This week’s bestselling books – August 2

FICTION
1 The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone by Gareth Ward & Louise Ward (Penguin Random House, $38)
Only last week I was blithely asserting that the powerful new novel by Shilo Kino, All That We Know, would remain at number one till October, when new novels by Becky Manawatu and Monty Soutar arrive in shops – but along comes The Bookshop Detectives, a fun romp co-authored by the irrepressible owners of Wardini’s Books in Havelock North.
A free copy is up for grabs in this week’s giveaway contest. Blurbology: “Two small-town booksellers (and their cowardly dog) solve a decades-old murder-mystery in this witty debut novel, full of literary clues, sparkling dialogue, and comedic insights into the world of bookshops.” To enter, share a few lines on the bookshop you hold dearest to your heart, and email it to [email protected] with the subject line in screaming caps BOOKSTORES ARE THE CORNERSTONE OF CIVILISATION. Entries close at midnight, Sunday August 4.
2 All That We Know by Shilo Kino (Hachette, $37.99)
I hereby blithely assert that the powerful new novel will resume its position at number one on the bestseller chart next week. Jordan Tricklebank’s review  praised “the novel’s broader exploration of the relationship between Māori and Pākehā, which is consistently uneasy. Kino poses difficult questions: Is there a place for Pākehā in exclusive te reo Māori spaces? What should the relationship between Māori and Pākehā aspire to? What can we learn from each other?”
3 At the Grand Glacier Hotel by Laurence Fearnley (Penguin Random House, $37)
Jane Stafford’s review praised Fearnley’s novel based on “a version of the Franz Josef hotel, ambling, slightly gothic, peopled with characters whose intent and relations are at first opaque and whose isolation is troubling. The community surrounding the hotel is recognisably Franz Josef village but not identified as such. And the glacier is nameless but given no reprieve; it is still slowly withdrawing.”
4 Amma by Saraid de Silva (Hachette, $37.99)
Anna Rankin’s profile of the author praised the novel based on de Silva’s life: “Born in Hamilton where she lived until she was 10, de Silva was raised by her mother and grandmother, and in Catholic schooling, after her parents divorced. Her mother was a busy lawyer supporting her own mother and daughter; she was made partner in a family law firm before transitioning into environmental law. It was de Silva’s gran, or Amma, who primarily cared for de Silva during those years. The pair had 10 years knitted together, she says.”
5 The Girl from London by Olivia Spooner (Moa Press, $27.99)
6 Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $28)
7 Always Italicise by Alice Te Punga Somerville (Auckland University Press, $24.99)
8 Bird Child and Other Stories by Patricia Grace (Penguin Random House, $37
9 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
10 The Space Between by Lauren Keenan (Penguin Random House, $37)
NON-FICTION
1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)
2 The Life of Dai by Dai Henwood and Jaquie Brown (HarperCollins, $39.99)
3 Waitohu by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $35)
4 A Life Less Punishing by Matt Heath (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)
News to hand: I will be chairing the author of the year’s most helpful self-helper at The George in Christchurch on Sunday, September 1, as part of the WORD literary festival. I was invited by WORD director Kiran Dass, who emailed, “It’ll just be a sort of chatty, collegial chat between the two of you over an hour over brunch about Matt’s life, work, book, etc … I believe The George does fantastic grub.”
5 Aroha by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30)
6 The Final Diagnosis by Cynric Temple-Camp (HarperCollins, $39.99)
Not news, but to hand: I got invited this week to appear alongside Temple-Camp at a literary event in Wellington, but declined. Not a fan of the Palmerston North pathologist.
7 The Survivors by Steve Braunias (HarperCollins, $37.99)
My book! Stephanie Johnson praised it in her review: “He portrays not just perpetrators, victims and those that surround them, but also New Zealand itself, its land and people, as it was and is now.” That’s nice.
A free copy was up for grabs in last week’s giveaway contest. Readers were asked to share a few lines about why they’d like to read it. There were a number of interesting replies; the one I liked best came from Mark Bracey, who works in education. He wrote, “I am very choosy these days about what I read and who I listen to and whose recommendations I take seriously. But you have remained. When the ReadingRoom newsletter email comes, I skim the boring bits in a rush to get to your contribution. I love the weekend addition because it has the short story. I forward these onto my daughter so when she finally reads them we have great conversations. 
“I don’t often buy books these days. The last book I did buy was yours, The Scene of the Crime. I recommend it to everyone and anyone. It opened my eyes to the justice system. I should not be surprised. I have worked in education for too long. Humans are strange. That knowledge helps me stay saneish. When I upset people at school I want to tell them that I am channelling Steve Braunias.”
I don’t quite know what that last sentence means but the rest of it was okay. Huzzah to Mark; a free copy of The Survivors is his.
8 More From A Quiet Kitchen by Nici Wickes (David Bateman, $49.99)
9 Whakawhetai: Gratitude by Hira Nathan (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
10 Foraging New Zealand by Peter Langlands (Penguin Random House, $50)