FICTION
1 The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone by Gareth Ward & Louise Ward (Penguin Random House, $38)
Wow! The biggest-selling novel of the year is a detective caper dreamed up by the very people who know best about bestsellers – bookstore owners. The Wards run Wardini’s, that wondrous book emporium in Hawkes Bay. They have always known what their customers want and they took that instinct one step further by creating a novel – I suspect the first in a series – about two small-town booksellers (and their cowardly dog) who solve a decades-old murder-mystery. An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who wants a satisfying pageturner.
2 Tree of Nourishment (Kāwai 2) by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)
The sequel to Kāwai 1 was always going to sell its socks off and Soutar’s historical novel duly did so, confirming that the most in-demand New Zealand historical novels right now are told by Māori. An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who loved Kāwai 1.
3 Marry Me in Italy by Nicky Pellegrino (Hachette, $37.99)
You cannot have a biggest-selling books of the year chart without the perpetual Pellegrino, master of the romance set in Italy with good food and good scenery and good plotting. An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who wants a sensual page-turner
4 Kāwai: For Such a Time as This (Kāwai 1) by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)
An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who needs both this one and Kāwai 2.
5 The Songbirds of Florence by Olivia Spooner (Hachette, $37.99)
Another novel in the top 10 dreamed up by a bookstore owner – the author owns The Booklover in Milford, on Auckland’s North Shore. An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who wants a sweeping wartime romance.
6 Kataraina by Becky Manawatu (Makaro Press, $37)
Named in ReadingRoom as one of the best four works of fiction of 2024. An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who needs the sequel to her celebrated Aue.
7 Bird Child and Other Stories by Patricia Grace (Penguin Random House, $37)
Short stories are one of the great pillars of New Zealand literature but the only author who could expect to sell enough copies to warrant inclusion in the year’s biggest bestsellers is the iconic Grace. An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who wants poignant little portraits of Māori life.
8 The Secrets of the Little Greek Taverna by Erin Palmisano (Hachette, $36.99)
An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who wants a novel very similar to the work of Nicky Pellegrino.
9 The Space Between by Lauren Keenan (Penguin Random House, $37)
An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who wants a New Zealand historical novel told by a Māori author.
10 All That We Know by Shilo Kino (Hachette, $37.99)
An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who wants a charming and socially engaged novel of a young Māori woman who confronts her life in a year-long te reo immersion class. Named in ReadingRoom as one of the best four works of fiction of 2024.
NONFICTION
1 Tasty by Chelsea Winter (Allen & Unwin, $55)
An ideal Xmas gift for anyone, really. The cook of the nation returns to the kitchen with more good vegetarian meals.
2 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, 37.99)
I hereby declare Jude Dobson, once the nicest person in New Zealand broadcasting, is now the nicest person in New Zealand literature. I met her twice this year and adored her sunny, sharp, eccentric manner the second I met her; easy to imagine her empathy and her quick understanding of people being put to work when she spent a lot of time with wartime spy Pippa Latour, and took down her amazing story that she turned into a massive bestseller. Merry Xmas Jude! Her book is an ideal Xmas gift for anyone who wants an incredible memoir of a brave and resourceful woman who risked her life in the name of freedom.
3 View from the Second Row by Samuel Whitelock (HarperCollins, $49.99)
An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who can put up with as-told-to rugby memoirs.
4 The Life of Dai by Dai Henwood & Jaquie Brown (HarperCollins, $39.99)
An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who will resonate with a cancer memoir.
5 More Salad by Margo Flanagan & Rosa Power (Allen & Unwin, $49.99)
An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who needs another vegetarian cookbook.
6 Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who appreciates the wisdom of Hinemoa Elder.
7 Atua Wāhine by Hana Tapiata (HarperCollins, $36.99)
An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who appreciates the wisdom of Hana Tapiata.
8 A Life Less Punishing by Matt Heath (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)
The best self-helper of the year, full of actually really good advice from someone who knows what it’s like to tie your life up in knots; an ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who needs to get over themselves.
9 Serviceman J by Jamie Pennell (HarperCollins, $39.99)
Very raw, very effective memoir of someone who sounds very unpleasant and served in the SAS.
10 Waitohu by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $35)
An ideal Xmas gift for that person in your life who appreciates the wisdom of Hinemoa Elder.
This post was originally published on here
