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

Auckland in all its multiplicity is celebrated in this book featuring essays on the city by Anton Blank, Daren Kamali, Faisal Halabi, Jeremy Hansen, Taniera Hawke-Hohepa, Abel Mercer, Perzen Patel, Emmy Rākete, Tommy de Silva, Jean Teng, Manu Vaea and Helene Wong.

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

Will Lyra and Pan ever find each other? What is the rose field? What do we do with our lives once this is over? Is it possible to make an alethiometer? These and many other existential niggles will be covered in a forthcoming review right here on The Spinoff.

3 Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse by Virginia Roberts Giuffre (Transworld, $40)

In this chilling and tragic posthumous memoir, Giuffre accused Andrew Mountbatten Windsor of sexual assault. The once-Prince has now been asked to agree to questioning by a US congressional panel investigating Epstein’s operations.

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

“I had many attempts to [write this book], it took me a long time. Lucky, my boys, my whānau, they were the ones … [who] captured these moments, put them together, and made me see there’s a future to it,” Iti tells The Spinoff. “We didn’t just go through it: we felt it, saw it, smelt it, ate it, slept it, all of that.” Read more, here.

5 The Impossible Fortune: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Viking, $38)

Aspirational geriatric crime solving squad.

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

An evergreen self-help guide from the late, great Nigel Latta.

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

Are they handing out copies of this clifi at Cop30?

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

A debut novel about the complexity of family – and Christmas – is superb pre-holiday reading. As is Laura Vincent’s recent Spinoff Books Confessional.

9 Last One Out by Jane Harper (MacMillan, $38)

Even the title is bloody terrifying. Perfect for end-of-year sink-into-a-book needs.

10 Mātauranga Māori by Hirini Moko Mead (Huia Publishers, $45)

What is mātauranga Māori? This book explains and should find a home in offices, homes and schools all over Aotearoa.

WELLINGTON

1 Survive Aotearoa by Bronwen Wall & Jonathan Kennett (Kennett Brothers, $40)

A fantastic collection of 16 stories about adventurous New Zealanders, presented to keep readers young and old on the edge of their seats.

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

3 Hoods Landing by Laura Vincent (Aporo Press, $35)

4 Eccentric History in Batik: The Art of Dinah Priestley and Tony Burton by Dinah Priestley and Tony Burton (Mary Egan, $55)

Dinah Priestley recently guest starred in The Spinoff Books Confessional to talk about the other books the orbit her life.

5 The Impossible Fortune: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Viking, $38)

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

Queen of brown bread and coffee, Patti Smith, has released her third memoir, this one focussing on her teenage years.

7 The American Boys by Olivia Spooner (Moa Press, $38)

War time romance set in Wellington by talented purveyor of bestsellers, Olivia Spooner.

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

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

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