The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending June 13
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books' stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.
AUCKLAND
1 A Different kind Of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60)
The former prime minister's reign continues! Do make sure you're buying the legit copy and not any of these AI fakes…
2 Delirious by Damien Wilkins (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
The moving, immersive novel about an ageing couple navigating how to be in the last segments of their lives.
3 The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (Penguin Random House, $38)
The second novel from celebrated writer Ocean Vuong. Here's the publisher's blurb: 'One late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and out of options, he quickly becomes her caretaker. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond, one built on empathy, spiritual reckoning, and heartbreak, with the power to alter Hai's relationship to himself, his family, and a community at the brink.'
4 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate, $35)
Did you know that former prime minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, has a podcast called A Pod of One's Own? Well now you do. And season seven, episode four is all about Butter.
5 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
The sinister and spectacular alternate history that raises a lot of philosophical questions … a gripping read perfect for these rainy, wintry days. Read a review of this brilliant novel right here on The Spinoff.
6 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $38)
The widely celebrated retelling of Huckleberry Finn.
7 Air by John Boyne (Doubleday, $35)
The conclusion to Boyne's elements trilogy. Read Chris Reed's review over on Booklovers NZ.
8 There Are Rivers In The Sky by Elif Shafak (Penguin Random House, $26)
Turkish writer and activist Elif Shafak's latest, moving novel about the connections facilitated by bodies of water.
9 Eurotrash by Christian Kracht (Profile Books, $39)
A terminally ill mother and her son road trip around Europe and reckon with themselves.
10 Assassin's Apprentice #1 Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (HarperCollins, $23)
One for the fantasy addicts. Here's the blurb: 'The kingdom of the Six Duchies is on the brink of civil war when news breaks that the crown prince has fathered a bastard son and is shamed into abdication. The child's name is Fitz, and he is despised.
Raised in the castle stables, only the company of the king's fool, the ragged children of the lower city, and his unusual affinity with animals provide Fitz with any comfort.
To be useful to the crown, Fitz is trained as an assassin; and to use the traditional magic of the Farseer family. But his tutor, allied to another political faction, is determined to discredit, even kill him. Fitz must survive: for he may be destined to save the kingdom.'
WELLINGTON
1 A Different Kind Of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60)
2 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
3 Terrier, Worrier by Anna Jackson (Auckland University Press, $25)
An absolutely stunning new book from poet Anna Jackson. A long-form poetic sort-of memoir it is gorgeous to read and a meditation on daily life as much as it is about the clouds of thought that follow us day in, day out.
4 A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan (Allen and Unwin NZ, $37)
A summer holiday you won't forget anytime soon. Here's a snippet from books editor Claire Mabey's review:
'Enter, the child. Trevelyan's narrator is 10 years old. She's unnamed until the very end of the book (I won't reveal it here: best to find out for yourself). It's this naive perspective that makes A Beautiful Family both easy to read and impossible to put down. The narrator's innocence is pitted against several disturbing factors, all orbiting her summer in various shapes and shades, and it's that persistent dance of disturbances that creates the sustained and unrelenting tension in the novel.'
5 What to Do When I'm Gone: A Mother's Wisdom to Her Daughter by Suzy Hopkins and Hallie Bateman (Bloomsbury, $27)
Winter seems a good time to contemplate this kind of inevitability? IDK. But here's the blurb: 'One sleepless night while she was in her early twenties, illustrator/writer Hallie Bateman had a painful realization: Someday, her mother would be gone. The prospect was devastating, and also scary – how would she navigate the world without the person who gave her life? She thought about all the motherly advice she would miss–advice that could help her through a host of future challenges that might arise, including the ordeal of losing a parent.
The next day, Hallie asked her mother, writer Suzy Hopkins, to record step-by-step instructions for her to follow in the event of her mom's death. The list began: 'Pour yourself a stiff glass of whiskey and make some fajitas' and continued from there, walking Hallie through the days, months, and years of life after loss, with motherly guidance and support, addressing issues great and small–from choosing a life partner to baking a quiche. The project became a way for mother and daughter to discuss the everyday realities of grief, and to do so honestly, with humor, openness, and gratitude. It led to a book they hope will help other families have similar conversations.'
