Non-Fiction
1 Life as a Casketeer by Francis Tipene & Kaiora Tipene (HarperCollins, $39.99)
A vivid, intimate and kind of terrifying extract from the book of the TV series will appear next week at ReadingRoom.
2 The Book of Overthinking by Gwendoline Smith (Allen & Unwin, $24.99)
An interview with the author of this very popular self-helper will appear next week at ReadingRoom.
3 Vegful by Nadia Lim (Nude Food, $55)
It doesn’t have enough tins in it. By all means consult my review of the latest Wattie’s Heinz cookbook which has good uses for tins of baked beans, peaches, and corn.
4 The Book of Knowing by Gwendoline Smith (Allen & Unwin, $24.99)
5 Te Tiriti o Waitangi by Ross Calman & Mark Derby & Piripi Walker & Toby Morris (Lift Education, $20)
6 Māori Made Easy by Scotty Morrison (Penguin Random House, $38)
7 Jacinda Ardern by Michelle Duff (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)
Sales continue to flourish, partly as a backlash to the kind of amusing but also kind of not at all amusing and downright weird #turnardern stunt, in which haterz of the Prime Minister, who is a woman, went around bookstores turning the cover of the book around in an attempt to dissuade people from buying it. Will they be back to do the same thing when Madeleine Chapman’s forthcoming biography Jacinda Ardern: A new kind of leader appears in stores? Maybe. Probably. There’s a very nice photo of Ardern on the cover and that will be a red rag to the bullish haterz of the Prime Minister, who is a woman. What about the content? Duff’s book was subtitled The story behind an extraordinary leader; according to Chapman’s Australian publishers Black Inc, her book “discovers the woman behind the headlines.” Righto. The publisher’s blurbology continues, firing out questions which the book itself may or may not care to answer, “Can Ardern live up to her promise? What does her new style of leadership look like in practice? And what can we learn from the world’s reaction to this inspiring leader?” Black Inc have slated its launch date as March 30.
8 A Māori Phrase a Day by Hemi Kelly (Penguin Random House, $30)
9 Māori Made Easy Workbook 1/Kete 1 by Scotty Morrison (Penguin Random House, $25)
10 The Invisible Load by Dr. Libby Weaver (Little Green Frog Publishing, $39.95)
Fiction
1 The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox (Victoria University Press, $35)
Longlisted for the 2020 Ockham New Zealand national book awards Acorn prize for fiction.
2 In the Clearing by JP Pomare (Hachette, $34.99)
We look forward to the forthcoming review by a visitor from Hawkes Bay, Bill Ralston, of the New Zealand author’s latest tense AF thriller.
3 A Dream of Italy by Nicky Pellegrino (Hachette, $24.99)
Too popular to be longlisted for the 2020 Ockham New Zealand national book awards Acorn prize for fiction.
4 Words of a Kaumatua by Haare Williams & Witi Ihimaera (Auckland University Press, $49.99)
5 A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh (Hachette, $34.99)
6 Auē by Becky Manawatu (Makaro Press, $35)
Longlisted for the 2020 Ockham New Zealand national book awards Acorn prize for fiction.
7 Whatever It Takes by Paul Cleave (Upstart Press, $37.99)
8 Call Me Evie by JP Pomare (Hachette, $24.99)
Too popular to be longlisted for the 2020 Ockham New Zealand national book awards Acorn prize for fiction.
9 When It All Went to Custard by Danielle Hawkins (HarperCollins, $35)
Too popular to be longlisted for the 2020 Ockham New Zealand national book awards Acorn prize for fiction.
10 A Mistake by Carl Shuker (Victoria University Press, $30)
Longlisted for the 2020 Ockham New Zealand national book awards Acorn prize for fiction.
