This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias
FICTION
1 Eddy, Eddy by Kate De Goldi (Allen & Unwin, $29.99)
2 Poor People With Money by Dominic Hoey (Penguin Random House, $37)
This might be the most entertaining review of the year, by musician Tom Scott of Hoey's novel about a woman who works in an Auckland bar and comes up with a dangerous scheme to make money: "Dominic couldn’t spell academia if he tried. He’s dyslexic. But he’s a savant story teller. His superpower is making ugly look sexy. He writes for the marginalised. In our country of right-wing sheep farmers and working-class ram raids, we need him to be reporting live from the crime scene. He’s all we got."
Great cover.
3 The Wrong Woman by JP Pomare (Hachette, $36.99)
4 The Last Letter of Godfrey Cheathem by Luke Elworthy (The Wairau Diversion, $35)
All of a sudden there are wildly inventive new works of fiction in the bestseller chart – Dominic Hoey's novel, Colleen Maria Lenihan's collection of short stories (see below), and Elworthy's novel which passes itself off as a series of letters written from prison by "esteemed New Zealand writer Godfrey Cheathem". No such person exists – this is what is known as fiction – but the author makes it all seem believable, and very entertaining. The surprise hit of the year.
5 Kōhine by Colleen Maria Lenihan (Huia Publishers, $25)
"Over 23 short stories that traverse cosmopolis Tokyo, Tāmaki Makaurau and rural Aotearoa, the author presents a profound picture of grief. It is not grief that disfigures but a grief fully surrendered to and therefore understood from which comes joy—not an emotion but a consequence—and such an amalgam begets wry humour, possessed entirely by those who have experienced great pain and made it out alive. The gift bestowed is therefore that rare trait possessed by even fewer: fierce insight.
"… Kōhine is a stunning taonga by a remarkably accomplished author who has given us a work that further places Te Ao Māori firmly at the forefront of literature in this country. It takes up those on the margins, those in the shadows who yet emerge in light; those scattered across the world who do not and will not forget who they are. This book seems to belong to them": from an incredible review by Anna Rankin, a finalist for best reviewer of the year at Saturday night's Voyager media awards, alongside Simon Wilson (the Herald) and ReadingRoom reviewers Philip Matthews and myself.
6 Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)
7 Harbouring by Jenny Pattrick (Penguin Random House, $36)
8 Return to Harikoa Bay by Owen Marshall (Penguin Random House, $37)
New short stories by the great master of the form; I have been reading the book this week, knocked-out and immersed in the little New Zealand worlds he manages to create. Quite a few are told by or are about older men, like the superb "Koru Lounge", in which a judge thinks back to his youth when he holidayed in Crete. The story will appear soon in ReadingRoom. The entire collection is a class act.
9 Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka (Huia Publishers, $35)
10 How to Loiter In a Turf War by Coco Solid (Penguin Random House, $28)
NON-FICTION
1 Ross Taylor: Black & White by Paul Thomas (Upstart Press, $49.99)
A review by James Borrowdale of the Black Cap's biography will appear soon in ReadingRoom.
2 Sons of a Good Keen Man by The Crump Brothers (Penguin Random House, $38)
Ivan, Martin, Stephen, Harry, Erik and Lyall on Barry.
3 Everyday Favourites by Vanya Insull (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)
4 Blue Blood by Andrea Vance (HarperCollins, $36.99)
"So this is what the Wellington political beltway feels like on the inside, and it's pretty much exactly what you always suspected: a chamber of horrors, one of the worst places in the civilised world, a sealed room marked NO ONE GETS OUT OF HERE ALIVE. Blue Blood: The inside story of the National Party in crisis by Andrea Vance is a descent into a circle of Hell where lost souls function to create, maintain and nourish a crisis. Here, then, is the swamp; and Vance has fun draining it": from my review at ReadingRoom.
5 The Bookseller at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw (Allen & Unwin, $3.99)
6 Tools For the Top Padock by Kane Brisco (HarperCollins, $37.99)
This is quality blurbology, worth reproducing in full: "When Kane Brisco was at his lowest ebb, he could barely even look at his stock. He stood in the middle of a paddock, with water flowing over his boots, trying to comprehend how many days of rain he'd endured without a break. Three weeks later, the ground had turned to concrete, split by huge cracks. Consumed by a myriad of problems, the weather tipping him over the edge, Kane lost confidence in his own ability and didn't know if he could financially survive. Every day felt like a disaster and, even at the end of the day when he was at home with his family, his mind was still out on the farm, worrying about his animals. "Farmers have to make tough decisions on a daily basis while shouldering a mountain of pressure alone. Good physical health and strength might lead to better all-round resilience, but often farmers are so concerned with doing the right things for their animals that they forget about looking after themselves. What Kane Brisco came to realise is how important 'farm fitness' is to coping with the daily challenges and unpredictability of life on the land. "In Tools for the Top Paddock, Kane shares the experiences that made him almost quit farming, along with the simple methods he developed for dealing with the mental and physical strains of life on the land. He offers advice for people doing it tough, as well as how to build the fitness required to thrive in good times and bad."
7 The Boy from Gorge River by Chris Long (HarperCollins, $39.99)
8 Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
9 No Excuses by Dave Letele (Penguin Random House, $40)
10 Yum! by Nadia Lim (Nude Food Inc, $55)
