Secret lives and untold histories: New popular non-fiction

Wondering what’s new this month in our non-fiction collection? Prolific novelist Phillipa Gregory tries her hand at non-fiction in Normal Women, a huge undertaking that puts so-called “ordinary” women at the front and centre of this British history, rather than the usual array of queens and affluent ladies. Mountains of Fire looks to be an adventurous and entertaining piece from the pen of a volcanologist (can we talk about that cover?), while Everything I Know About Books is a treat for any book lover, giving readers a glimpse into Aotearoa’s flourishing publishing industry with a huge number of contributors from around these literary motu. That’s not all, of course — browse our other picks below!

Mountains of fire : the secret lives of volcanoes / Oppenheimer, Clive
“We are made of the same stuff as the breath and cinders of volcanoes. No matter where we live on the planet, these fiery mountains have long shaped the path of humanity. World-famous volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer has worked at the crater’s edge in the wildest places on Earth. In Mountains of Fire we join him on hair-singeing adventures, close enough to feel the heat of the lava, from Antarctica to Iceland, to learn how deeply our stories are intertwined with volcanoes.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

What we remember will be saved : a story of refugees and the things they carry / Saldana, Stephanie
“Journalist and scholar Stephanie Saldaña, who lived in Syria before the war, sets out on a journey across nine countries to meet refugees and learn what they salvaged from the ruins when they escaped. Now, in the narratives of six extraordinary women and men, from Mt. Sinjar to Aleppo to Lesvos to Amsterdam, we discover that the little things matter a great deal. Saldaña introduces us to a woman who saved her city in a dress, a musician who saved his stories in songs, and a couple who rebuilt their destroyed pharmacy even as the city around them fell apart. Together they provide a window into a religiously diverse corner of the Middle East on the edge of unraveling, and the people keeping it alive with their stories.” (Catalogue)

Normal women : 900 years of making history / Gregory, Philippa
Normal Women is a radical reframing of Britain’s story, told not with the rise and fall of kings and the occasional queen, but through social and cultural transition, showing the agency, persistence, and effectiveness of women in society – from 1066 to modern times. This is a book about millions of women, not just three or four. The ‘normal women’ you meet in these pages rode in jousts, flew Spitfires, issued their own currency and built ships, corn mills and houses as part of their daily lives. They went to war, tilled the fields, campaigned, wrote and loved. They committed crimes, or treason, worshipped many types of gods, cooked and nursed, invented things and rioted. A lot. A landmark work of scholarship and storytelling, Philippa Gregory puts women back where they belong in our history – centre stage.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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Best of 2023: Our top non-fiction picks!

Our list of the top 100 non-fiction books for 2023 is here! It includes the best in memoirs and biographies, poetry, local history, science, social history, art and more. We’ve highlighted an exciting mix of new books made up of hidden gems, popular bestsellers, literary prize winners and acclaimed local talents. There’s plenty to choose from for every kind of reader.

2023 Non-fiction Highlights — Browse the full list
Browse the full list with all our picks, or browse just the topic you enjoy!

We were thrilled to watch the ongoing success of many homegrown authors who have generously graced our physical and online spaces this year, including Redmer Yska for Katherine Mansfield’s Europe: Station to Station, Arihia Latham (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) for her sublime debut poetry collection Birdspeak, and the rousing collection of diverse voices found in the anthology A Kind of Shelter Whakaruru-taha. Here are some more Aotearoa specific highlights that you’ll find within our 2023 best of non-fiction list!

For celebrity biographies there’s no prizes given for which ex-Royal’s book topped most bestseller lists this year, but not far behind a Kiwi talent shone through with Sam Neill’s Did I Ever Tell You This?. We’d recommend listening to the eAudiobook version voiced by the actor for the full experience.

