The weekly best-seller chart at the Unity Books stores in Auckland and Wellington.
AUCKLAND STORE
1 This Building Likes Me: The Work of John Wardle Architects (Thames & Hudson, $150) by John Wardle Architects & Justine Clark
Architects! Ugh.
2 Swing Time (Hamish Hamilton, $37) by Zadie Smith
“It covers racism, sexism, inequality, class divides, queerness, intersectional feminism, power imbalances (historical and present), political activism, slavery, religious fundamentalism, poverty…An enjoyable enough read,” wrote Spinoff reviewer Elizabeth Heritage.
3 Norse Mythology (Bloomsbury, $30) by Neil Gaiman
The mysterious god Heimdallr, who is born of nine mothers, can hear grass grow, and has gold teeth.
4 Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Famly and Culture in Crisis (William Collins, $25) by JD Vance
We look forward to the forthcoming review by Joshua Hetherington.
5 Landscapes: John Berger on Art (Verso, $37) by John Berger
We look forward to the forthcoming review by Anthony Byrt.
6 Red Notice: How I Became Putin’s No. 1 Enemy ( Corgi, $26) by Bill Browder
“If I’m killed, you will know who did it,” Browder writes in the final chapter. “When my enemies read this book, they will know that you know.”
7 Mauri Ora: Wisdom from the Maori World (Potton & Burton, $40) by Peter Alsop & Te Raumawhitu Kupenga
Photographs and whakataukī.
8 Genghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered the World (Vintage, $30) by Frank McLynn
Mass rape, mass killings, mass sackings; but Genghis Khan was “admirably tolerant” on matters of religion and ethnicity, writes McLynn, and suggests the warlord was also “unknowingly, environmentally green”.
9 Fates and Furies (Windmill, $26) by Lauren Groff
New York Times bestseller taking the world by storm.
10 A Manual for Cleaning Women (Picador, $25) by Lucia Berlin
43 short stories by a writer compared to Raymond Carver and Jean Rhys.
WELLINGTON STORE
1 Norse Mythology (Bloomsbury, $30) by Neil Gaiman
2 The Sympathizer (Piatkus, $28) by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Fiction.
3 Goneville: A Memoir (Awa Press, $39) by Nick Bollinger
A few years ago, before he got the idea of writing this excellent book about his life and times as a bass player on the road with Rick Bryant’s band Rough Justice, Bollinger reminisced about those days to Metro magazine, and said, “One time Rick went off with our last $5, and came back with a pig’s head.”
4 Bathtime For Little Rabbit (Gecko Press, $15) by Jorg Muhle
Adorable interactive kids’ board book about bathtime by the author of Tickle My Ears.
5 Lion: A Long Way Home (Penguin, $28) by Saroo Brierley
The book of the movie nominated for a best picture Oscar.
6 4 3 2 1 (Faber, $37) by Paul Auster
Bullshit.
7 The Sellout (Oneworld, $28) by Paul Beatty
LOL!
8 Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family & Culture in Crisis (HarperCollins, $35) by JD Vance
9 Fucking Apostrophes (Icon Books, $19) by Simon Griffin
Yeah, they’re cunt’s.
10 Hera Lindsay Bird (Victoria University Press, $25) by Hera Lindsay Bird