The latest Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list, described by Steve Braunias
FICTION
1 Pet by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
Woah! On Thursday, Sarah Jessica Parker shared the US edition of Pet with her 9.3 million followers on Instagram.
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 Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts by Josie Shapiro (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
5 Hannah & Huia by Charlotte Lobb (Quentin Wilson Publishing, $37.50)
Publisher's blurbology: "Hannah is in a mental health unit, in shock and rendered speechless following the sudden death of her husband and baby son ... Huia is also there, a long-term resident who lives entirely in her own inner world. But who is she? What is her story and why does the mystery of the older woman start to play on Hannah’s mind?"
The novel was launched at Books A Plenty in Tauranga; splendidly, a cake was made of the book's cover, seen here as the author cuts into it, and prepares, one hopes, to stuff herself.
6 Kāwai by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)
7 Tangi by Witi Ihimaera (Penguin Random House, $30)
8 The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer (Hachette, $37.99)
9 The Waters by Carl Nixon (Penguin Random House, $37)
"Nixon’s fifth novel drills down into the lives of the Waters family in the seaside suburb of New Brighton. It is a place of tension, tragedy and imminent violence; of sun and salt and a homegrown, kickabout beach culture.
"Described as a new novel in 21 stories, the book stretches four decades from 1979 to 2019, tracking the family from father Pat’s decision to sell the family farm in Governor’s Bay for a doomed property development project in New Brighton ... The result is beautifully crafted and compelling, like holding up a prism and seeing the many ways the light refracts": from Sally Blundell's review of one of the best novels of 2023.
10 Audition by Pip Adam (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)
NONFICTION
1 The Art of Winning by Dan Carter (Penguin Random House, $40)
Last week's free book giveaway was a copy of the Chemist Warehouse ambassador's self-help guide to leadership. Readers were asked to nominate a self-help book that had actually made a difference to their lives; it was a fascinating and hotly contested prize with about 50 entries.
Ele Ludemann nominated It’s OK That You’re Not OK by Megan Devine: "The best resource on grief I’ve come across. Megan was a psychologist when her husband drowned in front of her."
Jane Coleman named Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker: "It is terrifying how important good quality, consistent sleep is. I wish I’d never read it. Now I feel obliged to wake up at the same time every. single. day. And I do. Literally. Weekdays, weekends, holidays. 6.15am. Every day. Because the book terrified me. And I don’t enjoy delicious beer as much any more, because I know it affects my sleep quality because the damn book told me that. So yeah, that book changed my life and not entirely in a good way."
Sherryl Clark went for Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy: "Every job on your To Do list is considered to be a frog, especially the ones you least want to do. The bigger your procrastination over it, the bigger the frog (job). Key advice is to eat the biggest, ugliest frog first, get it over and done with, and the rest of the day is plain sailing – or plain floating on a lily pad. I have stuck with this book's advice for a long time, and am reminded of it at key moments such as preparing records for my tax return. A monstrous, ugly frog indeed."
Cherie Anderson picked Stand By Me by John Kirwan: "When trying to support a young person through a time of dark depression, I sought out Stand By Me. And it certainly delivered. It gave me strength, support and courage as we navigated such a difficult time. I now work with young people who are battling depression and the book just keeps on giving."
But the winner is Geoff Smith of Hazeldene Farm, Waiuku. He did not restrict himself to one self-help book; he went big; he made a speech, with strangely placed Capital Letters. He wrote, "In NZ our productivity continues to drop. A large contributor is a general insistence on Command & Control management rather than empathetic and inspirational leadership. Of course it's complicated by the emergence of bureaucratic HR referred to recently as ‘warts on the arse of progress’.
"I am retired having started my career in business as one of the first HR Managers in NZ where the focus was on enabling managers to become leaders and organisations to be great places to work, enabling and productive. Over the last 10 years I have been volunteering with Charities, and doing some mentoring. I have read & studied a lot on Organisation Behaviour, Culture and Management Development. Authors like Daniel Pink, Peter Drucker, Jack Welch feature on my shelves. A more recent one by Barzen, The Power of Giving Power Away, proved to be an excellent read and motivator.
"The key to getting managers to open their eyes and hearts is not the theory, but messages from NZ people they recognize as leaders and ‘heroes’.
"Hence my request for Dan’s book. Apart from his sport stardom, he strikes me as a lovely human being, so his view will be the sort of message those struggling to move from manager to Leader will have a more personalised impact, unlike a knowledgeable piece of research. It will be real."
What a passionate entry. A free copy of The Art of Winning by Dan Carter is his.
2 Fungi of Aotearoa by Liv Sisson (Penguin Random House, $45)
3 Whakawhetai: Gratitude by Hira Nathan (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
4 This is ADHD by Chanelle Moriah (Allen & Unwin, $32.99)
5 One of Them by Shaneel Lal (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
6 Head On by Carl Hayman & Dylan Cleaver (HarperCollins, $39.99)
7 Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
8 From the Pilot’s Seat by Fletcher McKenzie (Penguin Random House, $40)
Interviews with 23 pilots.
9 Our Land in Colour by Jock Phillips & Brendan Graham (HarperCollins, $55)
This week's free book giveaway is a bit special: the rather beautiful and lavishly illustrated coffee table book Our Land in Colour is up for grabs. It's a big, generous, 400-page epic featuring over 200 photographs brought alive by Wellington digital colourist Brendan Graham. He has applied his art to pictures of colonial New Zealand, rural New Zealand, sporting New Zealand, and, perhaps most vividly, Māori New Zealand – the 1908 portrait of prophet Rua Kenana makes him look entirely present, the cover image of Māori standing in the tussock of the Desert Road watching Ngāuruhoe erupt in 1929 is just flat-out beautiful. I love this book and you will too; to enter the draw, email stephen11@xtra.co.nz with the subject line in screaming caps I WANT THIS COFFEE TABLE BOOK FOR MY COFFEE TABLE – and attach a colour photograph of New Zealand. Any kind of New Zealand; Māori, Pākehā, any race; scenic, urban, indoors; delicate, obvious, crazy; so long as it's something amazing to look at, and in colour. Entries close Sunday, August 13, at midnight.
10 Winter Warmers by Philippa Cameron (Allen & Unwin, $49.99)
