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  Straight Up by Tui Ruby (Allen & Unwin, $37)

Our book of the year: from books editor Claire Mabey’s review: “Reading Tui’s life story is like joining a boot camp for life, with a steady and capable coach to guide you through its sweeping emotional landscape.” Highly recommended for everyone you know this Christmas.

2  Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $23)

Set in Ireland at Christmas time, this short and perfectly formed story confronts the brutal history of the Magdalene laundries where tens of thousands of Irish women were incarcerated. Brutal but infused with beauty and hope.

3  Lessons by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape, $37)

The 17th novel by McEwan has been sitting pretty in this list for a while now. This from The Guardian review: “Roland learns from them all, lesson after lesson, everything from the demands of genius to the virtue of a clean kitchen table. It’s a wearying trope: women as instruments and catalysts of male insight. But as Roland’s granddaughter reminds him: ‘A shame to ruin a good tale by turning it into a lesson.’”

4  Immense World by Ed Yong (The Bodley Head, $40)

Yong’s sweeping natural history book is a new entry to the list just ahead of the big day. From the publisher’s blurb: “In An Immense World, author and acclaimed science journalist Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, allowing us to perceive the skeins of scent, waves of electromagnetism, and pulses of pressure that surround us. Because in order to understand our world we don’t need to travel to other places; we need to see through other eyes.”

5  Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Faber & Faber, $37)

A hugely successful re-telling of David Copperfield from Kingsolver (famed author of The Poisonwood Bible all those years ago), set in Appalachia amid the opioid crisis. An excellent gift for the fiction-lover in your life.

6  Romantic by William Boyd (Viking Press, $37)

A “whole life” novel chronicling the life of a 19th century man as he moves between being “a soldier, a farmer, a pawnbroker, a bankrupt, a jailbird, a writer, a gigolo – and many other manifestations – and, finally, a minor diplomat”. An immersive, escapist read for the holidays if ever there was one.

7  The Passenger by Cormack McCarthy (Macmillan, $50)

The story of a salvage diver is bleak and beautiful in classic McCarthy fashion. The sequel, Stella Maris, has just been released, a double-whammy gift for the hard-core fans.

8  Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Doubleday, $37)

A stonking big hit this year. From The Guardian review: “Lessons in Chemistry, by former copywriter Bonnie Garmus, is that rare beast; a polished, funny, thought-provoking story, wearing its research lightly but confidently, and with sentences so stylishly turned it’s hard to believe it’s a debut.”

9  The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka, $35)

One of the best books of the year from a queen of fiction. Bird-star of Aotearoa literature, Tama the Magpie, narrates a gripping rural drama that builds and builds. A must-read!

10  Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly (Te Herenga Waka, $35)

The gift that keeps on giving. G & V with a G & T is the ideal Christmas present to self, we say.

WELLINGTON

1  Straight Up by Ruby Tui (Allen & Unwin, $37)

2  Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Doubleday, $37)

3  The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka (Sort of Books, $37)

On the Booker Prize winner of 2022, Himali McInnes says: “The story is a fast-paced, entertaining romp feathered with magical realism; a ghost story peopled with souls who are exaggerated versions of their former selves; a political satire that cuts deep to the bone; and a love story.”

4  Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson (Doubleday, $37)

A gangster-flapper-1920s-London sees the author of Life After Life in fine form.

5  Lessons by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape, $37)

6  Ōtari: Two Hundred Years of Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush by Bee Dawson (The Cuba Press, $80)

All Wellingtonians know that Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush is a heaven right here on Earth and this book celebrates its long and fascinating history.

7  Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Faber, $37)

8  Reasons Not to Worry: How to Be Stoic in Chaotic Times by Brigid Delany (Allen & Unwin, $28)

In this book, Delany (a senior writer for The Guardian Australia) takes us through the ancient philosophy of Stoicism and shows us how to apply it to this heady, chaotic world.

9  What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe (John Murray, $35)

The first book was such a global hit we’re not surprised Munroe has gone in for more. An entertaining and mind-boggling series of ludicrous questions. Great for round the campfire this summer.

10  Aroha: Māori Wisdom for a Contented Life Lived in Harmony with Our Planet by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin, $30)

The first of Elder’s beautifully crafted books of mātauranga Māori wisdom is no doubt being scooped up for presents again this year. Quite right too: share the love.