The latest Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list, described by Steve Braunias
NONFICTION
1 The Art of Winning by Dan Carter (Penguin Random House, $40) Dan Carter, author! A free copy of the AB legend's new self-helper is up for grabs in this week's free book giveaway. He expands on 10 "timeless truths on leadership, purpose and potential". These "hard-learned truths" include such notions as "Why embracing your past can be every bit as important as looking towards your future", and "Why empowering others leads to the best decisions." Yes, it sounds like complete and utter bollocks, but by any measure Dan was an awesome high-performance athlete who achieved many things and he remains an inspirational figure. To enter the draw to win a copy of The Art of Winning, share what you think are the best chances the All Blacks have of winning the World Cup, by emailing stephen11@xtra.co.nz with the subject line in screaming caps I WANT TO WIN THAT BOOK ABOUT WINNING BY DAN CARTER WHO IS A WINNER.
Manly cover.
2 Head On by Carl Hayman & Dylan Cleaver (HarperCollins, $39.99)
3 Whakawhetai: Gratitude by Hira Nathan (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
4 One of Them by Shaneel Lal (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
An excerpt from their memoir was published in ReadingRoom on Monday. It dealt with the torture they suffered at the hands of village priests who practised an extreme version of so-called gay conversion therapy. Below, a photo of Shaneel as a child, standing in one of the temples were they were abused.
5 This is ADHD by Chanelle Moriah (Allen & Unwin, $32.99)
6 Fungi of Aotearoa by Liv Sisson (Penguin Random House, $45)
7 Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
8 Resilient Grieving by Lucy Hone (Allen & Unwin, $27.99)
9 Straight Up by Ruby Tui (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
10 Wawata – Moon Dreaming by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
FICTION
1 Pet by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
2023 has been a wonder year for the New Zealand novel and one of the chief wonders has been Chidgey's psychological thriller Pet. It will be a strong contender for the Acorn Prize for fiction at next year's Ockhams; if it wins, the author will make history as the first New Zealand author to win the award in consecutive years. She won this year with The Axeman's Carnival, at number 3 this week. But there are many strong contenders, not least the book at number 2…
2 Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
3 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)
4 Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts by Josie Shapiro (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
5 Kāwai by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)
A free copy of Kāwai was up for grabs in last week's book giveaway, to mark the occasion of the author being shortlisted for the Keri Hulme Award at the Pikihuia Awards for Māori writers. Readers were asked to nominate who they consider the best five Māori authors in New Zealand. I really should have added "living". Many voted for the honoured dead. I found that a bit...strange. If I'd asked readers to nominate the best five New Zealand authors, would they have gone for Sargeson, Frame, Mansfield, Shadbolt, etc? It's a rhetorical question.
Anyway, among the most interesting entries were those from Neil, who included the very much alive Alan Duff and Tayi Tibble in his top five, and from Gaye, whose list included Michael Te Arawa Bennett: "Earlier this year while in the library in Wollongong I was reading a magazine and saw a review praising a NZ Māori detective novel, Better The Blood by Michael Bennett. Who's he, I wondered? I tracked it down when I got back to NZ and realised I needed to find more of Bennett's writing. This novel provides a fine weave of culture and history underpinning the crime."
But the winner is Winston Moreton, who effortlessly weaved the present with the past in his entry. His top five:
"1. Monty Soutar - because my uncle Winston lies alongside his in the Faenza Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and because I loaned my first edition signed copy of Kāwai to someone whose name I have forgotten.
"2. Dr Hinemoa Elder - whanaunga!
"3. Witi Ihimaera who called me a book thief in Muir's bookshop.
"4. HW Williams M.A. – 'A Dictionary of the Māori Language' - 7th edition reprint 1985. A koha when I left Tari Maori ki te Waipounamu.
"5. Hoani R. Waititi, B.A. - Te Rangatahi, 'Ka Hao te Rangatahi'. The new net goes a-fishing. Revised Book 1 edition 1970 with macrons."
Fantastic list! A free copy of Kāwai is his.
6 The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer (Hachette, $37.99)
7 Tangi by Witi Ihimaera (Penguin Random House, $30)
8 Liveability by Claire Orchard (Te Herenga Waka university Press, $25)
Strong collection of poems, including "Shooting rats", a memory from the author's childhood when she went to her uncle's farm in the school holidays; she wrote a fascinating background of the poem for ReadingRoom. The poem begins:
Uncle Jim drove the ute
and the dogs sat up eager in the tray....
Depressing cover.
9 Āria by Jessica Hinerangi (Auckland University Press, $29.99)
10 The Deck by Fiona Farrell (Penguin Random House, $37)
