NONFICTION
1 Kai and Kindness by Jane Rangiwahia & Paul Rangiwahia (Huia Publishers, $55)
A free copy of a Māori wellness cookbook is up for grabs in this week’s free book giveaway. The publishers write, “Brother and sister health advocate and artist Paul and food writer Jane have combined their skills to produce a book that nourishes the body and the mind. Their aim is to help start conversations about health and emotional wellbeing and promote positive action – whether it is in the kitchen or in the mind…Jane’s delicious recipes are no-fuss and focus on making food to share with friends and family.” To enter the draw, share a recipe for a meal that really does help to chase the blues away even if for a few lovely and fulfilling bites, and email it to stephen11@xtra.co.nz with the subject line in screaming caps KAI AND KINDNESS IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT. Entries close at midnight on Sunday, February 25.
2 Whakawhetai: Gratitude by Hira Nathan (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
Māori wellness advice.
3 Untouchable Girls by Jools & Lynda Topp (Allen & Unwin, $49.99)
4 Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
Māori wellness spirituality.
5 Gangster’s Paradise by Jared Savage (HarperCollins, $39.99)
Unwellness.
6 Fungi of Aotearoa by Liv Sisson (Penguin Random House, $45)
7 The Bookseller at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw (Allen & Unwin, $38.99)
8 Our Land in Colour by Jock Phillips & Brendan Graham (HarperCollins, $55)
9 Bookshop Dogs by Ruth Shaw (Allen & Unwin, $38.99)
10 A Cartoonist’s Life: Murray Ball by Mason Ball (HarperCollins, $45)
“There’s an underlying menace in Mason’s depictions of his father, with considerable focus on his volatile moods. I was on edge while reading, anticipating a chapter describing permanent estrangement of father and son or physical violence initiated by the ‘talented but tortured’ Ball. Yet there’s only one passing reference to pushing and shoving, and it’s unclear which one of them was the antagonist. Despite their often strained relationship, the son’s affection for his father, and respect for his accomplishments, is evident”: from an excellent review by Anne Kerslake Hendricks.
FICTION
1 Bird Child and Other Stories by Patricia Grace (Penguin Random House, $37)
Short story collection now in its third week at number 1. One of the stories, the heartbreaking “Thunder”, was published in ReadingRoom last Saturday, and heartbreakingly illustrated by Kate White (Ngāti Kahungunu/Ngāi Tahu/Pākehā).
2 The Girl from London by Olivia Spooner (Hachette, $37.99)
3 Kāwai by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)
4 Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
5 Pet by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
6 The War Photographers by SL Beaumont (Paperback Writers Publishing, $32.99)
Thriller. Plotline, as per the blurbology: “A codebreaker is recruited to uncover an elusive double agent during WWII. Decades later, her granddaughter, a photojournalist in Cold War Europe, embarks on a dangerous mission to expose a traitor before it’s too late.”
7 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35)
8 The Bone Tree by Airana Ngarewa (Hachette, $37.99)
9 Because All Fades by Freddie Gillies (David Bateman, $37.99)
A free copy of the author’s debut novel, a tragic love story about young love, was up for grabs in last week’s free book giveaway. Readers were asked to imagine a different ending for the book’s star-crossed lovers. There were a few entries, but none of them were deserving.
10 Bird Life by Anna Smaill (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
