Latest news with #TheRiverisWaiting
The Spinoff
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending July 25
The top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books' stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Better the Blood by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster, $27) Second week in a row! 2 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin, $60) The former prime minister's memoir. 3 The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb (Simon & Schuster, $40) Good Readers are mostly digging it, giving this latest Lamb a 4.44 rating on 20,333 votes so far. However sounds like you must brace yourself for the beginning: 'One of the most shocking and heartbreaking first chapters I've ever read,' says one reviewer. 4 Polkinghorne: Inside the Trial of the Century by Steve Braunias (Allen & Unwin, $38) One of the most sensationalised court cases in recent memory. 5 1985 by Dominic Hoey (Penguin, $38) Brilliant, propulsive, warm, generous novel about growing up in Grey Lynn in the 80s. 6 Strange Pictures by Uketsu (Pushkin Press, $37) A murder mystery involving pictures as clues. 7 The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (Jonathan Cape, $38) Vuong's much-praised, Oprah-approved second novel. 8 The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) Rightful winner of this year's Women's Prize for fiction. 9 Mahi A Atua by Mark & Diana Kopua (Huia Publishers, $55) Huia have been busy! Here's the blurb for this latest publication: 'Mahi a Atua is a Māori wellbeing framework based around storytelling. Grounded in a Mori Māori view, this approach is designed to foster transformation and systemic change and indigenise practices, institutions and personal and professional spaces. The knowledge, messages and principles within purākau spark conversations aimed at promoting wellbeing, consciousness raising and healing.' 10 Fulvia by Kaarina Parker (Echo Publishing, $37) Caeden at Unity Books Auckland says that 'this novel brings something bold, new, and refreshing to ancient world retellings. Parker has done her research to make sure her writing is as authentic as possible, while telling a story that's scarily appropriate for the current political moment. An excellent novel of ambition, power, and infamy.' WELLINGTON 1 The Stars Are A Million Glittering Worlds by Gina Butson (Allen & Unwin, $38) 'In January 2023, I wrote a story and named it for a mountain in Guatemala. But the deep-sea root of the story was something my mother told me a year or so before she died. . .' Butson wrote about the various inspirations for her debut novel r ight here on The Spinoff. 2 Stone & Sky #10 The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (Orion Books, $38) The latest in the bestselling detective series. 3 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin, $60) 4 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 'Chidgey's latest novel is uncannily similar to Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (which she has not read),' writes Claire Mabey in her rave review. 'It takes similar aim at British identity by puncturing its society with the normalisation of skewed medical ethics. What both novels have in common are questions of nature versus nurture and the eternal thought exercise of what does it mean to possess a soul? The two writers share an interest in the dehumanising potential of such questions. Both Ishiguro (one of the greatest novelists of all time) and Chidgey (fast becoming one of the greats herself) investigate how whole societies, entire countries, can enter a path of gross moral corruption one person, one concession, at a time.' 5 M ātauranga Māori by Hirini Moko Mead (Huia Publishers, $45) Everything you need to know about mātauranga from an authority on the subject. 6 Polkinghorne: Inside the Trial of the Century by Steve Braunias (Allen & Unwin, $38) 7 Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Macmillan, $40) She's baaackkkkk. Shark attack victim and Zuck victim Wynn-Williams' memoir contains some unsurprising but still fascinating/horrifying perspectives on working for Meta and the people who run it. Read a review of the book on The Spinoff, here. A community of women and a post-apocalyptic world. 9 Is a River Alive? By Robert Macfarlane (Penguin, $65) Acclaimed nature writer Robert Macfarlane explores the nature of rivers and how people relate to them. 10 Pūkeko Who-Keko? by Toby Morris (Puffin, $21) Full of delightful gags, linguistic play and wonderful illustrations, this is a bird book you can get behind. The Spinoff Books section is proudly brought to you by Unity Books and Creative New Zealand. Visit Unity Books online today.
USA Today
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Oprah's June book club pick is here and it's an author she's loved since the '90s
Oprah's June book club pick is here and it's an author she's loved since the '90s Oprah Winfrey has made her latest book club selection, and this time it's a fan favorite. 'The River is Waiting' by Wally Lamb (out now from Simon & Schuster), a propulsive crime novel following a young father after an unforgivable tragedy, is the Oprah book club pick for June. It's the third time Oprah has chosen a Lamb book for her book club – first 'She's Come Undone' in 1997 and 'I Know This Much Is True' in 1998. In a statement, Winfrey says her third pick from the author is indicative of 'what I think of this truly masterful and beloved writer.' 'Wally Lamb takes us on an incredible and transformative journey from the depths of despair to the healing power of facing the truth and finding forgiveness,' Winfrey said in a statement. Oprah's Book Club June pick: 'The River is Waiting' by Wally Lamb 'The River is Waiting' follows Corby Ledbetter, a struggling new father who is already mourning the loss of his job and the consequences of his secret addiction before tragedy strikes. Now incarcerated, Corby struggles with the violence and brutality of prison but also finds a prison librarian, a good-natured cellmate and a troubled teen who give him something to fight for. This novel is his quest for forgiveness and hope. Lamb is the author of nine books, including two nonfiction collections of testimonies from imprisoned women, 'Couldn't Keep It To Myself' and 'I'll Fly Away.' His second novel, "I Know This Much Is True," was adapted into a miniseries starring Mark Ruffalo in 2000. In a statement, Lamb reflected on his four phone conversations with Winfrey over his career, three of which were to notify him of the book club selection. The first time she called him, it was 1992 and Winfrey simply wanted to express her gratitude for him writing 'She's Come Undone.' Five years later, she chose it as her fourth book club pick. 'I'm not sure why I've been on the receiving end of such grace and good fortune, but I try to live each day expressing my gratitude in the way I treat others,' Lamb said in a statement. 'And of those four phone conversations with Oprah, I think my favorite may be the first one, before there was an Oprah's Book Club, when I received a validating gift from an avid reader who just wanted to thank me for having written my book.' Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY's Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you're reading at cmulroy@
