1 Rangatira by Paula Morris (Penguin, $30)

And oldie but a goodie! Morris’ Rangatira was first published in 2011 and is widely regarded as one of the great Aotearoa historical novels, as the story follows Ngati Wai chief Paratene Te Manu as he recalls his trip to England and all that unfolded.

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

Shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction in this year’s Ockhams!

3 The Black Monk by Charlotte Grimshaw (Penguin, $38)

Grimshaw’s latest book extends the themes of her earlier short story of the same name… family dysfunction.

4 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (Penguin Classics, $18)

The truly great upside of the wreck that was the latest film adaptation.

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

“Garner, Hooper and Krasnostein appear in the book as Helen, Chloe and Sarah,” writes Catriona Menzies-Pike in The Guardian. “Their collaboration was conceived as a podcast and much of the book is drawn from transcripts of conversations recorded while travelling between Morwell and Melbourne. They are often on the road but never able to stay in Morwell for long. The result is a work of oral literature that has been yoked to the page; conversations between friends, conversations between women. At one point, Garner says: “If anybody wants a mandarin or a biscuit, just kindly scream out and I’ll pass it over.” In a different book, such asides might have been edited out. Here they signal an interest in the ephemera of daily life, in the nourishment required to sustain conversations, friendships and families.”

6 Departure(s) by Julian Barnes (Jonathan Cape, $38)

Where fact and fiction come to blur.

7 Heart the Lover by Lily King (Canongate, $37)

Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction!

8 Hoods Landing by Laura Vincent (Āporo Press, $35)

Shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction in this year’s Ockhams!

9 Seascraper by Benjamin Wood (Viking Penguin, $40)

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2025.

10 Strangers: A Memoir of a Marriage by Belle Burden (Ebury Press, $40) 

What happens when a marriage of 20 years suddenly falls apart?

WELLINGTON

1 The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Michael Joseph, $38)

“This is a perfect novel, so satisfying and beautifully conceived and written. Ten out of ten, no notes.” – Roxanne Gay on Good Reads.

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

One of Kiran Dass’ three favourite books from 2025.

3 The Ballad of Joe Taihape by Glenn Colquhoun (Old King Press, $30)

The latest poetic project from bestselling writer, doctor and storyteller Glenn Colquhoun.

4 Heart the Lover by Lily King (Canongate, $37)

5 Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (Tor Books, $30)

“A perfectly scrumptious little package that will warm your heart (and your stomach!),” says Eden, bookseller at Unity Books. “It’s got all the great elements of my favourite robot stories (gender, identity, autonomy) but it’s also about food and found family and San Francisco. Something special even if you’re not really into sci-fi.”

6 Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton (Canongate, $28)

Delightful and superbly written memoir about discovering a leveret, letting it survive in your house, then allowing it to be as wild as possible.

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

8 Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy (Harper Collins, $35)

This reviewer thinks this novel is a triumph.

9 Good Economy by Craig Renney (Bridget Wiliams Books, $20)

“In The Good Economy, economist Craig Renney asks what kind of economy we want – and who it should serve,” says the publisher’s blurb.

10 Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Penguin, $28)

An interstellar adventure and one of Obama’s picks.