The return of the great read

A Herald survey of booksellers and book-lovers put the meaty read at the top of the Christmas must-have list.


If there is a trend in books for Christmas this year, the people who decide what sits on the shelves are saying that the "great read" is back.

In a survey of booksellers, whose business it is to judge the public mood, it appears that the coffee-table or large-format book about food, wine or gardening has been overtaken by solid fiction and non-fiction titles.

There are the obvious choices, such as Margaret Atwood's Booker Prize-winning The Blind Assassin, but apart from these, what people want is the chance to sit down with an engrossing read that offers respite, solitude and time to reflect.

Ideas are back, including with the two local art books that feature in the survey. Painter Stanley Palmer's West, and Keith Stewart and Craig Potton's The Food of Art: New Zealand Painters and their Food, provide more than eye candy. In their pages is food for the mind.

Here are the pundits' picks:

Carolyn Alexander, Unity Books:

The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood ($49.95).

Passage to Juno, by Jonathan Raban ($24.95). Essential reading, now out in paperback.

Cherry, by Mary Karr ($24.95). A fantastic read. Sequel to The Liars Club.

Soul Mountain, by Gao Xingjian ($29.95). This year's winner of the Nobel Prize for literature.

Wrestling with the Angel: A biography of Janet Frame, by Michael King ($59.95).

West, by Stanley Palmer ($99.95). A great art book.

Food of Art, by Keith Stewart ($39.95). A sumptuous gift.

E=MC2, by David Bodanis ($49.95). The big science book of the moment.

Civilisations, by Felipe Fernandez Arnesto ($69.95). Our historical relationship with the environment This is the book Arnesto talked about when he was in New Zealand for the Auckland Writers Festival.

London: The Biography, by Peter Ackroyd ($85). The culmination of Ackroyd's life work on London.

Vicki Hunter, Bennetts Booksellers:

The Blue Day Book, by Bradley Trevor Greive ($17). A lesson in cheering yourself up. Perfect for everybody.

The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood ($34.95). The well-deserving winner of the Booker Prize.

Super Yachts, by John Julian, photography by Michael Ng and Paul Todd ($79.95). Fantastic and awesome. Anyone would like it.

The Beatles Anthology, by the Beatles ($150). We opened at midnight to be the first in the world to sell it. We had 50 people waiting to buy it.

Old Roses, by Trevor Griffiths ($49.95). Absolutely scrumptious. A perfect gift.

Shape of Snakes, by Minette Walters ($24.95). Superb thriller.

Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman ($34.95). Third in the His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy, this is the biggie for kids in the Harry Potter age group.

Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan, by Jason Elliot ($24.95). We are really pushing this wonderful travel book. Our buyers have raved about it.

Carole Beu, Women's Bookshop:

The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood ($49.95). Marvellous.

A new novel each from two stunning American woman writers: Horse Heaven, by Jane Smiley ($29.95) and Disobedience, by Jane Hamilton ($34.95).

Charming Billy, by Alice McDermott ($24.95). A superbly written, delicate and profound novel.

White Teeth, by Zadie Smith ($24.95). Smith is the literary toast of the London book world at the moment. Her book deals with serious issues yet is sassy and incredibly funny.

Some outstanding novels by New Zealand women: City of Reeds, by Tina Shaw ($24.95), The Curative, by Charlotte Randall ($24.95), Love in the Land of Midas, by Kapka Kassabova ($29.95), Belief, by Stephanie Johnson ($24.95).

Gail Woodward, Dymocks:

Bettany's Book, by Tom Keneally ($49.95). This has wide appeal. Inspired by a diary Keneally discovered while researching The Great Shame.

The Uncle's Story, by Witi Ihimaera ($34.95).

Two science fiction choices: Winters Heart, by Robert Jordan ($34.95). No 9 in The Wheel of Time series, it already has a waiting-list. Looking to Windward, by Iain Banks ($29.95). This will be big.

As Fair as New Zealand to Me: New Zealand writers in Katherine Mansfield's Menton ($24.95). Such witty replies to Katherine Mansfield.

Marie Claire Flavours, by Donna Hay ($34.95). This will go fast.

Gone Surfin': The golden years of surfing in New Zealand 1950-1970, by Luke Williamson ($34.95). Perfect for all the boys - and the girls, too.

