1. (1) View from the Second Row, by Samuel Whitelock (HarperCollins)
All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock’s memoir reigns for the fifth straight week. It begins with 14 full lines of the injuries he’s suffered playing rugby, the outcome of which was five surgeries under general anaesthetic. And then deciding to play in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific final with an Achilles tendon injury. The most capped AB in history speaks – with the help of sports journo Dylan Cleaver – about his career, which covers four World Cups and 153 appearances in the black jersey, his life and his family. Whitelock (he’s called Samuel by most of his family, Sam by his friends) knew when to toggle as captain between rooster and sheepdog, says ABs coach Scott Robertson in the foreword: leading from the front or guiding his flock. Whitelock has serious rugby lineage on both sides. He claims not to be a complicated guy: “family, footy and farming” are at the centre of his life.
2. (10) Lisa Carrington Chases a Champion, by Dame Lisa Carrington & Scott Pearson (Huia)
This inspirational tale from NZ’s most decorated Olympian (eight gold and one bronze medals) is set in Ōhope, where she first began to paddle.
From the publisher: “Lisa Carrington Chases a Champion is a story about 8-year-old Lisa, who is determined to participate in a big surf competition but is plagued by self-doubt and fear of failure. With encouragement from her coach, family, and a top paddler named Māia, Lisa trains hard and improves, but a close call with a wave days before the competition shakes her confidence. After finding solace and regaining her self-belief with her mum’s help, Lisa bravely competes on the big day, conquering her fears.”
A Māori language edition is also available.
3. (NEW) Hairy Maclary’s Magnet Fun, by Lynley Dodd (Picture Puffin)
Is it school holidays already? Rocketing into third spot is this Hairy Maclary book where kids can create their own stories thanks to magnetic figures of the mischievous mutts, including Hercules Morse, Bottomley Potts and all the rest.
4. (7) The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone, by Gareth Ward & Louise Ward (Penguin)
“When we opened Sherlock Tomes people warned us that we’d made a terrible mistake. People warned us that e-readers were taking over. People warned us that we’d never compete with Amazon. The one thing they didn’t warn us about was the murders.”
And so begins this first joint novel from actual Hawke’s Bay booksellers Gareth and Louise Ward, a cosy murder-mystery that promises bookshop insider titbits and literary puns galore. The plot has Garth and Eloise and their dog Stevie, who, telling the story in alternate chapters, “are drawn into the baffling case of a decades-old missing schoolgirl. Intrigued by the puzzling, bookish clues the two ex-cops are soon tangled in a web of crime, drugs and floral decapitations, while endeavouring to pull off the international celebrity book launch of the century.” You can read more about Gareth and Louise Ward here.
5. (2) Serviceman J, by Jamie Pennell (HarperCollins)
There’s a famous photo of NZ soldier and Victoria Cross winner Willie Apiata emerging from some grim fire fight, gaze and jaw fixed, looking like a still from a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. The bloke next to him is Jamie Pennell. From the publisher: “In 2011, following the Taliban siege on Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel, an SAS soldier identified only as Serviceman J was awarded New Zealand’s second-highest military honour by showing outstanding gallantry in the face of danger. After 18 years in the New Zealand SAS, ex-commander Jamie Pennell is now ready to tell his story.”
6. (3) Sam the Trap Man, by Sam Gibson (Allen & Unwin)
Sam Gibson is a Gisborne-based trapper, hunter and conservationist who’s become something of an Instagram star as Sam the Trap Man. He established a project to restore the whio, the native blue duck, to rivers on the East Coast, which is starting to bear fruit. From the publisher: “From shooting his first deer, to labouring through freezing cold South Island winters as a young trapper, to the time he woke up somehow covered in blood, each chapter weaves together the story of an incredible life full of adventure, hard work and a deep love for the bush and the native creatures who live in it. Protecting these animals and ecosystems is a life’s calling for Sam – every decision he makes in the bush is made to help it thrive.”
7. (6) Seriously Delicious, by Polly Markus (A&U)
The follow-up to the top-selling Miss Polly’s Kitchen promises 70+ great new recipes from Auckland cook and instagrammer Polly Markus. From the publisher: “Packed with those signature punchy flavours and classics with a Miss Polly twist, this cookbook will be on high rotation in your kitchen. With simple but impressive starters, bold salads, main meals you’ll want to cook again and again, plus decadent desserts, Seriously Delicious has everything you need to bring the joy of cooking — and eating — well back into your life. You’ll find recipes from the book here.
8. (NEW) A Very French Affair, by Maria Hoyle (A&U)
From the Listener’s review this week: “Within the first few pages, Maria Hoyle eases any qualms of, ‘Oh no, not another quirky Kiwi goes to France for a lifestyle change memoir.’ For a start Hoyle, an experienced editor, writes extremely well, and she lays out quite an extraordinary true tale. At 63, Hoyle was half-heartedly dating online when she met Alistair, a Nelson-based Brit. The connection was instant – she’s a sucker for a good baritone – and he seemed very keen, though she had too much baggage to entirely trust her feelings. Alistair owns a mill complete with craggy stone walls and a turret in rural France (a moulin – this book will do wonders for your rusty French) and when he invites her to join him, after just two blissful weekends together, it seems rude to refuse.”
9. (9) The Last Secret Agent, by Pippa Latour and Jude Dobson (A&U)
It’s 80 years since D-Day. Pippa Latour, who died in West Auckland late last year aged 102, helped lay the groundwork for the operation’s success by acting as a secret agent in France for Britain during WW II. “I was not a James Bond-style spy,” said Latour. “I was a secret agent whose job it was to blend into the background and cause quiet chaos.” It was exhausting work; she was unable to trust anyone, had several code names, and was often hungry. It was desperately perilous, too. Many of the 13,000 agents were killed, including 14 women out of 39 in France. The average life expectancy of male wireless operators in France when she served was six weeks. Latour’s was a truly remarkable life all around, and The Last Secret Agent, co-written with Jude Dobson, is a clear and fluent account. Read more about the story behind The Last Secret Agent here.
10. (5) The Road to Chatto Creek, by Matt Chisholm (A&U)
In which the former TV presenter reveals what happened after he and his family, wife Ellen and three kids, exited the big smoke to buy land in Chatto Creek, Central Otago, to build a house and rear some sheep and cattle. There are insights into rural life, farming, family and mental health, with splendidly bucolic photographs.
Source: Nielsen Bookscan NZ – week ending September 7
