1. (1) Tasty by Chelsea Winter (Allen & Unwin)
MasterChef NZ winner Chelsea Winter’s latest cookbook, chock-full of plant-based comfort food as it is, has leapt straight to the top of the bestsellers’ charts. It’s been four years since the mega-selling Supergood, largely because Winter got pregnant while writing it. As she told the Listener: “Tasty is a plant-based book, but it’s not staunchly plant-based. I’ve designed it to be flexible. If someone wants to use a recipe as fully plant-based – great. If they want to sub in a bit of cheese and cream – perfect. If they want to serve it alongside a cut of meat, or chuck some chicken or fish in one of the curries – perfect. It’s for every kind of eater.” She replaced refined sugar in recipes with the likes of coconut sugar after seeing the effects on her children. “Man, my children don’t need any more energy.” For recipes from Tasty, go here.
2. (3) Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment by Monty Soutar (David Bateman)
As the Listener’s review notes (you can read it here), Mony Soutar picks up the narrative where Kāwai: For Such a Time as This left off. “The advent of muskets placed the power of fire and death into the hands of any iwi with the cunning, the connections and the economic capacity to possess them. In so doing, the musket undermined the foundations of Māori society, including the mana of the tohunga, upending their command of magic and their bond with the spirit world through its blind disregard for the sacred pageantry of war, death and the interweaving of these things with all that is tapu. This in turn paved the way for European missionaries to bring stories of a different god, a new perspective on faith and the sanctity of life, and irrevocable change. Soutar uses this narrative to explore the power of words, both the writings of men who claimed to be holy and the fractious ink of te tiriti, whose intentions remain contested to this day.”
3. (4) More Salad by Margo Flanagan & Rosa Power (A&U)
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 are 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. You’ll find recipes from the book here.
4. (2) Kataraina by Becky Manawatu (Makaro Press)
As predicted, Becky Manawatu’s long-awaited sequel to her award-winning novel Auē has swept up the charts. The Listener’s interview with Manawatu notes that a swamp, or kūkūwai, runs under and through Kataraina. “It is a shifting, changing body of water – an expansive wetland, a drained and lifeless bog, a deep lagoon. Like poet Seamus Heaney’s Irish bogs preserving Iron Age bodies in places where ‘there is no reflection’, it is a repository for memories of ancestral violence and retribution. As Aunty Moira says in the book, ‘That kūkūwai is all roimata. Tears.’
“Kataraina takes up the story of Kataraina Te Au, Aunty Kat. In Auē, she is a partially drawn character, seen through the eyes of the nephew she looks after, young Ārama, and feisty Beth. They see her spark, her love, her defensiveness, but also her bruises, meted out by Stuart Johnson, Uncle Stu, and never talked about. Never discussed.” You can read the full interview with Becky Manawatu here.
5. (5) Hairy Maclary’s Magnet Fun by Lynley Dodd (Picture Puffin)
Even before the school holidays this Hairy Maclary book headed into the bestsellers. Using the powers of imagination and magnetism, kids can create their own stories thanks to figures of the mischievous mutts including Hercules Morse, Bottomley Potts and the rest.
6. (6) 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.” You can read more about Nicky Pellegrino’s books here.
7. (7) This is the F#$%ing News by Patrick Gower (A&U)
TV journalist Paddy Gower’s memoir, ghost-written by another journalist, Eugene Bingham, promises to be “funny, brutally honest and packed with incredible yarns”. One reviewer said it was a “diverting, sometimes affecting narrative. He comes across more like a journo from a gritty thriller: a bit battered, more than a bit addicted, basically decent and always determined.” Another says Gower’s life is full of surface yarns … You never find out in This is the F#$%ing News who Gower really is or what his life is like but the March 15 chapter is more important than that. It’s journalism, powerfully and vividly presented, told by a master storyteller to one of the best reporters in New Zealand.”
From the publisher: “Paddy Gower has never been afraid to stand up for what he believes in. From his teenage and university years where he learnt to defend himself from cruel bullying about his looks, to the pressure-cooker years he spent in the Press Gallery holding politicians to account, to advocating for the families of the Christchurch terrorist attacks and for sufferers of cystic fibrosis, he has scrapped and fought for the truth and justice for others. This unrelenting drive has come at a cost: a serious alcohol addiction, anger issues at times, and bouts of anxiety and depression. Ironically, it was through his own work – a documentary about the outsized role that alcohol plays in many Kiwis’ lives – that Paddy’s wake-up moment came. It led him to quit the booze for good, a decision he has never regretted despite the knockbacks that kept coming, including the shock of the decision to close down the entire Newshub operation.”
8. (8) Atua Wāhine by Hana Tapiata (HarperCollins)
Writer Hana Tapiata (Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti 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, theseatua will inspire you to foster creativity, acknowledge cycles of change, and embrace self-determination.”
9. (9) Woman Uninterrupted by Brodie Kane (HarperCollins)
Brodie Kane is a broadcaster and podcaster, and she’s written a memoir. From the publisher: “First up: this is absolutely not a guide to life. I’ve done some impressive stuff, but I’ve also slept on the floor of an old Greek man’s house and lost my dignity in the Brunei jungle. I say yes to everything this life has to offer – I’m from the ‘women can have it all’ club – and, boy, have I got the stories to show for it. From surf-lifesaving to a hungover army deployment, being broke with a gum infection in Europe, spooning Richie McCaw on a mountain, improvising make-up for Paul Holmes, running my first ultra-marathon and reinventing myself after redundancy: every wild, brilliant and hilarious experience has taught me something new. Whether it’s how not to care about being judged, how to fake it till you make it, how to throw yourself into the unknown or how to push through the pit of despair, I’ve come to love that we are all works in progress. If I fail from time to time, that’s okay, too. Open the book of this open book (me). I want to show you the raw, the real and the vulnerable of a full-volume life and how the greatest moments – or at the very least the greatest yarns – come about by just giving it a crack.”
10. Honey: My Story of Love, Loss and Victory by Honey Hireme-Smiler & Suzanne McFadden (David Bateman)
Honey Hireme-Smiler is a sports commentator and former New Zealand rugby league and rugby union representative and Suzanne McFadden is a sports journalist. From the publisher: “Honey, Hunz, Honey Bill, Arneta, Aunty, Whaea, Mum, Nan. From ‘town bully’ to multiple world champion, single mum and pioneering TV commentator – Honey Hireme-Smiler’s astounding life story is built on so many layers. With one of the most impressive resumes in New Zealand sport, Honey is a four-time World Cup winner who wore the silver fern in league, rugby, sevens and nines. She moved freely between codes, was one of the first women to play professional rugby in Aotearoa and was repeatedly named one of the best in the world no matter the sport. But for all her victories on the field and now the sideline, there have been personal challenges and loss – from a troubled childhood to heartbreaking tragedies. Candid, harrowing, powerful, uplifting and funny, Honey is a story that will enthral and inspire.”