In the world of art there’s plenty of talent to admire in the visually stunning and comprehensive volumes Pacific Arts Aotearoa, and Urgent Moments: art and social change. Then, take an integral look into how Māori artists have adapted age-old techniques in their contemporary practices, forming clay workers collective Ngā kaihanga uku

In Science and Environment, American author John Valiant’s Fire Weather is a must-read and recently won the prestigious Baillie Guifford Prize for Non-Fiction. But for local stories on lifetimes spent in the outdoors and helping conservation efforts, look to Dave Towns’ Ahuahu: a conservation journey in Aotearoa New Zealand and Kennedy Warne’s Soundings: diving stories in the beckoning sea. There’s also The Forgotten Forest by Robert Vennell for those wanting to take an illustrated walk through the bush via the page.

Looking under the health umbrella, local author Kristen Phillips wrote a touching memoir, Dad, You’ve Got Dementia, and Dr Emma Espiner’s (Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Porou) There’s A Cure For This highlighted significant problems within our medical system and important improvements that can be made for Māori.

Rugby League in New Zealand by Ryan Bodman sums up a national pride, complete with full page photographs of unforgettable games by legendary players. And don’t miss Our Land in Colour: a history of Aotearoa New Zealand 1860-1960 to see a century’s worth of historic photographs seen for the first time in full colour. Find all these local titles, plus their internationally acclaimed counterparts in our best of 2023 selection. Happy reading!

Labours of Love: New popular non-fic

There’s nothing quite like a super niche non-fiction book written by a passionate author. We love finding them – it might start with a little double-take, a moment spent frowning at the title, thinking there’s no way someone wrote a whole book on this. You might not even be interested in the topic, yet somehow your attention has been snagged by the opening paragraph, and all of a sudden you’re wandering over to a chair so you can set aside whatever armful you’re carrying and properly turn the page…

For every niche book out in the world there is a reader who cannot wait to get into it. Sometimes that’s how those books get written in the first place; that’s what happened to Tove Danovich, in any case. She’s the author of Under the Henfluence, a book all about chickens: chickens in history, chickens as food, chickens as pets, chickens as quirky little beings of their own. It’s the book she wanted to read but couldn’t find, so she wrote it instead – and honestly we love the commitment! Such passion is certainly inviting to prospective readers, so whether it’s chicken lore, literary history, ancient archaeology or personal memoir that catches your attention, we hope you find something special to read from this list today (and perhaps a new obsession or two).

Under the henfluence : the world of chickens and the people who love them / Danovich, Tove
“Since first domesticating the chicken thousands of years ago, humans have become exceptionally adept at raising them for food. Yet most people rarely interact with chickens or know much about them. Tove Danovich explores the lives of these quirky, mysterious birds, revealing their hidden cleverness, quiet sweetness and irresistible personalities, as well as the complex human-chicken relationship that has evolved over centuries. She also casts light back on ourselves and what we’ve ignored throughout the explosive growth of industrial agriculture. Woven with delightful and sometimes heartbreaking anecdotes from Danovich’s own henhouse, Under the Henfluence proves that chickens are so much more than what they bring to the table.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Searching for Juliet : the lives and deaths of Shakespeare’s first tragic heroine / Duncan, Sophie
“Juliet Capulet is the heartbeat of the world’s most famous love story. She is an enduring romantic icon. And she is a captivating, brilliant, passionate teenage girl who is read and interpreted afresh by each new generation. Searching for Juliet takes us from the Renaissance origin stories behind William Shakespeare’s child bride to the boy actor who inspired her creation onstage. Sophie Duncan draws on rich cultural and historical sources and new research to explore the legacy and reach of Romeo and Juliet far beyond the literary sphere. With warmth, wit, and insight, she shows us why Juliet is for now, for ever, for everyone.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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Strange Weather: Recent climate books

We have a huge number of books on environment and climate in our collection, and new titles are being published at an astounding rate as the science develops and as the reality of climate change sets in. It can be tempting to pass over these books, especially for those of us already experiencing climate grief or anxiety – the content is confronting and frankly scary. But the authors below are not here to bog us down in hopelessness. The facts they present are undeniable and their writing is urgent, but what they are offering us is a deeper understanding, showing how we might face our fears and channel our actions, and reminding us of the other paths that we – as individuals, as communities, as countries – can take.

