Top 10 best-selling NZ books: February 8
1. (4) The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin)
Jumping back to the top of the charts is this fascinating account of spy Pippa Latour. Latour, who died in West Auckland late in 2023 aged 102, helped lay the groundwork for the D-Day’s success and the end of the war by acting as a secret agent in France for Britain during WWII.
“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 SOEs 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 the review here.
2. (1) Tasty by Chelsea Winter (A&U)
There must have been plenty of versions of Chelsea Winter’s Noodle Peanut Stir-Fry and Aloo Palak whipped up over the holiday break. The MasterChef NZ winner’s latest cookbook, chock-full of plant-rich comfort food as it is, has held tight to the top of the bestsellers’ charts. It’s been four years since the mega-selling Supergood. 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.
3. (2) 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. (RETURN) Understanding Te Tiriti by Roimata Smail (Wai Ako Books)
A brief, easily digestible guide to the basics of the Treaty of Waitangi written by a human rights lawyer and educator.
5. (1) Route 52: A Big Lump Of Country Unknown by Simon Burt (Ugly Hill Press) Simon Burt travelled the back roads around Wairarapa and Southern Hawke’s Bay with a caravan in tow, nattering to locals along the way. From the first chapter: “One of those visitors is Masterton angler Nick Jolliffe. Nick is around my age and has been fishing for as long as he can remember. He’s been plying the Mākurī River for over 40 years. A natural storyteller (he’s a career salesman), Nick entertains me over a long black and a flat white at Masterton’s Trocadero Cafe with the history of his relationship with the waterway. He’s pleased I’m writing about the river – he’s not one to keep fishing secrets – and about the area in general. ‘Good on you,’ he says. ‘Fame for Route 52 is long overdue. It’s a big lump of country unknown.’”
6. (5) Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment by Monty Soutar (David Bateman)
As the Listener’s review notes (you can read it here), Monty 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.”
(RETURN) Where is Hairy Maclary? by Lynley Dodd (Picture Puffin)
Toddlers love lift-the-flaps books and this one, following the rhyming clues – is he having a scratch in the strawberry patch, or taking a bath at the side of the path? – in search of Hairy and his canine chums, will be a favourite.
8. (7) Atua Wāhine by Hana Tapiata (HarperCollins)
Writer Hana Tapiata (Te Arawa, Ngati Awa, Ngati 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, these atua will inspire you to foster creativity, acknowledge cycles of change, and embrace self-determination.”
9. (RETURN) Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin) The wisdom of 52 Māori proverbs explained by psychiatrist Hinemoa Elder in this bestselling book first released in 2020. An extract:
“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 that 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.”
10. (10) 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.
Source: Nielsen Bookscan NZ – week ending February 1.
