1 Counting Down with Theodore Brown by Daniel Devenney (Allen & Unwin, $25)

Bookseller-turned-author Daniel Devenney’s debut novel is a delight. “I feel like Counting Down with Theodore Brown chose me,” said Devenney in a conversation with books editor, Claire Mabey. “I was struck with the idea after I applied for my New Zealand residency. I began questioning if I could live so far away from my friends and family in Ireland. I’d fallen in love with Aotearoa but couldn’t stop wondering how many days I’d have left with my loved ones on the other side of the world, if I chose to stay. I asked myself if I’d make the same decision if I knew those precise numbers. Theodore Brown was born from there. I simply couldn’t stop thinking about how such an ability would shape a person.

The story explores our basic need for connection. Theo’s journey highlights the joy close relationships bring to our lives, and the dangers we face when we isolate ourselves. It’s also a love story and many other things. Ultimately, I wanted to write about life, and the triumphs and tragedies we all experience.”

2 Claude Megson: Architect by Reid Giles & Jackie Meiring (Massey University Press, $75)

Another stunning publication from Massey University Press: “From the 1960s until his early death in 1994, New Zealand architect Claude Megson forged a significant body of experimental houses – typically abstract and fantastical, they could seem almost unfathomable in their complexity.”

3 Flesh by David Szalay (Jonathan Cape, $28) 

Last year’s Booker Prize winner.

4 Hooked by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate, $37)

“Hooked is the follow-up for English-language readers, though it was written earlier, in 2015, and like the previous novel is translated with crackling verve by Polly Barton. While a more introspective work, its high-wire plot and uneven trajectory make for a relentlessly dizzying experience. Fans of Butter might even view it as a trial run.” Read the rest of Catherine Taylor’s review on The Guardian.

5 Son of a Nobody by Yan Martel (Text Publishing, $38)

From the author of Life of Pi.

6 Nonesuch by Francis Spufford (Faber & Faber, $38) 

“Chasing Fascists Through the London Blitz, With Time Travel and Angels” goes the NY Times (paywalled) headline, which is probably all you need to know.

7 Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman (Hachette, $38)

Gothic knights.

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

The book that launched a thousand knitted fox cardis.

9 Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (Michael Joseph, $38)

Cult hit vibes.

10 The Clean: In the Dream Life You Need a Rubber Soul by Richard Langston (Auckland University Press, $50)

The story of the pioneering Dunedin band in their own words.

WELLINGTON

1 Night, Ma by Elizabeth Knox (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $40)

An early contender for book of the year. A moving, humane, profoundly interesting memoir about family, care and tragedy. Make sure to return to The Spinoff this weekend to read more about it.

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

3 The Clean: In the Dream Life You Need a Rubber Soul by Richard Langston (Auckland University Press, $50)

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

A comfort read of the best kind.

5 Be Brave: The Life of a Pacific Correspondent by Barbara Dreaver (Awa Press, $45)

A testament to the grit, intelligence and daring required to be one of the very best.

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

The other fantastic memoir on this here chart.

7 Finding Cynthia Winters by Sue Watson (Lasavia Publishing, $35)

And another. Here’s the publisher’s blurb: “Sue Watson grew up in a perfect, loving nuclear family, a white-picket fence, quarter acre paradise. But all was not quite as it seemed. Sue and her sister were adopted, and one day when Sue as a young woman was studying in Wellington, she received a letter from her birth mother Elizabeth Winters. This began a life-long journey to discover the shadowy truth of her past.”

8 Aotearoa in Bloom by Rachel Clare and Tryphena Carcknell (Harper Collins, $60)

A beautifully illustrated book on the history of Aotearoa’s flowers.

9 Hooked by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate, $37)

10 Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (Penguin, $38)

One of the biggest novels of 2025 continues to be huge in 2026.