There are all sorts here: poets and weather experts, gardeners and journalists, and between them all they cover a vast swathe of topics. If you want to understand the nitty-gritty science, then Under the Weather and Heat are the ones for you. To focus in on particular case studies, check out Fire Weather and Wasteland. For practical advice, Milkwood from Tasmanian-based permaculture experts looks fantastic, while Re-Food offers a road forward grounded in the Aotearoa context. Lastly, the philosophically-minded will enjoy the poetic Soil or the determined essays in Not Too Late. 

Under the weather : a future forecast for New Zealand / Renwick, J. A.
“A warmer world will change more than just our weather patterns. It will change the look of the land around us, what grows and lives on it – including us. Drawing on climate models that can travel to ice ages and hothouses of the deep past, Professor James Renwick untangles how we know exactly what the future holds and why it matters to our everyday lives. He looks at New Zealand’s more frequent natural disasters, warming and rising sea levels, and the ways that the changing weather will affect our agriculture, lifestyle, food security and economy. Arresting, galvanizing and clear-sighted, Under the Weather is a picture of a miraculous planet in danger, a stock-take on what it means for this small country, and a reminder that the shape of our future is up to us.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Re-food : exploring the troubled food system of Aotearoa New Zealand / King, Emily
“In “Re-food”, Emily King advocates for a food systems approach to help the troubled food networks of Aotearoa New Zealand. She looks at the best ways forward to address challenges we face with soils, waterways, climate change, food waste, packaging, unhealthy diets, and a lack of access to food. Written in three parts, “Re-food” traverses the full food system and unpacks its issues along the way while providing timely and relevant ideas and inspiration for readers to solve these problems themselves. It offers tools, insights and mindset changes that chart a path towards a healthier, more sustainable food future, one which incorporates Te Ao Maori and our strengths as a top-quality food-producing nation.” (Catalogue)

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Fabric Hoarders and Orchid Outlaws: New popular non-fic

In 1838, Anne Sykes began to collect an array of fabrics in her personal diary, a project she dedicated herself to during her early adulthood. She collected scraps of her own clothes as well as those of her family and friends, just as some in those years might have collected signatures or locks of hair, resulting in a wonderful record of the fabrics and fashions of her youth. By the 1970s, the diary found its way to a market and then eventually into the hands of fashion historian Kate Strasdin. As she pored over its swatch-laden pages, a picture emerged – not just of Anne Sykes herself but a wider tale of the time too. Strasdin explores this unique glimpse into the Victorian era in her own book, which you can find below.

As for the other picks for this month, the theme of adornments continues in Tiny Statements, a book based on Te Papa’s eclectic collection of badges. For the ecologically inclined we have a guide to navigating the climate crisis alongside author Ben Jacob’s record of his efforts to stave off the decline of wild-growing orchids. Lastly, if you don’t mind a bit of a queue, Dr Emma Espiner’s fantastic memoir is well worth the wait. She writes with wit, passion and empathy, touching on numerous subjects including her whānau, working in healthcare in Aotearoa, and so much more – every bit of it powerful.

There’s a cure for this : a memoir / Espiner, Emma
“From award-winning writer Dr Emma Espiner comes this striking and profound debut memoir. Encompassing whānau, love, death, ’90s action movies and scarfie drinking, There’s a cure for this is Espiner’s own story, from a childhood spent shuttling between a ‘purple lesbian state house and a series of man-alone rentals’ to navigating parenthood on her own terms; from the quietly perceived inequities of her early life to hard-won revelations as a Māori medical student and junior doctor during the Covid-19 pandemic. Clear, irreverent and beautiful, this book offers a candid and moving examination of what it means to be human when it seems like nothing less than superhuman will do.” (Catalogue)

