Online exclusive:
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, is holding fast 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. (2) 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. (3) 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. (4) Kataraina by Becky Manawatu (Makaro Press)
As predicted, Becky Manawatu’s long-awaited sequel to her award-winning novel Auē is staying steady in 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. (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.”
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. (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.”
8. UnApologetically Me by Bree Tomasel (A&U)
“Funny, candid, raw – this is Bree Tomasel laid bare,” promises the publisher.
For those not in the know, the Australia-born broadcaster co-hosted Celebrity Treasure Island and has a show on the ZM radio station. She lives in Auckland with her partner Sophia, a neonatal nurse, and their dogs Meryl Streep and Whitney Houston, and loves to cook.
Further from the publisher: “Known and loved by her many New Zealand and Australian fans as a down-to-earth broadcaster, radio host and social media sensation, Bree Tomasel is an irrepressible force of nature. But behind the banter and success, is a young woman who has battled anxiety and survived a harrowing attack on her as a young child. For the first time, Bree writes about how that attack has shaped her, as well what it was like to grow up questioning her sexuality in conservative country Queensland, her struggles with anxiety and ADHD, and living in the public eye. Written with her trademark wit and compassion, this is a book for anyone who has ever felt uncomfortable in their own skin and a celebration of accepting who you are, imperfections and all.”
9. Wild Walks Aotearoa by Hannah-Rose Watt (Penguin)
Top-notch guide to the country’s best tramps by someone who has literally done the hard yards. It’s beautifully illustrated, and the amount of detail provided by Hannah-Rose Watt is impressive, from a personal measure of difficulty to a gear guide, first aid, maps and weather. And then there are the 59 walks. Divided into ones that can be done with kids, quick walks, multi-day and two levels of tough, they are mostly in the South Island, and it’s all written in a zippy, knowledgeable style.
10. (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.