6 Delirious by Damien Wilkins (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
7 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $38)
8 Before the Winter Ends by Khadro Mohamed (Tender Press, $30)
'I pondered for a long time how I was going to write this review,' wrote Melissa Oliver in The Spinoff. 'I'd lost any sense of how to form a coherent thought or sentence. It is a book that completely took me away from my own life and my own ways of seeing the world. It's unlike anything I've read for a long time and will be a novel that a lot of people will not know they've been waiting for.'
9 Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, $30)
The latest instalment from one of the most successful young adult series ever.
10 M āori Rafter & Tāniko Design by J. W. Phillipps (Oratia Books, $40)
This is a republication of a classic book from 1943: 'This complete redesign of W.J. Phillipps' classic work introduces key patterns in an accessible manner with rich illustrations. Beginning with the koru, the book develops from analysis of drawings to real examples, including important meeting house designs. The beautifully rendered patterns gain new life in a generous layout that will be of value to students and experts alike.'
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The Spinoff
14 hours ago
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The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending June 20
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books' stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60) Spot New Zealand's former prime minster on this week's New York Times bestseller list. 2 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) The un-put-downable alternate history that explores some of life's biggest questions, including what does it mean to have a soul? Can a human ever not have one? 3 Eurotrash by Christian Kracht (Serpents Tail, $30) Auckland really loves this hectic mother-son roadtrip novel. 4 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $38) Everett's biggest book yet is his stunning, funny and profound retelling of Huckleberry Finn. 5 Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum (Bloomsbury, $25) Cosy and charming and perfect for a long Matariki weekend. 6 The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) This year's winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction. One of the most exquisite novels you'll read this year: it is moving, sexy and surprising. 7 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (4th Estate, $35) The smash hit novel based on a true crime story of a serial killer who lured her victims in with stunning food. 8 A Dim Prognosis by Ivor Popovich (Allen & Unwin, $38) An utterly gripping, energetic memoir from Dr Popovich. Revealing! See The Spinoff this weekend to read an excerpt from this brilliant book. 9 Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (Penguin Random House, $38) Vuong's second novel. 10 King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby (Hachette, $38) A fiery crime novel. Here's the blurb: 'Roman Carruthers left the smoke and fire of his family's crematory business behind in his hometown of Jefferson Run, Virginia. He is enjoying a life of shallow excess as a financial adviser in Atlanta until he gets a call from his sister, Neveah, telling him their father is in a coma after a hit-and-run accident. When Roman goes home, he learns the accident may not be what it seems. His brother, Dante, is deeply in debt to dangerous, ruthless criminals. And Roman is willing to do anything to protect his family. Anything. A financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, Roman must use all his skills to try to save his family while dealing with a shadow that has haunted them all for twenty years: the disappearance of their mother when Roman and his siblings were teenagers. It's a mystery that Neveah, who has sacrificed so much of her life to hold her family together, is determined to solve once and for all. As fate and chance and heartache ignite their lives, the Carruthers family must pull together to survive or see their lives turn to ash. Because, as their father counselled them from birth, nothing lasts forever. Everything burns.' WELLINGTON 1 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60) 2 Towards Modernism: Walter Cook Collection at Te Papa by Justine Olsen (Te Papa Press, $75) This handsome new publication celebrates the Walter Cook Collection of Decorative Arts (held at Te Papa) and the ceramic, glass and metal objects therein. 3 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 4 It's A Bit More Complicated Than That by Hannah Marshall (Allen and Unwin NZ, $25) A brilliant new YA novel from a huge new talent. Here's the blurb: 'Zelle and Callum used to be best friends, but they haven't spoken in three years: not since the tragedy that wrenched them apart, and Zelle moved away. But now Zelle is back, and their lives are about to get a whole lot more complicated. Zelle is in denial about her alcohol use that threatens to spiral out of control, and she's deeply annoyed at having to leave the city. Callum's future is thrown into jeopardy after both a disastrous uni interview and his budding romance turning sour. But they can't keep running from the past forever, and circumstances force them to examine their grief and guilt and find a way through.' 