1 Speaking My Language by Mike McRoberts (Harper Collins, $40)

Journalist and presenter Mike McRoberts on his te reo journey – what it means to him in life and in work.

2 Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (Harper Collins, $38)

Kuang (also author of blockbuster novel about the publishing industry, Yellowface) is one of those writers who runs.

3 The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) 

You will not regret reading this brilliant debut: it has everything – romance, hot sex, sensitive approach to the past, intrigue and excellent writing.

4 Clown Town: Slough House #9 by Mick Herron (Baskerville, $38)

That sweet, sweet Slow Horses stuff.

5 Anything Could Happen by Grant Robertson (Allen & Unwin, $40)

Still going strong! Here’s Henry Cooke’s review.

6 In Dark Places: The Confessions of Teina Pora and an Ex-Cop’s Fight For Justice by Michael Bennett (Paul Little Books, $35) 

The award-winning result of a nearly decade-long fight for justice for Teina Pora, a young Māori man wrongly imprisoned for 21 years. (A note from Unity Books: In Dark Places isn’t on the website due to stocktake – it’ll be back soon!)

7 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate, $35)

Crime novel of the decade?

8 Bird of the Year by Forest and Bird (Penguin, $45) 

We do love our birds, and that one bat.

9 Become Unstoppable by Enoka Gilbert (Penguin, $40)

Reading this book is the closest many of us will ever come to being an All Black.

10 Eurotrash by Christian Kracht (Serpents Tail, $30) 

Unity Books Auckland is having a great time with this literary road trip novel, rarely out of the charts for months now.

WELLINGTON

1 Anything Could Happen by Grant Robertson (Allen & Unwin, $40)

2 Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (Harper Collins, $38)

3 Clown Town: Slough House #9 by Mick Herron (Baskerville, $38)

4 It’s What He Would’ve Wanted by Nick Ascroft (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $25)

Ascroft’s sixth poetry collection: dazzling, inventive, funny, relatable. Here’s a snippet from the blurb: “What would he have wanted? As little fuss as possible. But, reading between the lines: a little help. All the latest gossip and complaints. An arse that is not wrong. Opulence. One leap from the rope ladder. The final word.”

5 Bird of the Year by Forest and Bird (Penguin, $45) 

6 Hallmarked Man #8 Cormoran Strike by Robert Galbraith (Sphere, $40)

Meh.

7 Minute Cryptic by Angas Tiernan & Liam Runnalls (Penguin, $36)

Training guide for cryptic crosswords! Stocking filler with brains.

8 The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) 

9 Katabasis (Special Deluxe Edition) by R. F. Kuang (Harper Collins, $60)

Ohhhhh look at the fancy sprayed edges and chic hard cover almost like a box!

10 Speaking My Language by Mike McRoberts (Harper Collins, $40)