perfect for these rainy, wintry days. Read a review of this brilliant novel right here on The Spinoff. 6 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $38) The widely celebrated retelling of Huckleberry Finn. 7 Air by John Boyne (Doubleday, $35) The conclusion to Boyne's elements trilogy. Read Chris Reed's review over on Booklovers NZ. 8 There Are Rivers In The Sky by Elif Shafak (Penguin Random House, $26) Turkish writer and activist Elif Shafak's latest, moving novel about the connections facilitated by bodies of water. 9 Eurotrash by Christian Kracht (Profile Books, $39) A terminally ill mother and her son road trip around Europe and reckon with themselves. 10 Assassin's Apprentice #1 Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (HarperCollins, $23) One for the fantasy addicts. Here's the blurb: 'The kingdom of the Six Duchies is on the brink of civil war when news breaks that the crown prince has fathered a bastard son and is shamed into abdication. The child's name is Fitz, and he is despised. Raised in the castle stables, only the company of the king's fool, the ragged children of the lower city, and his unusual affinity with animals provide Fitz with any comfort. To be useful to the crown, Fitz is trained as an assassin; and to use the traditional magic of the Farseer family. But his tutor, allied to another political faction, is determined to discredit, even kill him. Fitz must survive: for he may be destined to save the kingdom.' WELLINGTON 1 A Different Kind Of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60) 2 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 3 Terrier, Worrier by Anna Jackson (Auckland University Press, $25) An absolutely stunning new book from poet Anna Jackson. A long-form poetic sort-of memoir it is gorgeous to read and a meditation on daily life as much as it is about the clouds of thought that follow us day in, day out. 4 A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan (Allen and Unwin NZ, $37) A summer holiday you won't forget anytime soon. Here's a snippet from books editor Claire Mabey's review: 'Enter, the child. Trevelyan's narrator is 10 years old. She's unnamed until the very end of the book (I won't reveal it here: best to find out for yourself). It's this naive perspective that makes A Beautiful Family both easy to read and impossible to put down. The narrator's innocence is pitted against several disturbing factors, all orbiting her summer in various shapes and shades, and it's that persistent dance of disturbances that creates the sustained and unrelenting tension in the novel.' 5 What to Do When I'm Gone: A Mother's Wisdom to Her Daughter by Suzy Hopkins and Hallie Bateman (Bloomsbury, $27) Winter seems a good time to contemplate this kind of inevitability? IDK. But here's the blurb: 'One sleepless night while she was in her early twenties, illustrator/writer Hallie Bateman had a painful realization: Someday, her mother would be gone. The prospect was devastating, and also scary – how would she navigate the world without the person who gave her life? She thought about all the motherly advice she would miss–advice that could help her through a host of future challenges that might arise, including the ordeal of losing a parent. The next day, Hallie asked her mother, writer Suzy Hopkins, to record step-by-step instructions for her to follow in the event of her mom's death. The list began: 'Pour yourself a stiff glass of whiskey and make some fajitas' and continued from there, walking Hallie through the days, months, and years of life after loss, with motherly guidance and support, addressing issues great and small–from choosing a life partner to baking a quiche. The project became a way for mother and daughter to discuss the everyday realities of grief, and to do so honestly, with humor, openness, and gratitude. It led to a book they hope will help other families have similar conversations.' 6 Delirious by Damien Wilkins (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 7 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $38) 8 Before the Winter Ends by Khadro Mohamed (Tender Press, $30) 'I pondered for a long time how I was going to write this review,' wrote Melissa Oliver in The Spinoff. 'I'd lost any sense of how to form a coherent thought or sentence. It is a book that completely took me away from my own life and my own ways of seeing the world. It's unlike anything I've read for a long time and will be a novel that a lot of people will not know they've been waiting for.' 9 Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, $30) The latest instalment from one of the most successful young adult series ever. 10 M āori Rafter & Tāniko Design by J. W. Phillipps (Oratia Books, $40) This is a republication of a classic book from 1943: 'This complete redesign of W.J. Phillipps' classic work introduces key patterns in an accessible manner with rich illustrations. Beginning with the koru, the book develops from analysis of drawings to real examples, including important meeting house designs. The beautifully rendered patterns gain new life in a generous layout that will be of value to students and experts alike.'
