This week’s bestselling books – February 13

2026-02-12 - 16:10

NONFICTION 1 Champions Do Extra by Brad Thorn (HarperCollins, $39.99) A free copy of the AB’s motivational whatever was up for grabs in last week’s giveaway contest. Readers were asked to share their thoughts on the great athlete. But it seems there is no great interest in the AB or his motivational whatever among ReadingRoom readers. There were only two entries. The best of the two entries came from Dasen. Their email reads, in its entirety, “He was a machine.” Huzzah to Dasen, who wins a free copy of Champions Do Extra by Brad Thorn. 2 Lessons on Living by Nigel Latta (HarperCollins, $39.99) 3 The Dead Speak by Thomas Coyle (Allen & Unwin, $37.99) Really good memoir by a forensics expert; a compelling extract will appear in ReadingRoom next week. Interesting synopsis: “The Dead Speak plunges us into the world of disaster victim identification – a discipline where time, science and compassion collide. Where forensic experts are flung into a race against time to identify bodies in makeshift morgues as desperate families wait for news of their loved ones. Taking us from meticulous casework at New Scotland Yard to the chaos of the Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand and the devastation of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, The Dead Speak is a gripping insider’s account of forensic investigation.” 4 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $59.99) Longlisted for the nonfiction prize at the 2026 Ockham NZ national book awards. 5 Become Unstoppable by Gilbert Enoka (Penguin Random House, $40) 6 Nadia’s Farm Kitchen by Nadia Lim (Nude Food, $55) 7 Ara by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $30) 8 Mana by Tāme Iti (Allen & Unwin, $49.99) 9 Underworld by Jared Savage (HarperCollins, $39.99) The author will appear at next weekend’s Hamilton Arts Festival literary programme, HamLit, in a session alongside myself, chaired by crime novelist Fiona Sussman. We will talk about bad things—organised crime, murder, Polkinghorne—on Sunday, February 22. Other notable HamLit events include appearances by Tusiata Avia, Karyn Hay, Josie Shapiro, and Mike McRoberts. It’s held in the Hamilton Gardens, one of the great wonders of the flowering world. We have two free tickets to give away to the event starring poet Tusiata Avia. Anyone in or adjacent to Hamilton ought to snatch at this offer; I have seen the sage of Christchurch onstage, and she is dynamic, confronting, mesmeric. To enter the draw, write a line or two about why you wish to attend, and send it to stephen11@xtra.co.nz with the subject line in screaming caps TUSIATA AVIA! by midnight on Sunday, February 15. 10 Māori Ora by Hira Nathan (Allen & Unwin, $37.99) FICTION 1 The American Boys by Olivia Spooner (Hachette, $37.99) 2 Julia Eichardt by Lauren Roche (Flying Books Publishing, $36.99) 3 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 4 The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin (Hachette, $37.99) 5 Seed by Elisabeth Easther (Penguin Random House, $38) A free copy of the author’s debut novel, an entertaining romp about sex and the city, is up for grabs in this week’s free book giveaway. Interesting synopsis: “Hillary and her partner are eager for a baby, their sex life dictated by the automated texts from their fertility agency. Her best friend Maggie is a single mother enjoying a healthy relationship with her ex, and a healthy appetite on dating apps. Meanwhile, midwife Virginia is yearning for her own baby. With no partner in sight, she cooks up an unhinged plan...” To enter the draw, readers are invited to share a personal story about a woman (it might be themselves) who wants or wanted or has had a baby despite challenging circumstances. No real names of course. Email stephen11@xtra.co.nz with the subject line in screaming caps IT TAKES A SEED TO RAISE A FAMILY by midnight on Sunday, February 15. 6 Wonderland by Tracy Farr (The Cuba Press, $38) Longlisted for the fiction prize at this year’s Ockham NZ national book awards, Farr’s novel imagines Marie Curie coming to live in Miramar, Wellington, in 1912. From an admiring review by Paula Morris at her Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books site: “The novel includes a tragic turn, not hard to anticipate, but this is not a book that prioritises plot twists over characters or language. Every page is artful. Wonderland’s narrative voices are distinct and its central lie – Curie’s incognito visit to New Zealand – is utterly persuasive.” 7 Dead Girl Gone (The Bookshop Detectives 1) by Gareth and Louise Ward (Penguin Random House, $28) 8 Tea and Cake and Death (The Bookshop Detectives 2) by Gareth and Louise Ward (Penguin Random House, $38) 9 See How They Fall by Rachel Paris (Hachette, $37.99) 10 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $28)