The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending November 13

The top 10 sales lists recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.

AUCKLAND

1 End of Everything by John M. Harrison (Serpent’s Tail, $37)

Winner of the 2026 Booker Prize! At the ripe old age of 81 John M. Harrison took out one of the most prestigious literary awards with his taut sci-fi about a man and his aunt living together in a post-apocalypse England now grappling with the arrival of enigmatic aliens. Harrison is the first sci-fi author to win the Booker which some are heralding as a sign that lit snobs are finally seeing the light. Read Michael Faber's review of The End of Everything here, on The Guardian.

2 Dirty Work: The Taxpayers’ Union and New Zealand’s Hard Right by Nicky Hager (Potton & Burton, $35)

The elections are (sort of) over but the Dirty Work remains.

3 The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Penguin Random House, $28)

Not-quite-post-election comfort read.

4 Alexander: God, King, Man by Edmund Richardson (Bloomsbury UK, $45) 

A wild ride through the life and times of Alexander the Great.

5 That Woman: A Memoir by Silvia Cartwright (Allen & Unwin, $50)

"This elegant, incisive memoir traces a career that's exceptional even in the briefest summary. First woman in the country appointed as a High Court Judge; chair of the eponymous enquiry into cervical cancer at National Women's Hospital; member of the UN Commission to eliminate discrimination against women; Governor General; recipient – sometimes reluctantly – of multiple honours; UN Trial Judge in Cambodia; chair of still more enquiries." Read the rest of David Hill's review over on Kete Books.

6 The Disappearers by Marlon James (Hamish Hamilton, $38) 

Not the winner of the Booker but still a winning book: as good as James has ever been.

7 Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (Penguin Random House, $38) 

As above.

8 End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World by Astra Taylor & Naomi Klein (Allen Lane, $40)

Extremely compelling analysis of just what the hell is going on in the world and why.

9 Fruit Fly by Josh Silver (Oneworld, $37)

"It’s messy, uncomfortable, and completely addictive in the best way," writes Nicole Vasilev in her review over on Readings.

10 Court of Splintered Harmony #6: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas (Bloomsbury UK, $37)

"Deep in the heart of the continent, Koschei the Deathless is stirring. Though he's been bound to a mountain lake for millennia, the insidious threat of his return now spreads across the Fae territories, attracting powerful allies hell-bent on reclaiming what was once theirs: the human lands.

The Night Court will not stand idly by while innocents are attacked. But with Prythian still piecing itself together in the wake of the devastating Hybern War, the task of uniting is proving more difficult by the day.

To make matters worse, those who rule and protect the Night Court are reeling from recent betrayals and revealed truths. The rifts dividing them seem insurmountable.

But to defeat Koschei's creeping shadow, they must find a way back to each other and resurrect their former alliances. To survive, they must find a way to repair the splintered harmony all around them."

WELLINGTON

1 The Valley: Crime & Punishment in a New Zealand City by Asher Emanuel (Bridget Williams Books, $40)

Back to number one! What a ride this book has had over the course of 2026. Come January 2027 we'll be keeping our eyes on the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards longlist and expect to see this title on it.

2 Mincemeat by Anthony Lapwood (Āporo Press, $38) 

Read an excerpt from this new novel over on The Post; and catch Lapwood at this weekend's epic VerbCrawl.

3 End of Everything by John M. Harrison (Serpent’s Tail, $37)

4 A Happy Cappy Christmas by Elaine Bickell (Scholastic NZ, $25)

No doubt we've all got Capybaras on the Christmas wishlist.

5 Dirty Work: The Taxpayers’ Union and New Zealand’s Hard Right by Nicky Hager (Potton & Burton, $35)

6 Puke by Essa May Ranapiri (THWUP, $35)

A verse novel from the talented winner of the Keri Hulme Award in 2023. Here's the blurb:

"They first meet a million years ago, in the eruption of a volcano.

The second time, it’s in a liquor store: Hinenuitepo is buying a lighter for Mahuika; Hinemoana is picking up drinks.

Before long, they become entangled in rituals of mortality – love, hot chips, a carved bone strap-on, multiple evictions and a new puppy– all while holding down their duties as Death and the Sea.

But there is a great sickness rising in them both. The other atua have begun to disappear, and their world is slowly dying. Somewhere, an insidious power waits.

As the story shifts between our two lovers, Puke weaves a modern puuraakau of desire, decay and decolonisation."

7 Butterflies & Moths of Aotearoa by Liv Sisson (Penguin, $50)

Full of facts and stunning photos, Sisson's latest is another beautiful blend of information, art and design. Read an excerpt on The Spinoff, here.

8 The Starving Bride by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka Press, $38) 

"Catherine Chidgey’s new novel was inspired by a magnificent piece of archival flotsam: a 1930s newspaper report of a bizarre pay dispute. A young woman had “undertaken to fast for 40 days and 40 nights in a lion’s den” as an attraction in Blackpool – a prowling spectacle of hunger artistry – but abandoned the feat partway. Her employer claimed she had broken the contract; the woman claimed the lion was at fault – it had been set loose. It’s a little hard to skip dinner when you might become one. What writerly catnip: the lion, the kitsch and the wage-probe." Read the rest of Beejay Silcox's review over on The Guardian.

9 Orsola by Linda Martelletti (Copy Press, $32)

Lucy Black reviewed Orsola and number eight, above, over on RNZ: listen to her thoughts, here.

10 Lifted by Mandy Hager (OneTree House, $30) 

Hager's latest is a compelling blend of sci-fi and a coming-of-age adventure. Here's the blurb: "Elora, Librarian of The Sanctuary, faces an impossible choice: allow herself to be trapped and Lifted, or stay and risk dying alone. In a world devastated by climate collapse and haunted by a mysterious alien presence, seventeen-year-old Elora is the last-trained Librarian safeguarding humanity’s remaining knowledge. When a stranger arrives with a message claiming her long-dead father is alive, Elora is forced to question everything she believes. As hope, grief, and duty collide, she must decide whether to leave the safety of her mountain refuge and risk everything for the truth."