The best-selling books at the two best bookstores south of Aberdeen.
AUCKLAND UNITY
1 No is Not Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need by Naomi Klein (Allen Lane, $35)
From the introduction: “This is one attempt to uncover how we got to this surreal political moment. It is also an attempt to predict how, under cover of shocks and crises, it could get a lot worse. And it’s a plan for how, if we keep our heads, we might just be able to flip the script and arrive at a radically better future.”
2 Iceland by Dominic Hoey (Steele Roberts, $35)
Wildly popular debut novel set in Grey Lynn bohemia.
3 Hunger: A Memoir of My Body by Roxane Gay (Corsair, $35)
We look forward to the forthcoming review by Charlotte Graham, who chaired the author at the 2017 Auckland Writers Festival.
4 Serious Sweet by AL Kennedy (Vintage, $26)
Novel by an author from Dundee.
5 The Power by Naomi Alderman (Penguin, $26)
Feminist sci-fi novel; we look forward to the forthcoming review by Andra Jenkin.
6 The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O by Neal Stephenson & Nicole Galland (HarperCollins, $37)
“Quantum physics meets practical magic in farcical sci-fi fantasy”: The Guardian.
7 This is Memorial Device by David Keenan (Faber, $37)
Billed an “explosive post-punk novel”; we look forward to the forthcoming review by Kiran Dass.
8 Art Sex Music by Cosey Fanni Tutti (Faber, $40)
We asked Rachael King to review this acclaimed music bio but she said thanks soz nah can’t too busy bro. We’re still looking. Any volunteers?
9 Goneville by Nick Bollinger (Awa Press, $39)
Acclaimed music bio by the first gent of New Zealand music writing.
10 Bleaker House: Chasing My Novel to the End of the World by Nell Stevens (Pan Macmillan, $38)
Publisher’s blurbology: “On a frozen island in the Falklands, with only penguins for company, a young would-be writer struggles to craft a debut novel…and instead writes a funny, clever, moving memoir that heralds the arrival of a fresh new literary talent.”
WELLINGTON UNITY
1 Ministry Of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy (Hamish Hamilton, $38)
We look forward to the forthcoming review by Marion McLeod.
2 The Whole Intimate Mess: Motherhood, Politics & Women’s Writing by Holly Walker (Bridget Williams Texts, $15)
“It’s really important for people from all walks of life to be able to talk frankly about mental health, and what it’s really like, and in my particular case, what it was really like to be in Parliament and be a parent of a young child”: Holly Walker, interviewed by Chloe Swarbrick, The Spinoff Review of Books.
3 Power by Naomi Alderman (Penguin, $26)
4 Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo (Particular Books, $40)
Awesome book.
5 Iceland by Dominic Hoey (Steele Roberts, $35)
6 Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth (Random House, $40)
Publisher’s blurbology: “Renegade economist Kate Raworth sets out seven key ways to fundamentally reframe our understanding of what economics is and does. Along the way, she points out how we can break our addiction to growth; redesign money, finance, and business to be in service to people; and create economies that are regenerative and distributive by design.”
7 Milk Island by Rhydian Thomas (Lawrence & Gibson, $29)
Absurdist fiction set in the 2023 New Zealand general election.
8 NZ Project by Max Harris (Bridget Williams Books, $40)
Max!
9 Heloise by Mandy Hager (Penguin, $38)
From the New Zealand Booklovers site: “Q: What was your routine or process when writing this book? A: Up early to check up on the world via Twitter, and then a 40 minute walk while listening to associated material on audio books [it’s a historical novel based on the romance of Eloise and Aberlard], before writing from 9am-4pm, then editing for an hour or so in the evening.”
10 The Man Who Ate Lincoln Road by Steve Braunias (Luncheon Sausage Books, $25)
Hurrah! And, next week, Phantom Billstickers paste up giant posters for the book on bollards at 1 Memorial Drive, New Lynn; 390 Great North Road, Henderson; and 111 and 202 Lincoln Road. Your cool Phantom Billstickers.