The latest Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list, described by Steve Braunias
FICTION
1 Pet by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
Three weeks ago the author made history as the first New Zealand author to have the number one and number two bestselling novels in the same week. She repeated the feat last week, and again this week; all of which reminds me that nominations are now open for the 2023 Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement for fiction...Nominations are also invited on behalf of poets, and authors of works of nonfiction.
2 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)
3 Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
4 The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer (Hachette, $36.99)
A free copy of Meyer's brilliant historical novel based on the 17th century East Anglia witch hunts – basically, murders – was up for grabs in last week's book giveaway. Readers were asked to share a story or an insight about witch hunts.
Among the best entries were from Jean Dorrell of Fairfield, who remarked, "The internet and particularly social media make it easier to make false accusations. Can you imagine if the internet had been around in Salem in 1692?", and Jane Bloomfield of Queenstown, who wrote, "I read A History of Women in Medicine by Sinead Spearing (discovered in Otago University Bookshop) when researching witchcraft for my latest middle-grade novel. Should your readers find themselves with a gaping abdominal wound miles from a hospital this remedy translated from the Old English healing books of cunning-woman Mildpryp will not help, but it is quite fascinating: 'If someone’s bowels be out, pound comfrey, wring it out into a cloth into warm cow’s milk, wet your hands thereon and put the bowel back into the man, sew it together with silk, boil the comfrey for him for nine mornings unless longer be needful to him, feed him with hen’s flesh.'"
Yes, thank you for that, Jane. But the winner is Nathan Simkiss, who wrote, "My story regarding witch-hunts is more about their legacy in Britain – specifically the surprising longevity of the British Witchcraft Act 1735, which was not repealed until 1951! While no one had been executed for witchcraft for more than two centuries by the time the Act was repealed, the last person imprisoned under the Act was Helen Duncan in 1944, during the lead up to the end of WWII.
"She had initially been brought to the Navy's attention for being aware of the sinking of a ship (the HMS Barham) in late 1939, which was an official secret at the time she claimed to have learned of the sinking from the spirit of a deceased sailor, and spoke of it at a séance. She was later arrested, tried, and convicted in early 1944 (though for the less-excitingly-witchy crime of being a fraudulent medium). However, her arrest and conviction were possibly motivated by a concern that she might continue to reveal classified information and compromise Allied operations, especially in the lead-up to D-Day.
"As is always the way with witch-hunts, the fear of dark supernatural forces is always secondary to other concerns, whether that be the fear of a woman with power and authority, the need for a scapegoat for the woes of a community, or the desire to prevent (supernaturally) loose lips from sinking D-Day ships."
A free copy of The Witching Tide is his.
5 PS Come to Italy by Nicky Pellegrino (Hachette, $36.99)
Pellegrino is one of New Zealand's greatest food writers, maybe the very best in our fiction; her Italy series are a feast of amazing dishes cooked and eaten by her characters as they gallivant around Italia. I asked her last week if she would write a winter warmer recipe for ReadingRoom. She has done so, and I much look forward to publishing it next week. Warning: involves cabbage.
6 Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts by Josie Shapiro (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
7 Tangi by Witi Ihimaera (Penguin Random House, $30)
8 Kāwai by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)
9 Jack & Sandy by Bob Kerr (David Bateman, $27.99)
Graphic novel by the legendary author of Terry and the Gunrunners; he recently conducted an interview with his 10-year-old grandson on the subject of consuming computer games and consuming books.
10 The Last Days of Joy by Anne Tiernan (Hachette, $36.99)
NONFICTION
1 Head On: Rugby, dementia, and the hidden cost of success by Carl Hayman & Dylan Cleaver (HarperCollins, $39.99)
Dylan Cleaver wrote a special Herald investigation in 2016 which revealed that five men from the 1964 Ranfurly Shield-winning Taranaki rugby team had been diagnosed with dementia. His trailblazing work on the subject has led to this devastating portrait of former All Black great Carl Hayman. "A brilliant read. Bold, brave and honest," says Mike Hosking.
A free copy is available in this week's book giveaway. To enter, share a story about dementia, and email it to stephen11@xtra.co.nz with the subject line in screaming caps, I WANT THIS BOOK BY CARL AND DYLAN, by Sunday midnight, July 2.
2 This is ADHD by Chanelle Moriah (Allen & Unwin, $32.99)
"7.30am, my alarm demands my attention and my mind is quickly flooded with overwhelm and anxiety as I prepare myself for another day": the author wrote a raw and honest day in the life in ReadingRoom this week.
3 Whakawhetai: Gratitude by Hira Nathan (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
4 Second Chances by Hayley Holt (HarperCollins, $39.99)
5 Billy Bush by Bill Bush (Upstart Press, $39.99)
6 Aroha by Hine Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
7 Winter Warmers by Philippa Cameron (Allen & Unwin, $49.99)
8 Under the Weather by James Renwick (HarperCollins, $39.99)
9 Straight Up by Ruby Tui (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
10 There’s a Cure for This by Emma Espiner (Penguin Random House, $35)
