This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias
1 Auē by Becky Manawatu (Makaro Press, $35)
Published next month in Australia and the US, and Britain in August. From the Australian trade journal Books + Publishing: "Auē is a heartbreaking yet gripping drama about a family living amid intergenerational domestic violence and gang warfare on New Zealand’s South Island. …Becky Manawatu’s debut novel, first published in New Zealand in 2019 to wide acclaim and since winning numerous awards, stands out for its stark yet careful approach to depicting confronting and uncomfortable subjects. It’s reminiscent of Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain and Romy Ash’s Floundering in its exploration of tragedy through the innocent eyes of a child."
2 To Italy, With Love by Nicky Pellegrino (Hachette, $34.99)
I had lunch with two publishers this week at Baduzzi on Jellicoe Wharf, and over crumbed courgette flowers with sheep ricotta & basil, crayfish meatballs with lemon cream & heirloom tomato, spinach & ricotta rotolo with tomato & smoked provolone, buttered maltagliati with duck & porcini ragu, buttercup & pickled black walnuts, torta caprese with dark chocolate, raspberry sorbet & coconut espuma, and a formaggio cheese board, we discussed Pellegrino's novel about food and love set in a small town in the mountains in Italy.
3 Loop Tracks by Sue Orr (Victoria University Press, $35)
Novel about a woman who keeps the baby she was going to abort when she was 16. From a review by Stephanie Johnson at the Academy of New Zealand Literature: "Loop Tracks is an elegant, delicately told, thoughtful story of triumph."
4 The Last Guests by J.P. Pomare (Hachette, $34.99)
5 The Author’s Cut by Owen Marshall (Penguin Random House, $36)
6 Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly (Victoria University Press, $35)
7 Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka (Huia Publishers, $35)
As recommended by Viva, in the NZ Herald: "Kurangaituku, part woman, part bird, is the focus of this two-part retelling of Māori lore from the perspective of the clawed being who, in traditional tales, is said to have captured Hatupatu, the youngest of four sons, and held him captive at her cave high in the mountains. It’s a sort of monster redemption story, offering a fresh perspective for a misunderstood figure."
8 Where We Land by Tim Jones (The Cuba Press, $22)
Publisher's blurbology: "A New Zealand Navy frigate torpedoes a boat full of refugees fleeing a drowning country and Nasimul Rahman is one of the few survivors. First he has to reach the shore alive and then he has to avoid the trigger-happy Shore Patrol, on alert to stop climate change refugees entering the country."
9 She’s a Killer by Kirsten McDougall (Victoria University Press, $30)
Happily, finally, one of the best novels of the past few years is about to make it back into shops. Demand has been strong but it sold out ages ago. The author took to the Twitter machine on Wednesday to explain the delays: "International shipping unlogistics mean that the reprint of my book is over a month late arriving and so there’s nothing to sell. This is a minor problem in the problems of the world, I know. It’s just damned frustrating, you know, having written it and all.
"I've learned that shipping systems are breaking under the weight of our consumerism. Covid has made an already stressed system worse due to buying patterns and sickness, and here I am, increasing buying patterns by writing a book that people want. Adding to the stuff.
"A book about how late-stage capitalism has broken people and the environment. Yes, irony. BUT - What are we to do with our deep need to tell and hear stories? Back to campfires? Handwritten illuminated MSS? I want to do this right but I don’t know what that is in this system." Her concluding tweet: "Gah!!"
Gah indeed; but on Thursday, her publisher Fergus Barrowman confirmed that copies "have landed in our distributor's shed". He added a cheerful emoji of a party hat but the party is a bit premature: copies still have to be couriered to stores. The author says that will probably be early next week – happily, finally. She's a Killer is an exciting, fast-paced, witty eco-thriller; and below is a nice photo of the author, whose book will now likely race up the charts in the next few weeks.
10 The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera (Penguin Random House, $26)
NON-FICTION
1 Your Money, Your Future by Frances Cook (Penguin Random House, $35)
It's not a bad idea to seek out advice on your personal finances from an author who made $200,000 in quarter of an hour. Asked by Newshub, "What's been your biggest financial lesson, success or failure?", Frances Cook replied, "This one happened very early on in learning about money and it's a mistake many other New Zealanders are also making.
"It’s easy to ignore KiwiSaver - but for those who do, it can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"In one of the first episodes of the Cooking the Books podcast, we ran the numbers on me to see how bad this mistake was. I was in a default, conservative KiwiSaver account at the time, which I just hadn’t got around to changing even though I knew a growth account was better for my goals.
"When we ran the numbers, the conservative account would give me about $200,000 by retirement - but the growth would give me $400,000.
"Every delay I delayed switching was costing me a lot of money. Switching only took 15 minutes to do.
"Don't make that mistake! I highly recommend the Sorted Fund Finder as a free, independent way to figure out the best settings for your KiwiSaver.
"Default accounts aren't meant to be permanent. If you've never actively chosen your KiwiSaver account, then you're in a default one."
2 Don’t Sweat It by Nicky Pellegrino (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
3 Salad by Margo Flanagan & Rosa Flanagan (Allen & Unwin, $45)
4 Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
5 Māori Made Easy by Scotty Morrison (Penguin Random House, $38)
6 Words of Comfort by Rebekah Ballagh (Allen & Unwin, $24.99)
7 Lost and Found by Toni Street (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
8 Note to Self Journal by Rebekah Ballagh (Allen & Unwin, $29.99)
9 The Abundant Garden by Niva Kay & Yotam Kay (Allen & Unwin, $45)
10 Māori Made Easy Workbook 1/Kete 1 by Scotty Morrison (Penguin Random House, $25)