5 A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan (Allen and Unwin NZ, $37) 'Trevelyan's narrator is 10 years old. She's unnamed until the very end of the book (I won't reveal it here: best to find out for yourself). It's this naive perspective that makes A Beautiful Family both easy to read and impossible to put down. The narrator's innocence is pitted against several disturbing factors, all orbiting her summer in various shapes and shades, and it's that persistent dance of disturbances that creates the sustained and unrelenting tension in the novel.' Read more of Claire Mabey's review on The Spinoff, right here. 6 The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) 7 Delirious by Damien Wilkins (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 'I don't want to say that Delirious is the pinnacle of what Damien can do because that would be like putting a curse on his future work. But I am going to say it's almost impossible for me to imagine how he could do better. I think this is a great book – Great with capital G.' Even before Delirious won this year's Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, Elizabeth Knox was rapturous about Wilkins' beautiful novel. 8 Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq (Scribe, $37) Shortlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize. 'In the twelve stories of Heart Lamp, Banu Mushtaq exquisitely captures the everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India. Published originally in the Kannada language between 1990 and 2023, praised for their dry and gentle humour, these portraits of family and community tensions testify to Mushtaq's years as a journalist and lawyer, in which she tirelessly championed women's rights and protested all forms of caste and religious oppression. Written in a style at once witty, vivid, colloquial, moving and excoriating, it's in her characters – the sparky children, the audacious grandmothers, the buffoonish maulvis and thug brothers, the oft-hapless husbands, and the mothers above all, surviving their feelings at great cost – that Mushtaq emerges as an astonishing writer and observer of human nature, building disconcerting emotional heights out of a rich spoken style. Her opus has garnered both censure from conservative quarters as well as India's most prestigious literary awards; this is a collection sure to be read for years to come.' 9 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $38) 10 The Māori Millionaire by Te Kahukura Boynton (Penguin, $35) 'Te Kahukura Boynton is Māori Millionaire, and her debut book is here to help. Learn how to make money by clearing debt, saving for an emergency, finding work and increasing your salary, and even starting your own business and investing in shares and yourself. With tips on building better habits with your money and your life, Māori Millionaire is the positive mindset change you might be missing.' So goes the blurb.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Scoop
Writers On Mondays Returns To Showcase Acclaimed And Emerging Literary Voices In Wellington
It's that time of year again! Writers on Mondays is back, with a series running from 7 July to 29 September 2025. Run by the International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) in conjunction with Te Papa Tongarewa and Circa Theatre, these lunchtime events are the perfect opportunity to come in out of the winter weather and listen to vibrant conversations about some of Aotearoa's best writing. And the entire programme is free! Award-winning books and authors feature heavily in this year's programme. Damien Wilkins, winner of the 2025 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, will be joined by last year's winner Emily Perkins to chat about his bestselling novel Delirious, which Newsroom declared 'the book of the year' in 2024. Michelle Rahurahu, fresh from winning the Hubert Church Prize for Fiction at the Ockham Book Awards, will be joined by fellow debut author Gina Butson to take us on a whirlwind tour of their novels Poorhara and The Stars are a Million Glittering Worlds. Many of the authors in the programme are traveling from across New Zealand and even further afield. With Verb Wellington taking a pause on their fantastic readers and writers festival for 2025, Writers on Mondays offers Wellingtonians a unique opportunity to hear literary stars discuss their work this year. Chris Price, co-ordinator of Writers on Mondays, says, 'High-flying Wellington writers are in the spotlight alongside writers from across the motu and beyond: Nina Mingya Powles on a flying visit from London; Mikaela Nyman, fresh from her standout Auckland Writers Festival appearance, making the journey from Taranaki; and poet Nafanua Purcell Kersel traveling from Hawkes Bay. Several Auckland writers will also be in town for especially