The top 10 sales lists recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.
AUCKLAND
1 Fruit Fly by Josh Silver (Oneworld, $37)
Get a taste of Silver’s style over on Good Reading Magazine, where they’ve published an excerpt of Fruit Fly (which is being made into a TV series by A24).
2 The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Michael Joseph, $28)
“I felt like including letters the main character sends as well as some she receives from a variety of corresponding partners allowed me to tell a 360° view of her life,” said Evans to Rumpus. “You had to have different people to hold up the mirror at a different angle to Sybil. I’m not a meticulous planner, so I just dove in and as the book unfolded asked myself, ‘What does the reader need to know and who can Sybil tell it to? Or who can tell something to her?’”
3 Kitchen Confidential 25th Anniversary Edition by Anthony Bourdain (Bloomsbury, $30)
A confessional memoir that has invited us behind-the-scenes of the hospo industry for quarter of a century.
4 Agrippa by Robert Harris (Hutchinson, $38)
“If you’re one of those people who thinks about the Roman empire several times a week, Robert Harris has you covered.” So goes Sam Leith’s cracker opening to his review of Harris’ tale of conflict in ancient Rome.
5 London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe (Picador, $40)
Must be one of the best-selling books of the year at this point.
6 Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (Fourth Estate, $37)
Same with this one.
7 Facing Up to Our Future edited by Peter Davis (Dunmore Press for the Helen Clark Foundation, $35)
According to the latest bleak AI news our future might be limited, but this is a worthy read anyway.
8 The Disappearers by Marlon James (Hamish Hamilton, $38)
Called the novel of the decade by the New York Times, longlisted for the Booker, getting your hands on this one is a no brainer.
9 Life of M by Rachel Cusk (Faber & Faber, $37)
There’s been a ton of hoopla over the fact that the novel’s ‘M’ may be based on the actor Natalie Portman. Read more about it over on the BBC, here.
10 Cauldron: Making of the Modern Middle East by Simon Montefiore (W&N Fiction, $60)
“Who was the last great Ottoman sultan? Why did Faisal become king of both Syria and Iraq? How did Britain and France carve up the Middle East? Why did the Kurds never get a state? How did Ataturk create Turkey?” These questions, and more, answered in Montifiore’s latest.
WELLINGTON
1 Perfectly Themselves by Abby Letteri (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $50)
Keep a look at on The Spinoff this weekend for a round up of horse books published in this year of the horse, including this one by Abby Letteri.
2 We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman (Viking, $38)
Cosy crime.
3 London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe (Picador, $40)
4 Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (Viking Penguin, $38)
A more sombre novel from Strout for more sombre times.
5 Lucky You’re Tough by Mark Law & Ron Crosby (Allen & Unwin, $40)
“After a career as a badged soldier in the NZSAS that led to an intriguing stint with the British SAS and then working as private security in active war zones, Mark [Law] returned to New Zealand to start his own helicopter business, Kāhu NZ. While on a sunny day off on 9 December 2019, he got the call that Whakaari/White Island was erupting. All those years of service and expertly trained instincts led to a split-second decision: Mark and his Kāhu NZ colleagues would fly to the erupting volcano to rescue any survivors they could find.
This daring rescue mission would ensure that Mark and the other pilots were able to comfort the injured, as well as to fly those 12 stranded survivors off the island, after they were left there when authorities announced that no official rescue would be coming. Mark’s decision led to himself and his fellow heroic pilots being awarded medals for bravery by the New Zealand government.”
6 Pocket Observology: A Field Guide by Giselle Clarkson (Gecko Press, $28)
A gorgeous new publication from the world of Giselle Clarkson, author of The Observologist and Omnibird among other award-winning books. Pocket Observology is made to be taken out into the field, and is complete with a snail racing track, a ruler and Clarkson’s signature comedy-science: great science conveyed through a blend of illustration, speech bubbles and perfectly composed text. Clarkson has a real gift for imparting her palpable passion of nature on every page: her unique blend of information and fun appeals to the curious part of the child (and adult) mind. A delight!
7 Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (Fourth Estate, $37)
8 Home Again: My Life & Times in a Band called Shihad by Jon Toogood (Moa Press, $40)
Tauranga Arts Festival has released their programme which includes an event with Toogood and Karl Puschmann, who helped write the iconic musician’s memoir.
9 kluge by pip adam (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
A novel for our times: a scream! Read all about it in this marvellous interview between adam and Hera Lindsay Bird.
10 Simple Too by Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press, $75)
It’s been a long time since a cook book has made this hallowed list! Simple one was excellent and genuinely simple so we have high hopes for Simple Too.
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