1 Flesh by David Szalay (Jonathan Cape, $38)

Divisive!

2 Bread of Angels by Patti Smith (Bloomsbury, $39) 

I suspect many a person will be unwrapping Patti Smith on Christmas Day.

3 The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (Hamish Hamilton, $38)

A Booker Prize-shortlisted novel from one of the greats.

4 Lessons on Living: Finding Your Way Through Life’s Ups and Downs by Nigel Latta (Harper Collins, $40)

Good for literally everyone you know. Apart from all the “I’m sorted” folk out there who does not need some help with the rollercoaster that is life?

5 The Mushroom Tapes: Conversations on a Triple Murder Trial by Chloe Hooper, Helen Garner and Sarah Krasnostein (Text Publishing, $40)

Absolutely sick decision to wrap this gem in a queasy green cover.

6 Mana by Tāme Iti (Allen & Unwin, $50)

“I’ve got it after 70 fucking bloody years!” Read more of Lyric Waiwiri-Smith’s interview with Tāme Iti right here on The Spinoff.

7 Folly Journal Issue 003 edited by Emily Makere Broadmore (Folly, $35)

A mixed media journal.

8 Tāmaki Makaurau 2025: Essays on Life in Auckland edited by Damien Levi (Auckland City Libraries, $32)

A collection of essays from 12 individuals each giving personal accounts of their relationship with the country’s largest city.

9 Strange Houses by UKETSU (Pushkin Press, $37) 

Curious crime.

10 The Wedding People by Alison Espach (Phoenix, $28)

Sad stranger crashes wedding.

WELLINGTON

1 Mr Ward’s Map: Victorian Wellington Street by Street by Elizabeth Cox (Massey University Press, $90)

Click your way back here to The Spinoff on the weekend for a peek inside Cox’s astonishing elucidation of Mr Ward’s 88 pages of map.

2 Flesh by David Szalay (Jonathan Cape, $38)

3 Garrison World by Charlotte MacDonald (Bridget Williams Books, $70)

Another book that would make a large rectangular present for the history nut in your life come December 25. Here’s the publisher’s blurb:

“Garrison World explores the lives of soldiers, sailors and their families stationed in Aotearoa New Zealand and across the British empire in the nineteenth century. Spanning the decades from 1840 to 1870, this major new history from Charlotte Macdonald places the New Zealand Wars within the wider framework of imperial power. It shows how conflict and resistance throughout the empire, from rebellion in India to the Morant Bay uprising in Jamaica, were connected to the colonial project in New Zealand.

At the centre of this history are the thousands who served in the British military – from rank-and-file soldiers and bluejackets drawn from working-class Britain and Ireland, to officers from elite backgrounds who purchased their commissions. Their presence in New Zealand was vital to the imposition of imperial control, both during times of war and in the intervening years when the garrison underpinned a fragile settler economy and society.

Through rich archival detail and personal accounts, Garrison World traces the structures, experiences and legacies of military occupation. Acknowledging the impact on Māori communities and whenua, the book offers a critical and unflinching account of how imperial authority was imposed – and often violently asserted.”

4 Bread of Angels by Patti Smith (Bloomsbury, $39) 

5 Chris Knox: Not Given Lightly by Craig Robertson (Auckland University Press, $60)

A fulsome biography of a one-of-a-kind artist. Read Claire Mabey’s review of Robertson’s labour of love, right here.

6 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 

Strong contender for Aotearoa novel of the year: sinister, immersive, though-provoking. The Spinoff’s books editor loved it.

7 What We Can Know by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape, $38)

Current cli-fi and tipped by some as a future Booker Prize longlister (at least).

8 The Rose Field by Philip Pullman (Penguin, $38)

Don’t dream it’s over (but it is, for Lyra). Freya and Claire are still messaging about it though and may need to start some kind of forum.

9 The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (Hamish Hamilton, $38)

10 Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy (Hamish Hamilton, $40)

Let it be. (But in this case, don’t: Roy’s memoir is mesmerising).