1. (1) A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin)
The former PM’s memoir, the first such account since Jim Bolger, tops the bestsellers for a sixth week.
Ardern’s book has generally found favour among reviewers, including Henry Cooke for the Listener. He thought it intimate and fluent, “compulsively readable, easily consumable in two or three sittings, and often very funny”, even if it barely explained her government’s policy decisions. “Ardernism was always more a sensibility than a full ideology. It was a way of looking at the world and reacting to it, not a theory of change.” Cooke says “there are some hints, near the end of the book, that perhaps she isn’t so certain quitting was the right idea … There is little attempt to engage with the arguments against the latter half of the Covid period, when MIQ’s usefulness looked shaky and vaccine mandates radicalised thousands of people.”
Tracy Watkins, editor of The Post and Sunday Star-Times, agreed the book let us into some of Ardern’s emotional highs and lows. “We also gain some fresh insight into her own personal mechanisms for coping with such momentous events as the terror attack, and Covid. But we don’t learn a lot more about what was going on behind closed doors within her government, which must, at times, have been under enormous strain.”
The Guardian considered it “an emotionally rich and candid read, [but] the downside of skipping the political detail is that it’s hard to get a sense of how exactly her astonishing early popularity ebbed away”.
Tim Stanley of The Telegraph was more acerbic, writing that “the practicalities of the job don’t interest her: this book hinges on how everything felt”. The natural disaster at Whakaari White Island and the Christchurch mosque killings “brought out Ardern’s best: authoritative and sensitive, she has a fine temperament”. But she subtly vilified her opponents, he says: “I am so kind that anyone who disagrees with me must be nasty; so reasonable that my critics must be nuts.”
2. (2) Polkinghorne by Steve Braunias (Allen & Unwin)
Holding at No 2 is Steve Braunias’s account of New Zealand’s trial of the century so far.
From the publisher: “With unparalleled access to the key players, Braunias offers readers his unique insight into the investigation, the trial and the astonishing revelations that kept the New Zealand public utterly transfixed.
“The death of Pauline Hanna in her home in Remuera, and the arrest of her husband, eye surgeon Dr Philip Polkinghorne, led to an epic trial that played out like a scandalous exposé of rich Auckland life. Braunias pieces it all together and presents it as an unforgettable opera – including an extraordinary encounter that will leave readers stunned.”
You can read more about Steve Braunias’s crime writing here and an extract from the book here.
3. (3) Leading Under Pressure by Ian Foster & Gregor Paul (HarperCollins)
Demonstrating the rule that rugby memoirs are a sure bet in NZ, Ian Foster’s account of his time as All Blacks coach remains near the top of the bestsellers. I haven’t read Foster’s book, but I hope it goes into the – in my opinion – unedifying way he was replaced as coach. Only super-retrospective refereeing stopped his team of All Blacks winning the RWC.
From the publisher: “Appointed as head coach in 2019, Ian Foster led the All Blacks through one of the most tumultuous periods of the team’s 120-year history. Leading Under Pressure is a fascinating look into the pressure-cooker inner sanctum of the world’s most famous rugby team. With revelations about Foster’s time in the job, it also delves into the politics of rugby, and the events preceding the dramatic 2023 Rugby World Cup.”
4. (5) The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
Holding its own on the list is Catherine Chidgey’s much-praised latest novel, which tells the mysterious, ominous story of three boys in an alternative 1970s Britain.
It’s a “tense, compelling, genre-fusing book”, said Emma Neale in the Listener. “There is the hint of submerged identity; of aspiration and prosperity, rubbing skins with disappointment and neglect; a preoccupation with what is authentic and what is fraudulent; the self and truth only dimly visible … Calling on the deeply rooted psychological power of the storytelling rule of three, the novel is divided into The Book of Dreams, The Book of Knowledge and The Book of Guilt. Three women, Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night, care for a set of 13-year-old triplets in an all-boys’ orphanage. There are three main narrative perspectives: Vincent, one of the triplets; the Minister of Loneliness, a government minister in charge of national care institutions known as the Sycamore Homes; and Nancy, a young girl kept in seclusion by fastidious older parents. This attention to pattern also coolly embodies the quest for order and control, the troubling obsession at the core of the fictional investigation.”
You can read Michele Hewitson’s interview with Catherine Chidgey here.
