Get a taste of Silver\u2019s style over on Good Reading Magazine, where they\u2019ve published an excerpt of Fruit Fly<\/a> (which is being made into a TV series by A24).<\/p>\n 2 The Correspondent<\/a>\u00a0by Virginia Evans (Michael Joseph, $28)<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like including letters the main character sends as well as some she receives from a variety of corresponding partners allowed me to tell a 360\u00b0 view of her life,\u201d said Evans to Rumpus.<\/a> \u201cYou had to have different people to hold up the mirror at a different angle to Sybil. I\u2019m not a meticulous planner, so I just dove in and as the book unfolded asked myself, \u2018What does the reader need to know and who can Sybil tell it to? Or who can tell something to her?’\u201d<\/p>\n 3 Kitchen Confidential\u00a025th Anniversary Edition<\/a> by Anthony Bourdain (Bloomsbury, $30)\u00a0<\/p>\n A confessional memoir that has invited us behind-the-scenes of the hospo industry for quarter of a century.<\/p>\n 4 Agrippa<\/a>\u00a0by Robert Harris (Hutchinson, $38)<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re one of those people who thinks about the Roman empire several times a week, Robert Harris has you covered.\u201d So goes Sam Leith\u2019s cracker opening to his review<\/a> of Harris\u2019 tale of conflict in ancient Rome.<\/p>\n 5 London Falling<\/a> by Patrick Radden Keefe (Picador, $40)<\/p>\n Must be one of the best-selling books of the year at this point.<\/p>\n 6 Yesteryear<\/a> by Caro Claire Burke (Fourth Estate, $37)<\/p>\n Same with this one.<\/p>\n 7 Facing Up to Our Future<\/a> edited by Peter Davis (Dunmore Press for the Helen Clark Foundation, $35)<\/p>\n According to the latest bleak AI news<\/a> our future might be limited, but this is a worthy read anyway.<\/p>\n 8 The Disappearers<\/a> by Marlon James (Hamish Hamilton, $38)<\/p>\n Called the novel of the decade by the New York Times, longlisted for the Booker, getting your hands on this one is a no brainer.<\/p>\n 9 Life of M<\/a>\u00a0by Rachel Cusk (Faber & Faber, $37)<\/p>\n There\u2019s been a ton of hoopla over the fact that the novel\u2019s \u2018M\u2019 may be based on the actor Natalie Portman. Read more about it over on the BBC, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n 10 Cauldron: Making of the Modern Middle East\u00a0<\/a>by Simon Montefiore (W&N Fiction, $60)<\/p>\n \u201cWho was the last great Ottoman sultan? Why did Faisal become king of both Syria and Iraq? How did Britain and France carve up the Middle East? Why did the Kurds never get a state? How did Ataturk create Turkey?\u201d These questions, and more, answered in Montifiore\u2019s latest.<\/p>\n WELLINGTON<\/p>\n 1 Perfectly Themselves\u00a0<\/a>by Abby Letteri (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $50)<\/p>\n Keep a look at on The Spinoff this weekend for a round up of horse books published in this year of the horse, including this one by Abby Letteri.<\/p>\n 2 We Chase Shadows<\/a> by Richard Osman (Viking, $38)<\/p>\n Cosy crime.<\/p>\n 3 London Falling<\/a> by Patrick Radden Keefe (Picador, $40)<\/p>\n 4 Things We Never Say<\/a> by Elizabeth Strout (Viking Penguin, $38)\u00a0<\/p>\n A more sombre novel from Strout for more sombre times.<\/p>\n 5 Lucky You\u2019re Tough<\/a> by Mark Law & Ron Crosby (Allen & Unwin, $40)<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a career as a badged soldier in the NZSAS that led to an intriguing stint with the British SAS and then working as private security in active war zones, Mark [Law] returned to New Zealand to start his own helicopter business, K\u0101hu NZ. While on a sunny day off on 9 December 2019, he got the call that Whakaari\/White Island was erupting. All those years of service and expertly trained instincts led to a split-second decision: Mark and his K\u0101hu NZ colleagues would fly to the erupting volcano to rescue any survivors they could find.<\/p>\n This daring rescue mission would ensure that Mark and the other pilots were able to comfort the injured, as well as to fly those 12 stranded survivors off the island, after they were left there when authorities announced that no official rescue would be coming. Mark\u2019s decision led to himself and his fellow heroic pilots being awarded medals for bravery by the New Zealand government.\u201d<\/p>\n 6 Pocket Observology: A Field Guide<\/a>\u00a0by Giselle Clarkson (Gecko Press, $28)<\/p>\n A gorgeous new publication from the world of Giselle Clarkson, author of The Observologist and Omnibird<\/a> among other award-winning books. Pocket Observology is made to be taken out into the field, and is complete with a snail racing track, a ruler and Clarkson\u2019s signature comedy-science: great science conveyed through a blend of illustration, speech bubbles and perfectly composed text. Clarkson has a real gift for imparting her palpable passion of nature on every page: her unique blend of information and fun appeals to the curious part of the child (and adult) mind. A delight!<\/p>\n 7 Yesteryear<\/a> by Caro Claire Burke (Fourth Estate, $37)<\/p>\n 8 Home Again: My Life & Times in a Band called Shihad<\/a> by Jon Toogood (Moa Press, $40)<\/p>\n Tauranga Arts Festival has released their programme which includes an event with Toogood and Karl Puschmann<\/a>, who helped write the iconic musician\u2019s memoir.<\/p>\n 9 kluge<\/a> by pip adam (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)<\/p>\n A novel for our times: a scream! Read all about it in this marvellous interview between adam and Hera Lindsay Bird.<\/a><\/p>\nInside Pocket Observology. (Image: Gecko Press)<\/p>\n