1. The Art of Winning, by Dan Carter (Penguin)
The All Black legend’s deep dive into leadership, strength and resilience went straight to No 1 and it won’t budge until every rugby fan and self-improvement type has a copy.
“For me, a growth mindset is simply the idea that we believe we are capable of being better than we were yesterday, and that we strive to make that improvement each and every day, so that it becomes habit. It often seems to come naturally to us as children, but as we get older, we need a growth mindset just as much if we’re to constantly evolve and improve. If we’re at all serious about achieving our potential, then it’s absolutely vital. But without our childhood innocence, that natural learning curve we’re all on as children, it can be more challenging. We have to approach it in a more conscious, concerted way. So, when I walked off the pitch with that thought, I want to be an All Black great, I needed to also ask myself: Okay, so what does an All Black great do?”
2. Fungi of Aotearoa, by Liv Sisson (Penguin)
Fungus enthusiast Liv Sisson’s guide to foraging our fields and forests for mushroom morsels is still a bestseller after three months in the charts. A taste:
“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.”
3. Whakawhetai: Gratitude, by Hira Nathan (Allen & Unwin)
A gratitude journal! In English and te reo! Still in the top half of the top 10 after many weeks! Turns out that we’re a very grateful nation.
4. Pearl in a Whirl, by Catherine Robertson & Fifi Colston (Picture Puffin)
The true story of one cat’s wild adventures during Cyclone Gabrielle, by bestselling novelist Robertson and writer, illustrator and Wearable Arts winner Colston, is also not moving from the top half of the charts. Money from each copy sold goes towards the recovery effort.
5. This Is ADHD, by Chanelle Moriah (Allen & Unwin)
Chanelle Moriah’s personal yet practical guide to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is still in the top 10 two months after it was published.
6. One of Them, by Shaneel Lal (A&U)
Young political activist’s memoir has popped back up on the charts. Lal grew up in a traditional village in Fiji.
“Neha brings orange nail polish to school. I am so excited. We paint our toenails during our recess break. I am wearing Crocs. I think my toenails look cool, but my class teacher is aghast.
She is so angry. She screams that boys are not supposed to paint their nails. Painting nails is only for girls. I am confused. It is just paint on nails – there is nothing girly or boy-like about it. How can something so trivial have a gender attached to it? Why is it reserved for girls only? There is nothing inherent about me that makes me dislike vibrance in my life … My teacher picks up the one-metre ruler from under the blackboard, grabs my arms and whacks me across my calves twice. Ouch! That hurt a lot. I am skinny. Everything hurts more because it hits me right on the bones. I still do not understand what I am being punished for.”
7. Pet, by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
Ockham winner Catherine Chidgey’s second top-selling, critically acclaimed novel in quick succession is a literary thriller set in a Wellington Catholic intermediate school featuring the charismatic, mysterious, Corvette-driving Mrs Price. “A plot- and character-forward novel, with Chidgey’s trademark artful and clever themes, ideas and observations scattered with the lightest of hands throughout the text, Pet hurtles towards its shocking end like a speeding American muscle car,” said our reviewer, Kelly Ana Morey.
8. Head On, by Carl Hayman & Dylan Cleaver (HarperCollins)
The unsparingly honest memoir from a former All Black front-rower who faces a bleak future, thanks to early onset dementia, which he believes is the result of years of head-rattling collisions in the game, also remains on the top 10 list.
9. Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy, by Lynley Dodd (Puffin)
Sales of the classic zoom on – already at an astonishing 11 million copies worldwide – this latest spike due to a 40th anniversary search for lookalikes for Hairy and his canine friends like Bottomley Potts and Hercules Morse.
10. Aroha, by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin)
Hinemoa Elder’s primer to the wisdom of Māori proverbs was published nearly three years ago. 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.
(Source: Nielsen Bookscan NZ - week ending August 5)
