This week’s bestselling books – October 4

FICTION
1 Marry Me in Italy by Nicky Pellegrino (Hachette, $37.99)
2 Kataraina by Becky Manawatu(Makaro Press, $37)
A free copy of the eagerly-awaited sequel to Auē is up for grabs in this week’s giveaway contest. ReadingRoom devoted all week to covering Kataraina and took the only once-precedented step of publishing three reviews, in honour of one of our most extraordinary writers (we did it last year with Birnam Wood). Lauren Keenan entirely loved it. Jordan Tricklebank loved it but not uncritically. My review loved the food: “Baked apples cut into starfish shapes. ‘A fridge filled with salad leaves and carrots and cheese and milk and cream and cod and livers and three fresh muttonbirds.’ Mussel fritters. ‘People reached for plates and put pāua and fresh mussel and pūhā and butterfish and kōura and dressed salad and bread and thousand-island dressing on them.’ Home-made garlic butter with neon green chives…”
To enter the contest, share a few thoughts why you are intensely looking forward to reading Kataraina, by emailing [email protected] with the subject line in screaming caps EVERYONE LOVES BECKY. Entries close at midnight, Sunday October 6.
3 The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone by Gareth Ward & Louise Ward (Penguin Random House, $38)
4 Tree of Nourishment (Kāwai 2) by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)
Oho! Another sequel to a bestseller: Tree of Nourishment is the second book in the intended Kāwai trilogy. The synopsis to Soutar’s latest historical novel is nigh-on irresistibly exciting: “ It’s 1818 on the East Coast of Te Ika-a-Māui, New Zealand. Hine-aute, granddaughter of the legendary warrior Kaitanga, is fleeing through the bush, a precious yet gruesome memento contained in her fishing net. What follows is a gripping tale of a people on the cusp of profound change that is destined to reverberate through many generations to come. The Europeans have arrived, and they’ve brought guns and foreign diseases, ushering in a whole new world of terror and trouble. They’ve also brought a new religion, which will cause Māori to question everything they had believed to be true.”
5 Home Truths by Charity Norman (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)
6 Pātea Boys by Airana Ngarewa (Hachette, $36.99)
7 Better Left Dead by Catherine Lea (David Bateman, $37)
8 Kāwai by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)
9 Auē by Becky Manawatu(Makaro Press, $35.00)
10 Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $28)
NONFICTION
1 Atua Wāhine by Hana Tapiata (HarperCollins, $36.99)
Wellness.
2 More Salad by Margo Flanagan & Rosa Power (Allen & Unwin, $49.99)
Leaves.
3 Woman Uninterrupted by Brodie Kane (HarperCollins, $39.99)
I’ve never actually heard of this “beloved broadcaster”, as described by the publisher, but certainly her book sounds very, you know, active. Blurbology: “I say yes to everything this life has to offer – I’m from the ‘women can have it all’ club – and, boy, have I got the stories to show for it. From surf-lifesaving to a hungover Army deployment, being broke with a gum infection in Europe, spooning Richie McCaw on a mountain, improvising make-up for Paul Holmes, running my first ultra-marathon and reinventing myself after redundancy: every wild, brilliant and hilarious experience has taught me something new.”
4 This is the F#$%ing News by Patrick Gower (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)
Asterixes.
5 Life Hacks from the Buddha by Tony Fernando (HarperCollins, $37.99)
A free copy of the self-help book of the year by a practising Buddhist psychiatrist – you got to love Dr Tony! – was up for grabs in last week’s giveaway contest. Readers were asked to share a valuable and beautiful insight they have gained from Buddhism or any kind of philosophic ism.
There were many entries. My inbox was flooded with wellness. I have mopped up some of the best, as follows. Kim quoted from Confucius: “Keep a green branch in your heart and the singing bird will come.” Marilyn quoted from someone called Eckhart Tolle: “To recognise ones own insanity is the arising of sanity.” Sarah recommended a Buddhist chant: “I started to do this while leading a horse where I volunteer. He’s 16 hands, holds his head high and is prone to high jinks. When I chanted to him he became easier to handle and both of us left the lesson on a high note of HOPE.”
I loved this parable, from Jane: “This is a true story about Dr Tony and mindfulness. Some years ago I was visiting my neighbours to borrow their washing machine. They were sharing a cuppa with Dr Tony, whose writing I was already following with great interest. I had also started my own meditation and mindfulness journey. I had  been wondering what to do when I came across a homeless person begging and asked Tony  what he did. He said that he would typically nip into a local supermarket and buy something like a packet of muesli bars and give those to the person and stop and have a chat. I was loading the washing machine while we were talking, putting  the laundry detergent in, closing the lid and switched it on, sharing my personal journey of compassion and mindfulness.  If I’d actually been mindful, rather than spouting on about it, I’d have used laundry detergent rather than the floor cleaner I poured in. 
“I’d absolutely love his book.”
And I would absolutely love to give Jane a copy of Dr Tony’s book – but there was one entry more deserving, from my old friend Ann Kidd, author of the 2009 classic You’re a Dick, Mummy, a memoir of dealing with her son after he suffered a serious brain injury. She writes, “Rehabilitating a youth with a brain injury is extremely tough, ism’s helped. As did John Kirwan when he phoned me asking if his words about adversity and how it makes you stronger might be appropriate to inscribe in his book which he sent to a fellow sportsman. My son seldom read books, unless they were about cycling. 
“This changed after his accident when a fellow cyclist and physiotherapist put him in touch with authors and books often based around Buddhism for his mate felt these might benefit him. I have watched with joy the transformation of my son who has now become more compassionate, is coping better with his impairments and actually recommends authors and books to his mother.  Paul Wilson, Thich Nhat Hanh, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Robin Sharma’s book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari come to mind. 
“It is not uncommon for my son to say, ‘Mum, adversity has made us stronger, it’s made us into better people.’
“This week’s book will give him more to take on board and put into practice.”
Huzzah to Ann; a free copy of Life Hacks from the Buddha is hers.
6 View from the Second Row by Samuel Whitelock (HarperCollins, $49.99)
Meaninglessness.
7 Waitohu by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin Random House, $35)
Wellness.
8 Serviceman J by Jamie Pennell (HarperCollins, $39.99)             
Militarism.
9 A Life Less Punishing by Matt Heath (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)
Advice.
10 Ngā Hapa Reo: Common Māori Language Errors by Hona Black & Te Aorangi Murphy-Fell (Oratia Books, $39.99)
Speaking.