The frontier below : the past, present and future of our quest to go deeper underwater / Maynard, Jeff
“We do not see the ocean when we look at the water that blankets more than two thirds of our planet. We only see the entrance to it. The first divers to enter that world held their breath and splashed beneath the surface, often clutching rocks to pull them down. Over centuries, they invented wooden diving bells, clumsy diving suits, and unwieldy contraptions in attempts to go deeper and stay longer. But each advance was fraught with danger, as the intruders had to survive the crushing weight of water, or the deadly physiological effects of breathing compressed air. Today, as nations scramble to exploit the resources of the ocean floor, The Frontier Below recalls a story of human endeavour that took 2,000 years to travel seven miles.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The dress diary of Mrs Anne Sykes / Strasdin, Kate
“In 1838, Anne Sykes began collecting snippets of fabric from a range of garments in her diary, carefully annotating each one.  Nearly two hundred years later, the diary fell into the hands of Kate Strasdin, a fashion historian and museum curator. Piece by piece, fragments of cloth become windows into Victorian life: pirates in Borneo, the complicated etiquette of mourning, poisonous dyes, the British Empire in full swing, rioting over working conditions and the terrible human cost of Britain’s cotton industry. This is life writing that celebrates ordinary people: the hidden figures, the participants in everyday life. Strasdin lays bare the whole of human experience in the most intimate of mediums: the clothes we choose to wear.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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Ships and sailors: New popular non-fiction

A selection of new book covers, set against a stormy sea background

The invention of the ship was also the invention of the shipwreck.

Paul Virilio

Catalogue link: The Wager, by David GrannThere is a fantastic bunch of new non-fiction books this month, and we’re particularly excited for The Wager, a gripping tale of treachery, survival and empire, all bound up in the story of one ship that wrecked in 1742. David Grann crafts a riveting narrative from the historical record, taking us through the conflicting reports of what went down on board the ship, as one side speaks of mutiny and the other of misrule, and the court tries to determine the truth.

Disaster at sea is no new tale, although it is certainly one that still grips us even as the Age of Sail drifts further into the past. New Zealand has had its own share of infamous wrecks, with one of the most notable being the General Grant (the recent Ockham-shortlisted novel Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant offers a fictionalised account). This ship is rumoured to have sunk off the Auckland Islands with an exceptional amount of gold, but the treasure trove has never been found despite many valiant efforts over the years. Those islands were particularly deadly – Joan Druett’s book Island of the Lost explores the plight of two other crews that wrecked in the same cold southern waters. Mere miles from each other, the two groups underwent polar-opposite experiences, with one defying the odds to survive while the other floundered into anarchy and ruin. Perhaps this is why the interest in these disasters endures. They are excellent studies of human nature under harsh circumstances, of people at their best and their worst. (The allure of sunken treasure has something to do with it too, no doubt.)

However, it’s not all boat books this month. For the landlubbers amongst us, check out the list below for some other fantastic reads. You’ll find the surprising union of maths and literature, an exploration of death festivals around the world, a protest against the ticking clock, and more.

