The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.
AUCKLAND
1 Kāwai: For Such a Time As This by Monty Soutar (Bateman, $40)
The first novel in a new trilogy from historian Monty Soutar (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Kahungunu), traversing nine generations of one Māori family from the 1700s until the present day. Soutar says, “It’s like a history of New Zealand through Māori eyes.” Incredible concept. It also has a truly incredible cover.
2 The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith (Sphere UK, $38)
The newest Strike detective novel from JK Rowling, rocking the boat – and the bestsellers list.
3 Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Picador, $25)
The third novel about strangers time travelling in a cafe…
4 Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Picador, $20)
…and the original from back in 2015. Sam Brooks gave this bestseller two thumbs sideways for being “somewhere between ‘just fine’ and ‘not very good’.”
But what do the readers of Goodreads say of the new novel? Yep, we’re skipping back up to Before Your Memory Fades at number 3 – just call it time travel. Kate says: “With each new book, I have liked them less and less.” Rae comes out with: “Same concept, barely different ideas for the third book of the series.” Naya is more positive: “I preferred the first two books but I still loved this one.”
All burns aside – if you’re looking for something charming, heartfelt and easy to read, Kawaguchi’s got you. Not just once, but three times.
5 The English Text of the Treaty of Waitangi by Ned Fletcher (Bridget Williams Books, $70)
An important new book about the English Treaty of Waitangi text. The Herald explains: “Fletcher’s deep dive into the archives suggests the motives of the British who drafted the Treaty were honourable, that they sought to protect Māori and, importantly, they envisaged British sovereignty co-existing with Māori self-government. In essence, Fletcher concludes that the English language text of the Treaty, in which Māori cede sovereignty to the British, can be reconciled to the Māori language text which promises that Māori chiefs can retain rangatiratanga – self-government.”
6 Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (Faber & Faber, $23)
One of our favourite doses of dystopia from 2021.
7 Return to Harikoa Bay by Owen Marshall (Vintage, $37)
New short stories from one of New Zealand’s absolute greats. We offer this excerpt as evidence of said greatness:
‘Yes, quite a lot of people do ask me how I lost the little finger of my left hand. It’s not a large appendage, or a crucial one; people have prostates and kidneys out, wombs, whole lengths of bowel, and aren’t asked for explanation by casual companions at a café table. But a finger’s absence is markedly obvious and enquiry as to the cause seems less a personal intrusion. The outcome of momentary carelessness perhaps, rather than concession to some grim disease.
My own case is, I suppose, more unusual than most, for I lost my finger as the consequence of a dream.”
Told you.
8 The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell (Knopf, $38)
A description, both tidy and evocative, from the Guardian: “Here is a novel inspired by a poem describing a painting portraying a young woman who actually lived. Art and artifice are intrinsic to it. In Maggie O’Farrell’s imagining of 16th-century Italian courtly life, manners make the man, clothes make the woman, and an image is more durable than a person.”
9 Better the Blood by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster, $35)
The best local thriller of 2022. Michael Bennett wrote for the Spinoff about what inspired his debut.
10 Scattered All Over the Earth by Yoko Tawada (Granta, $33)
New fiction by the author of The Emissary and Memoirs of a Polar Bear. An extract from the entrancing publisher’s blurb: “Welcome to the not-too-distant future. Japan, having vanished into the sea, is now remembered as ‘the land of sushi’. Hiruko, a former citizen and a climate refugee herself, has a job teaching immigrant children in Denmark with her invented language Panska (Pan-Scandinavian) … All these characters take turns narrating chapters, which feature an umami cooking competition; a dead whale; an ultra- nationalist named Breivik; Kakuzo robots; uranium; and an Andalusian bull fight. Episodic, vividly imagined and mesmerising, Scattered All Over the Earth is another sui generis masterwork by Yoko Tawada.”
WELLINGTON
1 Jumping Sundays: The Rise and Fall of the Counterculture in Aotearoa New Zealand by Nick Bollinger (Auckland University Press, $50)
A new book about Aotearoa’s 1960s and 70s protest generation. Music writer Nick Bollinger puts the era of radicals and hippies, anti-Vietnam and anti-nuke, dancing and protesting in the park back in the spotlight.
2 Kawai: For Such a Time As This by Monty Soutar (Bateman, $40)
3 Democracy in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Survival Guide by Geoffrey Palmer & Gwen Palmer Steeds (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $40)
A practical and helpful nutshell guide which “aims to unravel the mysteries of our political system”. It includes interviews with key political figures, a concise history of government, an introduction to our key institutions, plus advice on making complaints, campaigning, and obtaining information. How to become a full political citizen, 101.
4 Farm: The Making of a Climate Activist by Nicola Harvey (Scribe, $37)
Journalist Nicola Harvey wrote an essay for us recently which puts her debut book in context – here’s an excerpt:
“I’ve lived on a beef farm north of Taupō for more than four years. But I am not a farmer. I make a living from the fattening and selling of cattle but I don’t see the world as my father does. He remains wedded to an identity that stems from the image of hard men in black singlets clearing land during a time when the government incentivised, through grants and subsidies, the draining of wetlands and back burning of mānuka to create productive farmland.
“For most of my adult life, I’ve lived and worked in big cities: Melbourne, London and Sydney. I built a career as a journalist and media executive and then I burned out and moved home to Aotearoa with my Australian husband. A vision of earning a living from the land and growing good food loomed large.
“But the decision to quit city life in 2018 to become a cattle farmer dropped us amid a cluster of arguments about food and farming and its role in causing and combating climate change and the degradation of land, fresh water, air. And, like so many others, I went looking for someone to blame for our collective woes. Someone who looks a lot like my dad.”
5 The English Text of the Treaty of Waitangi by Ned Fletcher (Bridget Williams Books, $70)
6 Imagining Decolonisation by Rebecca Kiddle, Bianca Elkington, Moana Jackson, Ocean Ripeka Mercier, Mike Ross, Jennie Smeaton and Amanda Thomas (Bridget Williams Books, $15)
Still imagining.
7 Regenesis: How to Feed the World Without Devouring the Planet by George Monbiot (Allen Lane, $37)
Perfect companion reading for Nicola Harvey’s Farm.
8 Yes, Minister: An Insider’s Account of the John Key Years by Chris Finlayson (Allen & Unwin, $37)
It’s been a bestsellers list full of political writing, hasn’t it? Those local elections must be approaching.
9 Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (Tor, $38)
We love seeing a rare fantasy novel in the bestsellers! Also, very satisfying to see Nona the Ninth at number nine. Here’s a summary of the third book in the Locked Tomb series from the publisher:
“Her city is under siege.
“The zombies are coming back.
“And all Nona wants is a birthday party.
“In many ways, Nona is like other people. She lives with her family, has a job at her local school, and loves walks on the beach and meeting new dogs. But Nona’s not like other people. Six months ago she woke up in a stranger’s body, and she’s afraid she might have to give it back.”
10 The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell (Knopf, $38)
