The latest Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list, described by Steve Braunias
FICTION
1 Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
Possible contender for next year's fiction prize at the Ockham book awards.
2 The Last Days of Joy by Anne Tiernan (Hachette, $36.99)
3 P.S. Come to Italy by Nicky Pellegrino (Hachette, $36.99)
4 Landed by Sue McCauley (David Bateman, $37.99)
"Pat’s never read the books I’ve written but boasts about their brilliance (I find this both endearing and embarrassing.) He also boasts about our children and grandchildren, but not about himself. After 50 years of being together in an ‘unsuitable relationship’ there’s one thing we’ve learnt; romantic love can last a lifetime": from the author's exquisite portrait of her partner Pat.
5 The Deck by Fiona Farrell (Penguin Random House, $37)
6 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)
Winner of the $64,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Fiction Prize at this week's Ockham awards. Oh and: congratulations to JOANNE WILSON OF PALMERSTON NORTH, who has won the 2023 ReadingRoom Greatest Book Prize of All Times; she will receive a copy of all 16 titles that were shortlisted for this year's Ockhams, including The Axeman's Carnival and the book below. Over 400 readers sent in entries to the giveaway contest. Thanks to everyone who entered. They made for great reading; the same prize will be made available next year.
7 Kāwai by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)
Historical novel shortlisted for the fiction prize at the Ockham awards this week, and nominated by 59 readers as the book of the year in the People's Choice award. Fans included Sharleen Baird, who wrote, "An unexpected slightly unsettling perspective on Māori life and lore pre-contact. What I love about it is it made me think about different types of community and what they're based on. I hadn't realised the extensive time given over to studying and researching all issues within the environment, eg seasons, tides, etc and the origin of practices to protect their health and safety…Strange but very thought provoking to me and I will read the next in the series."
8 One of Those Mothers by Megan Nicol Reed (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
9 Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant by Cristina Sanders (The Cuba Press, $37)
Shipwreck saga shortlisted for the fiction prize at the Ockham book awards this week, and nominated by 10 readers as the book of the year in the People's Choice award. Fans included Ani Tylee of Napier, who wrote, "Ignore the dated cover, and long history-ish title, this is a must-read page turner. Based on a true story from the 1860s, Cristina Sanders has imagined the life of one woman shipwrecked with fourteen men on the god-awful, cold Auckland Islands. I don't know how she did it but the author made the endless scraping of blubber from seal skins compelling reading, and I looked forward to my insomnia! My most shared book of the year."
10 This is a Story About Your Mother by Louise Wallace (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $25)
Headline this week in the Gisborne Herald: "Motherhood inspires poetry book by former Gisborne woman Louise Wallace".
NONFICTION
1 Fungi of Aotearoa by Liv Sisson (Penguin Random House, $45)
Fungal growths, etc.
2 Second Chances by Hayley Holt (HarperCollins, $39.99)
3 Whakawhetai: Gratitude by Hira Nathan (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
This week's book giveaway is Nathan's gratitude journal with te ao Māori at its core. To enter, email stephen11@xtra.co.nz with the subject line in screaming caps I WOULD BE VERY GRATEFUL TO WIN THIS BOOK ON GRATITUDE, and share something in your life that you are truly grateful for. Entries close Sunday, May 21 at midnight.
The author told the Herald, "I had no idea how to write a book or even approach a publisher, so I googled how to make a book. I decided to self-publish and then I said to my girlfriend, 'I think I’ll get 50 printed for friends and whānau.' She said to get 200 printed, just in case. The 200 sold in three days so we got 500 more ordered and they sold out before they even arrived. And that’s how it happened. I worked with publishers Allen & Unwin on a new edition and I was real stoked because we were able to bring on board Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho, a Māori takatāpui artist who did the cover art. I love it and her art has really brought out the wairua of the journal. It completes it."
4 Winter Warmers by Philippa Cameron (Allen & Unwin, $49.99)
5 There’s a Cure for This by Emma Espiner (Penguin Random House, $35)
Essays by a surgical registrar at Middlemore Hospital, who won the 2019 Best Writer in New Zealand Journalism award at the Hamilton Press Club.
6 Straight Up by Ruby Tui (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
The great Tui will be chaired by Madeleine Chapman at the Auckland Writers Festival tomorrow (Saturday, May 20) at 10am, at the Aotea Centre.
7 The Everyday Herbalist by Jane Wrigglesworth (Allen & Unwin, $49.99)
8 Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $38)
9 Wawata by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
10 From There to Here by Joe Bennett (HarperCollins, $35)
New memoir by the revered prose stylist.