The Wager : a tale of shipwreck, mutiny, and murder / Grann, David
“On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, survivors of the Wager, a ship which left England on a secret mission in 1740. Six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they had a very different story to tell. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death, for whomever the court found guilty could hang. Grann unearths the deeper meaning of the events, showing that it was not only the Wager’s captain and crew who were on trial – it was the very idea of empire. The incredible twists of the narrative hold the reader spellbound.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Once upon a prime : the wondrous connections between mathematics and literature / Hart, Sarah B.
“We often think of mathematics and literature as polar opposites, as different as they come. But what if, instead, they were inextricably, even fundamentally, linked? In her clear, insightful, laugh-out-loud funny debut, Professor Sarah Hart shows us the myriad connections between math and literature, and how understanding those connections can enhance our enjoyment of both. As the first woman to hold England’s oldest mathematical chair, Hart is the ideal tour guide, taking us on an unforgettable journey through the books we thought we knew, revealing new layers of beauty and wonder. As she promises, you’re going to need a bigger bookcase.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Off-Earth : ethical questions and quandaries for living in outer space / Nesvold, Erika
“Can we do better in space than we’ve done here on Earth? We’ve pinpointed the destination, refined the technology, designed the habitat, outfitted our space residents. Are we forgetting something? A timely reminder that it’s not just rocket science, this thought-provoking book explores the all-too-human issues raised by the prospect of settling in outer space. It’s worth remembering, Erika Nesvold suggests, that in making new worlds, we don’t necessarily leave our earthly problems behind. Space settlement is rapidly becoming ever more likely. Will it look like the utopian vision of Star Trek? Or the dark future of Star Wars? Nesvold challenges us to decide.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Saving time : discovering a life beyond the clock / Odell, Jenny
“Our daily experience, dominated by the corporate clock that so many of us contort ourselves to fit inside, is destroying us. It wasn’t built for people, it was built for profit. Explaining how we got to the point where time became money, Odell offers us new models to live by – inspired by pre-industrial cultures, ecological, and geological time – that make a more humane, more hopeful way of living seem possible. Odell urges us to become stewards of these different rhythms of life, to imagine a life, identity, and source of meaning outside of the world of work and profit, and to understand that the trajectory of our lives – or the life of the planet – is not a foregone conclusion. In that sense, “saving” time could also mean that time saves us.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

American ramble : a walk of memory and renewal / King, Neil
“Neil King Jr’s desire to walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City began as a whim and soon became an obsession. Determined to rediscover what matters in life, Neil turned north with a small satchel on his back and one mission in mind: to pay close attention to the land he crossed and the people he met. The journey travels deep into America’s past and present, uncovering forgotten pockets and overlooked people. By turns amusing, inspiring, and sublime, American Ramble offers an exquisite account of personal and national renewal.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Why we garden : the art, science, philosophy and joy of gardening / Masset, Claire
“Whether you seek sanctuary in your potting shed, find paradise amongst your patio plants or enjoy the simple solace of your hands in the soil, there is beauty, peace and happiness to be found for every gardener in this thoughtful and entertaining collection. Both a hymn to gardening and a call to action, this down-to-earth guide is worth a hundred ‘how-tos’. Wander the gardens of Giverny with Monet to create your own ‘beautiful masterpiece’ or, like George Orwell, reap the joy to be found in the work of an allotment. Discover the soothing symmetry in the spiral of sunflower seeds, or provide a wild abundance of floral habitat for the natural visitors to your garden.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Closer to the edge / Houlding, Leo
“One of Great Britain’s finest climbers and adventurers, Leo Houlding started out climbing at ten years of age in the Lake District tackling the many historic peaks and crags in the area. He has since gone on to summit the world’s tallest walls and toughest peaks, and has crossed continents to take extreme sports to the most remote corners of Earth. How did a working class lad from the north of England scale such heights and avoid the pitfalls and fatal accidents that have struck down so many of his colleagues and friends? Honest, raw and exhilarating, Closer to the Edge is Leo’s ‘warts-and-all’ story of a remarkable climber and free spirit who has been at the top of his game for over thirty years, with still more mountains to explore.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

This party’s dead : grief, joy and spilled rum at the world’s death festivals / Buist, Erica
“By the time Erica Buist’s father-in-law Chris was discovered, upstairs in his bed, his book resting on his chest, he had been dead for over a week. She searched for answers and tried to reason with herself and eventually landed on an inevitable, uncomfortable truth: everybody dies. With Mexico’s Day of the Dead festivities as a starting point, Erica decided to confront death head-on by visiting seven death festivals around the world. This Party’s Dead is the account of her journey to understand how other cultures deal with mortal terror, how they celebrate rather than shy away from the topic of death, and how when openness and acceptance are passed down through the generations, death suddenly doesn’t seem so scary after all.” (Adapted from Catalogue)