Eileen Joy, Borders:

Sushi for Beginners, by Marian Keys ($24.95). This one's a great fat read from the writer of Last Chance Saloon.

The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood ($38.95). Her finest work.

Anatomica ($125). A beautiful big family reference book plus a CD of the human body. In the same series as Botanica and Geographica.

Marie Claire Flavours, by Donna Hay ($26.95). What to do with a certain flavour and recipes you can base around it. The Marie Claire books are always incredibly popular.

The Beatles Anthology, by the Beatles ($140).

Once Removed, by Neil Finn ($49.95). From his simple, endearing writing style you can tell he's a lyricist. A beautiful little book with amazing photos by Mark Smith.

Joy Draper, Time Out:

Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver ($29.95). Fantastic. Deeply poetic, philosophical and very, very erotic.

The True History of the Kelly Gang, by Peter Carey ($34.95). One worth watching. Ned Kelly tells his own story. Fabulous.

The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood ($49.95).

E=MC2, by David Bodanis ($49.95). I loved it. It's the story of the equation, not of Einstein. Really readable.

West, by Stanley Palmer ($99.95). Beautiful.

New Penguin English Dictionary ($49.95). It has wonderful words and mini-editorial essays by people such as Richard Dawkins on Darwinism, for instance.

Doris Mousdale, Whitcoulls:

White Teeth, by Zadie Smith ($24.95). Men and women, young and old will be kept entertained for many hours.

Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years, by Sue Townsend ($19.95). A great way to relax after lunch on the big day.

Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Boudrain ($36.95). The Mafioso of the restaurant world gives you a peep beyond the swinging doors of restaurants. Couldn't leave it at home.

A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius, by David Eggers ($34.95). Orphaned Eggers brothers and their sister carry on with few interruptions from adults. Sad but funny, uplifting and original.

Savour the Pacific, by Annabel Langbein ($29.95). Any time you are looking for inspiration Langbein gives you a new twist on easy food.

Sushi for Beginners, by Marian Keyes ($29.95). A warm and witty tale of life and a new magazine. Easy, comfortable reading. It has been hugely popular across a wide age range.

Shape of Snakes, by Minette Walters ($35). Pushed off the top slot by Patricia Cornwell.

Destitute Gourmet, by Sophie Gray ($19.95). How to feed a family of four on less than $100 a week, but with style and flair.

Blue Day Book, by Bradley Trevor Greive ($14.94). A fast-selling book that is bound to bring a smile to the glummest of faces.

A Lucky Man, by Keith Quinn ($29.95). One for the boys. A perfect gift for dads who watch all the games.

Margie Thomson, deputy books editor:

fubody In the big, just-out department, I recommend Peter Ackroyd's London: The Biography ($85), which will ensnare you with its twisting, turning anecdotes and history.

As well, Tom Keneally's Bettany's Book ($49.95) is long, satisfying and just the thing for a holiday read.

Casting back into the year behind us, don't forget Michael Ondaatje's Anil's Ghost ($49.95), Rose Tremain's wonderful and magical Music and Silence ($24.95) and Margaret Wertheim's intellectually gratifying The Celestial Gates of Cyberspace ($29.95).

Gilbert Wong, books editor:

So many books, so little time. The Book of Fame, by Lloyd Jones ($29.95) gets my vote for best sports book and novel this year. It's faction, melding the factual and the literary fanciful.

It is written with grace and certainty to find a deeper truth about the national game.

There's a feast of words in Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Boudrain ($36.95), where chef Boudrain is the perfect antidote to an overdose of the Jamies and Jos.

Here's the real deal about what goes on behind the serving doors, delivered with dollops of humour and profanity. I may never eat hollandaise sauce again.

Travelling to New Zealand edited by Lydia Wevers ($59.95) selects some literary well-known and not so well-known names who have visited these shores and left with new insight, including Trollope, who soaks in a hot pool, Kipling dining on roast kiwi and Gerald Durrell looking for a rare bird.

Fascinating, and not the cultural cringe one might suspect.

Illustrated Portraits of Rolling Stone ($110). The best from the magazine.

From photo-realism to impressionism to the surreal, illustrators from Burns and Risko to Steadman provide their singular vision of some of music's greatest names: Miles, Lou, Elvis (Presley and Costello), Beck, Bjork and Bruce (Springsteen) are all here.

My idea of a coffee-table book.