The latest Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list, described by Steve Braunias
FICTION
1 Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
Well, of course; the fact that it's number one with a bullet in its first week in the shops is the least surprising development in New Zealand writing of all times. As a books editor the only sane response to the publication of Catton's long-awaited follow-up to the phenomenon of The Luminaries was to go insane; I ran four reviews, with four sometimes different assessments. Rachael King basically loved everything about it. My review wasn't sure whether it succeeded as enjoyable escapist trash. Miro Bilbrough wrote the most nuanced review, appreciating the skill but deploring the finale. David Eggleton basically loved everything about it.
It's set to stay in place at the top of the chart for a long time. You can imagine people reading it in tents next summer. So maybe the book lacks any kind of emotional core. What's love got to do with it? Nothing, really; it's not that the book is cold, or heartless, but it's more concerned with ideas than feelings. Everyone talks so much! But so what. It's a tense, fast romp, a thriller set in New Zealand, fun and exciting and a bit mad. I liked this, from David Eggleton's review: "It's fascinating to see how seamlessly and relentlessly she maps a Lee Child crime-novel pastiche onto New Zealand's cultural topography. In a world where Bob Dylan protest lyrics have been co-opted for corporate cosplay team-bonding exercises by a tech-bro edgelord, who you gonna call? Go ahead, dial ghostbuster Eleanor Catton; she knows where the bodies are buried. And the deeper you drill, the more you uncover."
2 Kāwai by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)
3 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)
4 Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $50)
Also available as hardback.
5 Eddy, Eddy by Kate de Goldi (Allen & Unwin, $29.99)
6 How to Loiter in a Turf War by Coco Solid (Penguin Random House, $28)
7 The Doctor's Wife by Fiona Sussman (David Bateman, $37.99)
8 Harbouring by Jenny Pattrick (Penguin Random House, $36)
9 Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka (Huia Publishers, $35)
10 Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)
NON-FICTION
1 Straight Up by Ruby Tui (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
Tūtira mai ngā iwi, tātou e Tūtira mai ngā iwi, tātou e.
2 Wawata by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
3 Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
4 The Bookseller at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw (Allen & Unwin, $38.99)
5 Salad by Margo Flanagan & Rosa Flanagan (Allen & Unwin, $45)
6 Simple Fancy by Margo Flanagan & Rosa Flanagan (Allen & Unwin, $45)
7 The Book of Feeling Blue by Gwendoline Smith (Allen & Unwin, $27.99)
8 Māori Made Easy by Scotty Morrison (Penguin Random House, $38)
Scotty Morrison's te reo books are a publishing sensation, and a cultural force for good. ReadingRoom has a copy of Māori Made Easy and a copy of Māori Made Easy Workbook 1/Kete 1 (below, at number 9) up for grabs in our weekly giveaway contest. To enter the draw, email stephen11@xtra.co.nz with the subject line in screaming caps I WANT TO LEARN TE REO and write why it is that you want to learn te reo. The deadline is this Sunday, February 19, at midnight.
Last week's giveaway was the debut novel A Runner’s Guide to Rakiura by Jessica Howland Kany (Quentin Wilson Publishing, $37.50) set on Rakiura Stewart Island. Readers were asked to write something set on the island. The winner is Laurence Fearnley, who wrote, "About fifteen years ago my friend Alison Ballance suggested we take my then young son to Ulva island to see Sirocco, the kakapo.
"A day later we were waiting for the ferry back to the mainland, watching the huge waves break over the shore at Oban when a crew member came hurrying over to tell us to board immediately as we were going to have to make a 'run for it'.
"As we left the shelter of Rakiura, we were all instructed to move to the centre of the boat and I can remember how, from that moment on, the only view through all the windows was of water, big walls of it surrounding us, crashing onto the deck. Every few minutes the ferry would steer away from its course to face an oncoming wave, which seemed to power down and lift the boat high, before smashing down. At one point the Swedish tourists next to us, who had been happily chatting, caught sight of my ashen face and fell silent. I was deadly quiet, trying to figure how on earth I could protect my son once the ferry capsized. But there was one thing that frightened me even more. Apart from drowning (which seemed a matter of when not 'if') I was scared that some smaller vessel would send out a Mayday call and that our ferry - being bigger - would have to go to its aid. I kept picturing us heading away from land, lost in a huge grey ocean of mountainous waves. The journey stretched on and on as we kept facing bigger and bigger waves...even now my heart races and my neck prickles at the memory.
"Finally, we entered the shelter of Bluff harbour and my relief was immediate. Tears sprung to my eyes and I had an overwhelming feeling that I had been saved. My son was completely oblivious but Alison (who, you know, goes to the sub-Antarctic islands on yachts) gave me the sweetest smile I have ever seen.
"We spent the night in the Riverton motor camp, listening to the wind howl and tug at the wires holding the cabin."
9 Māori Made Easy Workbook 1/Kete 1 by Scotty Morrison (Penguin Random House, $25)
10 Everyday Favourites by Vanya Insull (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)
