The latest Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list, described by Steve Braunias
FICTION
1 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)
Number one for third consecutive week, ever since the book was named winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the Ockham book awards in May – but what to expect in next week's chart, with the first week of sales of Chidgey's latest book, Pet? It looks set to sell its socks off. From Philip Matthews' review, on Thursday: "It is tempting to say that Pet is a page turner perfectly timed for Chidgey’s new, broader audience. And there would be no problem with that. Sometimes the walls that divide so-called literary fiction from commercial fiction should be knocked down...Pet is a story about the temptations of charismatic and attractive characters who can take advantage of weakness and vulnerability."
2 Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
Alice Wickenden of Edinburgh wrote on the Twitter machine this week, "Went to see Booker Prize winning author Eleanor Catton talk tonight and a man asked her if her husband wrote her books because they were so good!!!!! She answered incredibly graciously and took it as an opportunity to talk about character/authorial voice."
3 Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts by Josie Shapiro (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
"The raging shame of my own lifetime of body dysmorphia and disordered eating fuels the emotional truth of my novel," wrote the author in ReadingRoom, of her debut novel about a runner called Mickey. Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts was the inaugural winner of the 2022 Allen & Unwin Commercial Fiction Prize.
4 P.S. Come to Italy by Nicky Pellegrino (Hachette, $36.99)
5 The Last Days of Joy by Anne Tiernan (Hachette, $36.99)
6 Kāwai by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)
7 The Deck by Fiona Farrell (Penguin Random House, $37)
"I love novels that you fall into and languish, trusting that each word will be perfectly placed, that each action will be either consistent or surprising, that each character will be rounded and real. Fiona Farrell’s sumptuously written, impeccably paced and frankly terrifying new novel, The Deck, exactly fits": from Paddy Richardson's rave review of a novel set on Banks Peninsula.
8 Landed by Sue McCauley (David Bateman, $37.99)
9 One of Those Mothers by Megan Nicol Reed (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
10 Always Italicise by Alice Te Punga Somerville (Auckland University Press, $24.99)
A free copy of the winner of this year's Biggsy Prize for Poetry at the Ockham book awards is up for grabs. A stand-out poem in the collection is a kind of ode, or elegy, to one of the most famous streets in Auckland social history - Madeleine Ave, better known as Mad Ave, now so gentrified that even its name has been erased, and altered to Mt Taylor Drive, in Glendowie. The poem is at once a celebration of whanau life on what was Mad Ave and a lament for what has been lost.
New Zealand towns and cities are full of streets with a particular significance – streets which are like local legends, where a lot of crazy or beautiful things happened, where families lived and did their best, where a kind of psychic current ran through the street and electrified everyone who went near it. To win a copy of Always Italicise, send in a story about a street that has some kind of resonance in your life, your community, by emailing it to stephen11@xtra.co.nz with the subject line in screaming caps I WANT TO READ ABOUT MAD AVE. Entries close at midnight, Sunday June 11.
NONFICTION
1 Whakawhetai: Gratitude by Hira Nathan (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
"Te reo, Māoritanga, philosophical thought, hinengaro and rational thought collided like a bull forcing the matador to respect it and Whakawhetai was born": from a self-portrait by the Hasting-born author of the year's nicest, most positive book.
2 Fungi of Aotearoa by Liv Sisson (Penguin Random House, $45)
3 Winter Warmers by Philippa Cameron (Allen & Unwin, $49.99)
4 Second Chances by Hayley Holt (HarperCollins, $39.99)
6 There’s a Cure for This by Emma Espiner (Penguin Random House, $35)
7 From There to Here by Joe Bennett (HarperCollins, $35)
A free copy of the great prose stylist's latest memoir was up for grabs in last week's book giveaway. Because he writes a column only glancingly about gardens for NZ Gardener magazine, readers were asked to send in a photo of a garden that evokes nature, that evokes beauty, that evokes sunlight and shadow, with a few words too.
It was an immensely popular giveaway. Among the best entries were Linda Herrick's photo of a wild garden in Sicily, Meg sent in a nice poem about gardens by Dinah Hawken, David took a photo of a swingseat overlooking East Bay in Northland, Ann photographed the public gardens in front of the railway station in Dunedin, Cynthia wrote close to 1000 words about her Mum's garden, and Bev wrote, "A number of years ago I won a competition through the Waikato Times to have lunch with Joe Bennett. I was lucky to sit opposite him and what an hilarious time we had. He’s a great conversationalist and I love his wit and his irreverent take on the world. Out of the 10 winners at the lunch I was the only one who had booked to hear him speak that evening at the Hamilton Garden’s Summer Festival. And I enjoyed every moment of it. Now I’d love to meet him again even if it’s only between the pages of his latest book."
But the winner is Nick Gormack, who best approached the delicate, intimate spirit of Joe Bennett's writing with this photograph of a fallen leaf in frost.
8 Be Your Best Self by Rebekah Ballagh (Allen & Unwin, $32.99)
9 Māori Made Easy Workbook 1/ Kete 1 by Scotty Morrison (Penguin Random House, $25)
10 Wawata – Moon Dreaming by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
