1 Flesh by David Szalay (Jonathan Cape, $38)

“An emotionally acute study of manliness.” Read the full Kirkus Review, here.

2 Ara: A Māori Guidebook of the Mind by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin, $30)

In her latest book, Dr Elder introduces us to the goddess Hinengaroa and her 23 caves of the mind.

3 Bread of Angels by Patti Smith (Bloomsbury, $39) 

“Like many of us, she romanticises her childhood,” says Will Hermes in The Guardian, “70 pages in, she’s still just 10 years old. She idolises her father, a damaged second world war vet who takes factory jobs to support his young family, moving them from a Philadelphia rooming house into nearly condemned government housing. They relocate 12 times before settling into a modest new development in rural south Jersey.”

4 Lessons on Living: Finding Your Way Through Life’s Ups and Downs by Nigel Latta (Harper Collins, $40)

Nigel Latta’s last book and an ideal gift for pretty much anyone.

5 The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (Hamish Hamilton, $38)

The tale of two young people dealing with the various forces of life and circumstance that play upon them.

6 Tāmaki Makaurau 2025: Essays on Life in Auckland edited by Damien Levi (Auckland City Libraries, $32)

Auckland through the eyes of 12 individuals.

7 This Way Up: When Maps Go Wrong by Jay Foreman & Mark Cooper-Jones (HarperCollins, $40) 

Those YouTube map guys made a book!

8 Folly Journal Issue 003 edited by Emily Makere Broadmore (Folly, $35)

Getting banned from Whitcoulls has done wonders for Folly’s sales at Unity Books.

9 The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller (Spectra, $28)

“A masterful, acute, and very British novel, revealing the tensions of a time beset by winds of change.” Read the full Kirkus Review, here.

10 Hoods Landing  by Laura Vincent (Āporo press, $35)

“On a scene-by-scene level, Hoods Landing is one of the most intricately crafted debut novels I’ve read recently.” Read Sam Brooks’ rave review right here on The Spinoff.

WELLINGTON

1 Mr Ward’s Map: Victorian Wellington Street by Street by Elizabeth Cox (Massey University Press, $90)

This chunky tome is still going strong: a meticulously researched, stunningly presented portal into Wellington of the past.

2 Flesh by David Szalay (Jonathan Cape, $38)

3 Slowing the Sun by Nadine Hura (Bridget Williams Books, $40)

Strong contender for nonfiction book of the year: Hura’s deep inquiry into understanding climate change through a Māori lens is at once logical and radical.

4 Bread of Angels by Patti Smith (Bloomsbury, $39) 

5 The Rose Field by Philip Pullman (Penguin, $38)

Rumour has it that there was an alternative ending to this novel and we badly want to see it.

6 Folly Journal Issue 003 edited by Emily Makere Broadmore (Folly, $35)

7 What We Can Know by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape, $38)

One of the stars of this cli-fi explainer.

8 Terrier, Worrier by Anna Jackson (Auckland University Press, $25)

Jackson’s latest, brilliant collection of poetry/fragmented autobiography/small creative nonfictions is an acute and warming wander through thought itself, and chickens.

9 Mad Diva by Cadence Chung (Otago University Press, $30)

The stonking talent that is Cadence Chung: there’s a whole essay to be written about Chung’s vital and majestic artistry.

10 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin, $60)

She’s baaackkkkk!