5. (RETURN) The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (A&U)
A recall to the bestsellers for this memoir by Kiwi Pippa Latour, who died in West Auckland late in 2023 aged 102. Latour helped lay the groundwork for the success of D-Day by acting as a secret agent in France for Britain during World War II.
“I was not a James Bond-style spy,” she said. “I was a secret agent whose job it was to blend into the background and cause quiet chaos.” It was exhausting work; she was unable to trust anyone, had several code names, and was often hungry. It was desperately perilous, too. Many of the 13,000 SOEs were killed, including 14 women out of 39 in France. The average life expectancy of male wireless operators in France when she served was six weeks. Latour’s was a truly remarkable life all around, and The Last Secret Agent, co-written with Jude Dobson, is a clear and fluent account.
You can read more about Pippa Latour and The Last Secret Agent here.
6. (4) No, I Don’t Get Danger Money by Lisette Reymer (A&U)
Waikato-born Reymer, after covering the Tokyo Olympics, found herself in the UK, where she became Newshub’s Europe correspondent. She burst into tears when she got the job, which the Listener’s reviewer found instantly endearing.
“Her next three years were ‘London, August 2021 … Przemysl, Poland, March 2022 … Bucha, Ukraine, May 2022 … Kahramanmaras, Turkey, late April 2023 … Tel Aviv, late October 2023 …’ So it goes, with other locales in between, ending in Ethiopia, Lucerne, London again, and Barcelona, August 2024.“Her commitment to catastrophes starts with watching the Twin Towers fall on Mum and Dad’s TV. It’s the first of many, many narratives in a text that’s anecdotal rather than analytical. But then, stories are frequently the best way of getting to the guts of an issue, and Reymer tells hers with clarity and competence-plus.”
7. (RETURN) Everyday Comfort Food by Vanya Insull (A&U)
Vanya Insull, aka VJ Cooks, offers her third cookbook, focused on satisfying winter meals.
Her publisher writes: “Vanya has built her reputation on simple, delicious, never-fail recipes. She knows what works in the kitchen when it comes to feeding a family and how to whip up the perfect dish for every occasion. Following on from the runaway success of Everyday Favourites and Summer Favourites, Everyday Comfort Food celebrates the colder seasons, with warming winter meals and nostalgic treats to keep the whole tribe happy — as well as more of the winning dishes Vanya is known for. From hearty soups, tender slow-cooked lamb and flaky golden pies to sweet delights and indulgent self-saucing puddings, Everyday Comfort Food delivers 70 mouth-watering recipes that taste like home.”
8. (10) Hairy Maclary and Friends: Little Learning Library by Lynley Dodd (Picture Puffin)
Four books in a handy case to start your child’s own Hairy Maclary mini-library for just $16.
From the publisher: “Little ones love to learn with rascally Hairy Maclary and his rollicking gang! Introducing important first concepts including the alphabet, counting to 10, colours and opposites, this delightful tiny board book collection in a slipcase makes a perfect first library for the youngest fans of Hairy Maclary and his friends.
“Each little learning book is populated with Lynley Dodd’s much-loved characters getting up to their usual antics, and large, simple text. The sturdy board pages are the ideal size for little hands to hold and durable enough to withstand the rough and tumble of toddlers. Pulling the books out and returning them to their slipcase provides a fine-motor challenge, and the four books also make a 4-piece puzzle that combines into a gorgeous illustration.”
9. (RETURN) Whānau by Donovan Farnham & Rehua Wilson (Moa Press)
This illustrated pocket hardback, ideal as a gift, aims to improve your te reo Māori one special phrase at a time. Donovan Te Ahunui Farnham and Rehua Wilson offer up dozens of expressions, often with metaphorical or proverbial origins, such as “He toka tū moana” (stalwart) and “Kei mate wheke” (never surrender).
10. (RETURN) Sam the Trap Man by Sam Gibson (A&U)
Sam Gibson is a Gisborne-based trapper and conservationist who has become something of an Instagram star as Sam the Trap Man. He established a project to restore the whio, the native blue duck, to rivers on the East Coast, which is starting to bear fruit. From the publisher: “From shooting his first deer, to labouring through freezing cold South Island winters as a young trapper, to the time he woke up somehow covered in blood, each chapter weaves together the story of an incredible life full of adventure, hard work and a deep love for the bush and the native creatures who live in it. Protecting these animals and ecosystems is a life’s calling for Sam – every decision he makes in the bush is made to help it thrive.”
Source: NielsenIQ BookScan – week ending July 19.