for the series.' Don't miss your chance to see these writers in Wellington! Randell Cottage Writer in Residence Saraid de Silva and journalist-turned-fiction-writer Michelle Duff will be in conversation with Tina Makereti to explore their stories about multi-generational women and how we excavate the past to inform the present. de Silva's Amma has had international success, longlisted for the Women's Prize, while another featured writer, Jennifer Trevelyan, has had huge international success with her debut novel A Beautiful Family. She caught the attention of a renowned literary agent who secured her a worldwide publishing deal and Allen & Unwin has published her book in NZ. Duncan Sarkies and Brannavan Gnanalingam will be in discussion about their new novels, and why political satire is more important than ever in current times. It wouldn't be Writers on Mondays without poetry and we have plenty of conversations and readings with poets from the freshest to our most revered. Poetry offerings include Nick Ascroft hosting poets from his edition of Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems in a reading, a conversation between Mikaela Nyman and Nafanua Purcell Kersel, and poet laureate Chris Tse talking to poets about how poetry might be reinvented. Anna Jackson, Associate Professor at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, will speak about her new collection of poetry which has been described as 'extraordinary, in both concept and form'. The events feature many writers who previously studied at the IIML, including MA graduates Gina Butson, Michelle Rahurahu, Michelle Duff, Nafanua Purcell Kersel, Jennifer Trevelyan, Nina Mingya Powles, Chris Tse, Gregory Kan, Cadence Chung, Jiaqiao Liu, Rachel O'Neill and Amy Marguerite, plus Mikaela Nyman, who completed her PhD with the Institute. Damien Wilkins, who is Director of the IIML as well as this year's Acorn prize winner, says, 'It's a thrill to see so many writers on the programme with strong connections to the IIML taking their work to the world.' For a glimpse of the further talent soon to emerge from the IIML's MA workshops, scriptwriting students will have their words brought to life in lunchtime performances at Circa Theatre, while the next wave of novelists, poets, and creative nonfiction writers will read in special evening events at Meow. Writers on Mondays will run from 12.15—1.15 pm each Monday from 7 July to 29 September 2025 at Te Papa Tongarewa and Circa Theatre, with two special evening sessions at Meow. Admission is free and all are welcome. The series is supported by the Letteri family. The full programme can be viewed celebrate Aotearoa writers with us at Writers on Mondays – we look forward to seeing you there.
The Spinoff
5 days ago
- The Spinoff
Vale Maurice Gee, 1931
The great Aotearoa writer Maurice Gee has died. Books editor Claire Mabey pays tribute. Maurice Gee has died at the age of 93. In a statement sent to media, Gee's children Nigel, Emily and Abigail Gee confirmed that their father died peacefully in his longtime home in Nelson, the inspiration for many of his stories. 'He lived a long and full life and approached death with cheerfulness and calm. He asked us not to grieve,' read the statement. 'Our father touched the lives of many through his words and leaves behind a remarkable legacy in New Zealand literature.' Since the news of Gee's death broke on Sunday June 15, there has been an outpouring of gratitude from readers and writers across Aotearoa. Gee is the author of Plumb, which in a 2018 Spinoff poll was found to be New Zealand's favourite and best novel. He is also the author of Under the Mountain, one of the most enduring children's books we have. It is rare for an author to be acclaimed for writing both for adults and for children; but Gee took both audiences seriously – he wrote truthfully and fearlessly, always – and his writing in both worlds was equally beloved. Gee's novels for adults include The Plumb Trilogy – Plumb (1978), Meg (1981) and Sole Survivor (1983) – In My Father's Den (1972), Live Bodies (1988), Crime Story (1994), and Ellie and the Shadow Man (2001). His novels for children include the fantasies Under the Mountain (1979), The World around the Corner (1980), the Halfmen of O trilogy – The Halfmen of O (1982), The Priests of Ferris (1984) and Motherstone (1985) – Salt (2007), Gool (2008), and The Severed Land (2017). He also wrote historic fiction for children including The Fat Man (1994), Hostel Girl (1999) and The Fire-Raiser (1986). Among Gee's awards and honours is the Robert Burns Fellowship in 1964; the Fiction Prize at the New Zealand Book Awards for Plumb in 1979; the Book of the Year at the AIM Children's Book Awards for The Halfmen of O in 1982; an honorary doctorate for literature from the University of Victoria in 1989; the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in 2004; the Deutz Medal for Fiction at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards for Live Bodies in 1998; The New Zealand Post Young Adult Fiction award for Salt in 2008; and in 2017 Gee won the Copyright Licensing NZ Award for Young Adult Fiction for The Severed Land at the Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Gee published a collection of short stories in 1986; and in 2018 published a memoir in three parts, Memory Pieces. Gee's biographer is Rachel Barrowman who in 2015 published, Maurice Gee: Life and Work with Te Herenga Waka University Press. It is a remarkably detailed piece of work and one that reveals both the dark and the light of Gee's life. In a letter Gee wrote for the launch of Barrowman's biography, he said: 'Reading Rachel's book has been a strange experience for me. Seeing my life unroll again, or play as though on a screen, made me want to applaud myself for getting so much done, in work and relationships, and at other times had me squirming with embarrassment at my stupidities and shrinking with shame at cruelties and waste. 'It's all in the book. This is the biography I asked for when Rachel and I first spoke about it nine years ago. 'Put in whatever you can find,' I said, not quite understanding that she'd find so much. But I don't like biographies with holes in them. This one has no holes except for those Rachel has uncovered in her research and looked into with a clear eye. The research has been thorough, unrelenting, illuminating — illuminating even for me.' Many of the messages of gratitude and celebration for Gee are concerned with the sheer impact of his stories. A lot of Gee's struggles and triumphs are inside his fiction. For many, the slim, stunning children's novel Under the Mountain is a core memory. A great imaginative transference that stuck. One of the reasons Gee's story of slug-like aliens called the Wilberforces had such a tremendous effect on readers is that the danger was located in Auckland. It is difficult to look at Rangitoto without thinking of those voracious creatures turning the land to mud. Gee was always concerned with the upending of the environment and the potential for younger generations to heal such destruction. Gee is said to have described himself as 'a New Zealandy sort of writer living in a New Zealandy sort of place … writing New Zealandy sort of books.' It's this slant on home – that 'y' at the end – that both grounds his work and tilts it. Through Gee's novels we see ourselves from a fresh angle. We meet ourselves in Gee's places and in his ordinary, extraordinary people. Gee's Halfmen of O series gave his home of Nelson a portal to another world suffering under a totalitarian regime oppressing the voices of the land and destroying itself only for the pursuit of wealth. Gee wrote seriously for children: his worldbuilding is vibrant, startling, textured but it is also deeply enmeshed with the realities of oppressive and violent societies. Like the best children's writers, Gee never underestimated his reader's capacity to walk with him into these dangers and work out what was going on and what to learn from them. For many years professor Kathryn Walls taught an honours level English paper called New Zealand Children's Literature at Victoria University in which students would study the children's novels of Maurice Gee and Margaret Mahy. A rare example of academia looking at children's books to see how they worked, what they said about their authors; how they might reflect their time, and influence their readers. Like Mahy, Gee was one of the greatest writers New Zealand has ever had and he did not withhold that talent from young people. Gee's body of literature is revelatory in that it expresses a pattern of invention and research across depths and genre, never subjugating one audience for the other, but oscillating between them, using them in different ways. This pattern revealed a great respect for children's writing, and for children as serious readers, that is not always present in an industry that often sees writing for children as somehow a lesser pursuit. One of my favourite of Gee's adult novels is Ellie and the Shadow Man. It has lingered in me for years because it was one of the first novels I read about a woman living as an artist. Ellie Crowther is a painter whose work rises to acclaim. Only her canvases begin to be haunted by a figure who she calls her 'shadow man'. I have vivid memories of the ways Ellie's history starts to emerge, inform and entangle with her art. It is a novel that showed me that life – ordinary, difficult, eerie, troublesome, surprising life – can make great art. Every Gee fan will have their favourite novel. New fans have 35 books to explore and discover. In an interview with The Spinoff in 2024, when asked how he feels when he looks at his body of work, Gee said: 'I feel a sense of satisfaction and a sense that, considering all things, I've done as much and as well as I could have.' It is moving, painful, to think of Gee's work from this moment of great loss. But heartening to know that the great writer left this world satisfied and with a legacy that will live on for many years, and through many readers, to come. The Spinoff will be publishing a tribute page to honour the life and work of Maurice Gee. If you would like to contribute please contact clairemabey@
