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1. (NEW) More Salad by Margo Flanagan & Rosa Power (Allen &Unwin)
Straight to the top of the charts is the latest cookbook from sisters Margo Flanagan and Rosa Power, which promises more of the same tasty-looking food that delivered them previous bestsellers. Neither is vegetarian or vegan, they just encourage moderation in all things. Recipes go from raw to pan to oven, as well as desserts. Included are swappable ingredients, tips and timesavers, and pairing suggestions. For recipes from the book, go here.
2. (2) Hairy Maclary’s Magnet Fun by Lynley Dodd (Picture Puffin)
Is it school holidays already? Rocketing into third spot is this Hairy Maclary book where kids can create their own stories thanks to magnetic figures of the mischievous mutts, including Hercules Morse, Bottomley Potts and all the rest.
3. (NEW) Atua Wāhine: The ancient wisdom of Māori goddesses by Hana Tapiata (HarperCollins)
Writer Hana Tapiata (Te Arawa, Ngati Awa, Ngati Porou, Waikato, Pākehā) is a mother and writer who lives by Māori philosophies “to explore wellness, self-determination and liberation”.
From the publisher: “Atua wahine are the Māori goddesses who make up the world around us: earth, fire, water, the moon and more. From the earth mother, Papatuanuku, who sustains and nurtures us to the goddess of peace, Hineputehue, who transformed pain into beauty, and the misunderstood goddess of the underworld, Hinenuitepo, who created purpose and enlightenment from betrayal – this book is a treasure of knowledge and insight.
Drawing on whakatauki (proverbs) and purakau (traditional stories), discover how the wisdom of 17 atua wahine can help us live with courage and confidence in the modern world. With guided steps, these atua will inspire you to foster creativity, acknowledge cycles of change, and embrace self-determination.”
4. (2) Lisa Carrington Chases a Champion by Dame Lisa Carrington & Scott Pearson (Huia)
Inspirational children’s tale from NZ’s most decorated Olympian (eight gold medals and one bronze medal), set in Ōhope, which is where she first began to paddle.
From the publisher: “Lisa Carrington Chases a Champion is a story about eight-year-old Lisa, who is determined to participate in a big surf competition but is plagued by self-doubt and fear of failure. With encouragement from her coach, family, and a top paddler named Māia, Lisa trains hard and improves, but a close call with a wave days before the competition shakes her confidence. After finding solace and regaining her self-belief with her mum’s help, Lisa bravely competes on the big day, conquering her fears.”
A Māori language edition is also available.
5. (NEW) Marry Me in Italy by Nicky Pellegrino (Hachette)
This, if we’re counting right, is the 15th novel from author and Listener writer Nicky Pellegrino, who manages to come up with fresh plots that combine food, wine and love in the sunniest, most picturesque spots of il bel paese.
From the publisher: “A dream wedding in Italy? It’s the chance of a lifetime!
Skye has been with Tim forever and the last thing she’s thinking about is saying ‘I do’. It’s Tim that enters the dream wedding competition – he’s longing to win an all-expenses-paid trip to romantic Montenello. An escape to a beautiful Italian hill town might be just what they need to find love again ...
“Ana definitely isn’t interested in getting married – she doesn’t need a man to make her happy. But when she loses her job at a glossy food magazine, she jumps at the chance of a new life, renovating a crumbling Italian farmhouse.
Her handsome (and very distracting) neighbour definitely isn’t part of the plan.” To read about food in Nicky Pellegrino’s novels, go here.
6. (1) View from the Second Row by Samuel Whitelock (HarperCollins)
After six straight weeks in the top spot, All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock’s memoir drops back to sixth place. It begins with 14 full lines of the injuries he’s suffered playing rugby, the outcome of which was five surgeries under general anaesthetic. And then deciding to play in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific final with an Achilles tendon injury. The most capped AB in history speaks – with the help of sports journo Dylan Cleaver – about his career, which covers four World Cups and 153 appearances in the black jersey, his life and his family. Whitelock (he’s called Samuel by most of his family, Sam by his friends) knew when to toggle as captain between rooster and sheepdog, says ABs coach Scott Robertson in the foreword: leading from the front or guiding his flock. Whitelock has serious rugby lineage on both sides. He claims not to be a complicated guy: “family, footy and farming” are at the centre of his life.
7. (7) Seriously Delicious by Polly Markus (A&U)
The follow-up to the top-selling Miss Polly’s Kitchen promises 70+ great new recipes from Auckland cook and Instagrammer Polly Markus. From the publisher: “Packed with those signature punchy flavours and classics with a Miss Polly twist, this cookbook will be on high rotation in your kitchen. With simple but impressive starters, bold salads, main meals, plus decadent desserts, you’ll want to cook again and again. Seriously Delicious has everything you need to bring the joy of cooking – and eating – well back into your life. For recipes from the book, go here.
8. (4) The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone by Gareth Ward & Louise Ward (Penguin)
“When we opened Sherlock Tomes, people warned us that we’d made a terrible mistake. People warned us that e-readers were taking over. People warned us that we’d never compete with Amazon. The one thing they didn’t warn us about was the murders.”
And so begins this first joint novel from actual Hawke’s Bay booksellers Gareth and Louise Ward, a cosy murder-mystery that promises bookshop insider titbits and literary puns galore. The plot has Garth and Eloise and their dog Stevie, who, telling the story in alternate chapters, “are drawn into the baffling case of a decades-old missing schoolgirl. Intrigued by the puzzling, bookish clues, the two ex-cops are soon tangled in a web of crime, drugs and floral decapitations, while endeavouring to pull off the international celebrity book launch of the century.” To read more about Gareth & Louise Ward, go here.
9. (5) Serviceman J by Jamie Pennell (HarperCollins)
There’s a famous photo of NZ soldier and Victoria Cross winner Willie Apiata emerging from some grim fire fight, gaze and jaw fixed, looking like a still from a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. The bloke next to him is Jamie Pennell. From the publisher: “In 2011, following the Taliban siege on Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel, an SAS soldier identified only as Serviceman J was awarded New Zealand’s second highest military honour by showing outstanding gallantry in the face of danger. After 18 years in the New Zealand SAS, ex-commander Jamie Pennell is now ready to tell his story.”
10. (NEW) Make It Make Sense by Bel Hawkins & Lucy Blakiston (Moa Press)
The online Kiwi phenomenon of news, advice and opinion aimed at millennials and Gen Z has been reimagined as a book.
From the publisher: “Shit You Should Care about was launched as a WordPress blog by three best friends in the back of a political science lecture. Today, it’s a global ecosystem of content – two podcasts, 3.5 million Instagram followers and a daily newsy. They are your culture vultures, news agents and (reluctant) agony aunts all rolled into one. “Make It Make Sense is a collage of cultural analysis, anecdotes, personal essays, poems and lists, interplayed like a conversation between friends. So sharp they’ll make you wince, so honest that you might feel uncomfortable with what’s reflecting back at you, so funny you’ll want to take a photo and send it to your best friend.
“It’s the bedside table essential for women who’ve felt their way through life and want that experience reflected back at them. When everything feels like it’s whooshing away in an endless scroll, Make It Make Sense holds the answers (or questions) to what to do with all these big feelings.” To read more about Shit You Should Care About, go here.
Source: Nielsen Bookscan NZ – week ending September 14
