1. Fungi of Aotearoa by Liv Sisson (Penguin)
Fungi enthusiast Liv Sisson’s popular guide to foraging our fields and forests for mushroom morsels, which came out last May, has returned to the very top of the local bestsellers list. Sisson makes them sound delicious: “Here are some of the most interesting fungi foods I’ve come across in Aotearoa. Slippery jack mushroom burgers, grilled over charcoal, with a dash of pine oil, served over a bed of creamy mushroom-stock polenta. Mushroom mince dumplings. A porcini mushroom chocolate mousse Yule log. Those first two dishes come from Max Gordy, and the third from Vicki Young – both are top Wellington chefs. When we think outside of the ‘mushrooms on toast’ box, we find that fungi offer us untapped foodie potential.”
2. Bookshop Dogs by Ruth Shaw (A&U)
The author of the bestselling The Bookseller at the End of the World, which was about life and retailing in her bookshops in Manapōuri, in the southwest of the South Island, turns her attention to the dogs that visit. These are the hounds of locals and those who are holidaying or just passing through. Among them is Hunza, the German shepherd that worked alongside Shaw when she was a youth worker helping troubled teenagers.
3. Untouchable Girls by Jools & Lynda Topp (A&U)
The memoir of our beloved Topp Twins has remained close to the top of the bestsellers since it was released last October. As their interview with the Listener notes, when putting this together they “made a list of significant periods in their lives, then worked their way through it non-chronologically. Eventually, they had 31 chapters that recall how the Waikato farm girls ran away to the army, stayed on in Christchurch, and found a new home among the increasingly vociferous local lesbian community, turned their country music-honed voices into protest songs … then somehow, via the magic of television, abundant charisma and their array of characters, became beloved mainstream entertainers. Oh, and in chapter 23, cancer.” Also in the book is a topic largely uncanvassed: the sisters’ sometimes roller-coaster love lives during the decades.
4. The Abundant Kitchen by Niva & Yotam Kay (A&U)
In which the owners of the quarter-acre Pākaraka Permaculture Garden in the Coromandel share their recipes and know-how of “pickles, preserves, sourdough, kombucha, cured meats, yoghurt, vinegar and all kinds of ferments”. There’s also ginger beer and koji. There are 100 recipes, offering step-by-step instructions and clever tips and techniques, infused with Middle Eastern flavours.
5. Gangster’s Paradise by Jared Savage (HarperCollins)
Staying in the top half of the charts in this beachy-est of seasons is NZ Herald reporter Jared Savage’s latest tale of local mobsters. It follows Gangland, an exploration of how organised crime in New Zealand evolved in recent years, particularly around illegal drugs. His new book explores, in that fast-paced, breathless, newspaper style, how it has escalated – more drugs, more shootings, more corruption – driven by the arrival of “501″ deportees from Australia. Gangs have grown and new ones have sprung up, bringing a harder edge to the scene, he writes. “They have better connections with international drug syndicates, better criminal tradecraft and encrypted communications, and are more willing to use firearms to enforce their will.” Existing gangs have responded in kind, escalating their approach and making life harder for police, who have had to get more innovative and sophisticated to try to counter the threat.
6. Summer Favourites by Vanya Insull (A&U)
The tar-cracking, sand-scorching part of summer is here and Vanya Insull, aka VJ Cooks for those not on social media, is, most unsurprisingly, still in the bestsellers. Summer Favourites is the follow-up to 2022′s bestselling Everyday Favourites, a collection of her “tasty, easy and hearty” recipes. She’s back with 70 more, these being lighter dishes perfect for the barbecue or bach, including dinners, salads, baking, and desserts.
7. The Dressmaker and the Hidden Soldier by Doug Gold (A&U)
Back, too, in the top 10 is this perfect beach-read local thriller – it’s categorised as non-fiction, but it’s in the style of a novel – about the bold escape of a Kiwi prisoner of war, a Resistance heroine and a young Greek dressmaker, written by former radio mogul Doug Gold. “Peter braced himself. He gripped the side of the slatted timber door, took a deep breath and launched himself from the carriage. He leapt as far as he could, reminding himself to relax to cushion the impact when he hit the ground. But he stumbled as he landed, taking his weight first on his left foot and then twisting on to his right. As he turned, his right knee buckled, and he fell. A stabbing pain shot down his lower limb and he screamed in agony. Instinct then kicked in; he rolled away and pulled up several metres from the tracks. He saw Patrick rolling away, too. His friend had also made it. The piercing clatter of machine-gun fire and the screeching of brakes cut short any elation. The deep-throated growl of Dobermans, attack dogs kept on board to deter escapes or pursue those who tried, rose above the rat-a-tat of the Mauser machine guns and the rasping sound of metal on metal as the train wheels locked up. The German guards must have seen the first escapers jump and shouted orders to halt the train. By the time Peter and Patrick hit the ground, the train was slowing. But it was some distance away when it finally stopped and Peter lay still, hoping that his khaki uniform would blend in with the brown earth. Patrick lay a few metres away. The onslaught from the Mausers was incessant. Bullets whistled by and Peter dared not move. One ricocheted off a small boulder next to his left arm; he could almost feel the heat as it flew past. ‘Jesus Christ, that was close,’ he thought.”
8. Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin)
Hinemoa Elder’s primer to the wisdom of Māori proverbs was published four years ago and is still making its way into the top 10. A sample:
Ko te mauri,
he mea huna
ki te moana.
The life force is hidden in the sea.
Powerful aspects of life are hidden in plain sight.
This whakataukī stems from one of our famous ancestors from the north, Nukutawhiti. He cast his kura, his feathered cloak, into the Hokianga Harbour to calm the waters for safe passage. And this treasure remains there, out of sight, yet signifies the ancient presence of those who have gone before.
This saying has given me strength so many times. I have always found it comforting because it speaks to the hidden magic of life.
It reminds me of those things we feel intuitively but often ignore – we can choose to tune in to our gut instinct, for example, or wait until the messages become clearer and more obvious.
And it reminds me that we all have hidden powers inside us that we can too easily forget.
9. The Bone Tree by Airana Ngarewa (Moa Press)
Returning to the top 10 – and jumping to the top of the NZ fiction chart – is the much-praised challenging debut novel from Pātea author and teacher Airana Ngarewa. It follows the story of two brothers, born and raised in the shadow of Mt Taranaki, who lead a precarious existence.
10. Our Land in Colour by Jock Phillips & Brendan Graham (HarperCollins)
This attractive 400-page hardback of 200 historical photographs colourised by an expert, with commentary from award-winning historian Jock Phillips, has been hovering around the bestsellers for five months. It’s a fascinating insight into how we worked, ate, dressed and got around before we had cars and television and jet airplanes, and when most of us didn’t live in a few large cities.
(Source: Nielsen Bookscan NZ – week ending January 13.)
