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 Poor People With Money by Dominic Hoey (Penguin, $37)
We recently published an excerpt of Dominic Hoey’s punchy new novel, about Monday Woolridge’s fight for survival on Aotearoa’s poverty line. Here’s a snack.
There was something sticking into my arm. It took all my strength to lift it to eye level. A needle dug into my skin just above my elbow, a tube running off it. I followed it with my eyes and saw a bag filled with clear liquid hanging above my head. I’m in a hospital, I thought, which means I’m in Auckland. I freaked out and tried to get out of bed but the pain in my legs was intense.
“Hello?” I croaked. “Nurse? Doctor? Anyone?”
I heard footsteps and then the door swung open.
“You’re not dead after all.”
2 Yes, Minister: An Insider’s Account of the John Key Years by Chris Finlayson (Allen & Unwin, $37)
The National Party is really delivering the book goodies! In Yes, Minister, one of the most senior members of John Key’s government spills the magic beans. From the publisher’s blurb: “Yes, Minister reveals the inner workings of what it was like to be at the centre of power in New Zealand, and shines a light on the real John Key. Chris reveals what Key was really like as prime minister: utterly effective and utterly ruthless when needed.”
Toby Manhire interviewed the author on a special episode of politics podcast Gone By Lunchtime this week:
3 Eddy, Eddy by Kate De Goldi (Allen & Unwin, $30)
Humans of Goodreads gush: “This is simply an absolute delight, brilliantly crafted and a joy to read” and “Read it, treasure the language, and know that as you turn the final page – in my case at 2am – you’ll sigh with satisfaction.”
4 Joan by Katherine J. Chen (Random House, $30)
Joan of Arc, the legend, reimagined as relatable human. What’s not to love.
5 Better the Blood by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster, $35)
An answer to the question “What should I get my thriller-loving Dad for Father’s Day?” (Yes, dear reader, it’s coming up quick).
Better the Blood is a debut crime thriller set in Auckland, which has already been translated into nine languages and been nabbed for a drama series adaptation. Michael Bennett wrote in a recent essay on the Spinoff that his novel was written not only to entertain the hell out of readers, but to address “where we are, 200 years after colonisation”. Ngaio Marsh Awards founder Craig Sisterson calls Better the Blood “the first crime thriller about a Māori detective, written by a Māori author”.
6 The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber & David Wengrow (Penguin $30)
A re-examination of ideas about our early human ancestors – were we really only either innocent, free, and equal; or uncivilised and thuggish? David and David think not.
7 The Promise by Damon Galgut (Chatto & Windus, $37)
Winner of the Booker Prize, way back in the other world that was 2021.
8 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Grove Press, $25)
A welcome new Top 10 entry and one of the most exquisite short novels you’ll ever read. A 2022 Booker long-lister, set in a small Irish town in 1985, during the lead up to Christmas. From the blurb: “Early one morning, while delivering an order [of coal] to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.”
9 Kōhine by Colleen Maria Lenihan (Huia, $25)
A stunning new collection of linked short stories, set between Tokyo and small-town Aotearoa. Leniham wrote about her life, family and writing recently on Newsroom: “When allowed to buy a toy, I would always choose a book instead. My library card was always maxed. Now I realise books were an escape from a mostly unhappy childhood. Somerset Maugham said, ‘To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.’ Reading was a far healthier coping mechanism than others I would develop later.”
10 How to Loiter in a Turf War by Coco Solid (Penguin, $28)
Loiter a while in the world of Coco Solid. You won’t regret it.
WELLINGTON
1 Blue Blood by Andrea Vance (Harper Collins, $37)
A deep dive into National Party chaos post-Key. We’ve got you set with an excerpt, a review, and even a podcast.
2 Atua: Māori Gods and Heroes by Gavin Bishop (Picture Puffin, $40)
Atua just won big – triple big – at the 2022 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Dearly departed (from The Spinoff, that is) Catherine Woulfe reported on the awards: “Tonight belongs to Gavin Bishop. With his splendid hardback Atua, Bishop (ONZM, Ngāti Pukeko, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Mahuta, Tainui) took out three of the big six categories, including the supreme award, the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year.
“It’s the fifth time he’s won book of the year (more, even, than the award’s namesake Margaret Mahy), the third time he’s won the non-fiction category, and the fifth time he’s won for illustration. There’s all sorts of ways to crunch the numbers, plus a bunch of other awards and accolades not mentioned here, but at this point let’s just say he’s the man.”
3 Imagining Decolonisation by Rebecca Kiddle, Bianca Elkington, Moana Jackson, Ocean Ripeka Mercier, Mike Ross, Jennie Smeaton and Amanda Thomas (Bridget Williams Books, $15)
No need to imagine. The little book is on the big list all day, every day.
4 Poor People With Money by Dominic Hoey (Penguin, $37)
5 Eddy, Eddy by Kate De Goldi (Allen & Unwin, $30)
6 Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Doubleday, $37)
A novel set in 1960s America, where Elizabeth, a depressed, single-mother chemist, stars in cooking show Supper at Six. The Herald describes Elizabeth as “fascinating and fearsome”, and writes that Lessons in Chemistry is “a novel of a feminist thwarted by injustice, forced into taking on a role she doesn’t want. But it’s so much more than that. It provokes a whole gamut of emotion in the reader: fear, disgust, empathy, sadness and joy, and has many truly funny, inspiring moments.”
7 It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover (Simon & Schuster, $23)
A re-entry to the list from TikTok star and author. About the novel, Sarah Pekkanen says: “It Ends with Us isn’t an ordinary love story. It will break your heart while filling you with hope, and by the end of this gripping, pulse-pounding novel, you’ll be smiling through your tears.”
8 Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)
The metaphorical zesty lemon pud on a cold winter’s night.
9 Return to Harikoa Bay by Owen Marshall (Vintage, $37)
After 10 years, Owen Marshall, aka the master of the New Zealand short story, has a new collection available. Sharpen your knives and dig in.
10 Ross Taylor: Black & White with Paul Thomas (Upstart Press, $50)
The new memoir from the recently-retired New Zealand cricket star. He’s scored the most runs, played the most matches, taken the most catches and had many other (to us) mysterious sporty achievements. Here’s the story of the bits you don’t already know… in black and white.