A weekly feature at the Spinoff Review of Books: The best-selling books at the Wellington and Auckland stores of Unity Books.
THE BEST–SELLER CHART FOR THE WEEK JUST ENDED: June 24
UNITY BOOKS AUCKLAND
1 In Love with These Times: My Life with Flying Nun Records (HarperCollins, $37) by Roger Shepherd
Number one for the third week running, and deservedly so; the dude can write.
2 The Romanovs: 1613 – 1918 (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, $50) by Simon Sebag Montefiore
History is one damned vodka after another: acclaimed study of four centuries of Russian rule.
3 The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone (Canongate, $40) by Olivia Laing
We still await Ashleigh Young’s essay on this popular and serious book.
4 East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, $40) by Philippe Sands
“An exceptional memoir,” wrote the Guardian, of the human rights lawyer’s book, which also studies the Nuremberg trials.
5 The Sympathizer (Corsair, $28) by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. The author recently described it as a kind of response to Apocalypse Now, which he hated for its portrait of the Vietnam War.
6 The Abundance (Canongate, $40) by Annie Dillard
Personal essays and nature writing given a mixed review at the Spinoff this week by Rebecca Priestley.
7 The Vegetarian (Portobello Books, $23) by Han Kang
Winner of the 2016 Man Booker prize for international fiction, very favourably reviewed at the Spinoff by Wyoming Paul.
8 High Rise (Fourth Estate, $23) by JG Ballard
But is the movie any good?
9 The Sun & the Moon & the Rolling Stones (Headline, $40) by Rich Cohen
A reporter goes on the road with the Stones in the 1990s. Why?
10 Barkskins (Fourth Estate, $37) by Annie Proulx
Spinoff reviewer Elspeth Sandys absolutely loved it.
UNITY BOOKS WELLINGTON
1 Tanya Ashken: Jeweller, Silversmith, Sculptor (Cameron Drawbridge, $50) by Cameron Drawbridge
The book of the artist who made the great big Albatross sculpture on Wellington’s waterfront.
2 A Surfeit of Sunsets (Rowan Press, $27) by Dulcie Castree
“Her Wellington and Otaki are so much more vivid than the versions of Wellington and Otaki I’d ever hung around in,” said the novelist’s grandson, musician Finn Johansen, in Stuff last year. “They are quiet, angry, lonely and strange places. I love it when someone can immerse you in their way of seeing.”
3 In Love with These Times: The Flying Nun Story (HarperCollins, $37) by Roger Shepherd
4 Mysterious Mysteries of the Aro Valley (Victoria University Press, $30) by Danyl Mclauchlan
We ran a terrific essay last week by the author about his new novel.
5 SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome (Profile Books, $28) by Mary Beard
Sally Ridge goes there quite a bit.
6 Barkskins (Fourth Estate, $37) by Annie Proulx
7 The Vegetarian (Portobello Books, $23) by Han Kang
8 The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047 (HarperCollins, $35) by Lionel Shriver
Holly Walker’s review of the new novel by the author of We Have to Talk About Kevin appears at the Spinoff next week.
9 First to the Top: Sir Edmund Hillary’s Amazing Everest Adventure (Puffin Books, $25) by David Hill, illustrated by Phoebe Morris
Award-winning picture book for kids.
10 The Sympathizer (Little Brown, $28) by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Spinoff Review of Books is brought to you by Unity Books.