Non-Fiction Staff Picks 2025

Recommended reads from staff at Puke Ariki, Community Libraries and the Museum

Updated December 17, 2025
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Good nature : the new science of how nature improves our health
Willis, Kathy
Paper Book
'This lucid and entertaining book presents compelling scientific evidence that proves what many of us have perhaps long suspected: nature is really good for us. I found it revelatory' Richard Deverell, Director of Kew A revolutionary, science-based look...
Groundwork : the art and writing of Emily Cumming Harris
Leggott, Michele J.
Paper Book
A LUSCIOUS TRIBUTE TO AN EARLY NEW ZEALAND BOTANICAL ARTIST Part inspired creative endeavour and part determined detective work, this long overdue book brings to light one of New Zealand's most significant botanical artists of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Just as Emily Harris's...
I'm glad my mom died
McCurdy, Jennette
Paper Book
* #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * MORE THAN 3 MILLION COPIES SOLD! A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor--including eating...
The laws of connection : 13 social strategies that will transform your life
Robson, David (Science journalist)
Paper Book
Award-winning science journalist and author of The Expectation Effect David Robson explores why social connection matters even more than we thought, how to build better relationships and improve our lives
Less : stop buying so much rubbish : how having fewer, better things can make us happier
Grant, Patrick
Paper Book
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTELLER 'Utterly brilliant. We all need to read this book' CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN 'Patrick's book is fascinating and sobering and makes a compelling argument for going back to basics' JOE LYCETT We used to care a lot about our clothes. We didn't...
Northbound
Arnold, Naomi
Paper Book
Alone in the wilderness Award-winning journalist Naomi Arnold spends nearly nine months walking the length of New Zealand on Te Araroa, fulfilling a 20-year dream. On her own, she traverses mountains, rivers, cities and plains from summer to spring, walking on through days of...
Politics on the edge : a memoir from within
Stewart, Rory
Paper Book
The searing inside story of our broken politics from the former Cabinet minister and co-host of The Rest Is Politics. 'The most exceptional political memoir I've ever read' ALAN JOHNSON 'An instant classic' MARINA HYDE
Raising hare : the heart-warming true story of an unlikely friendship
Dalton, Chloe
Paper Book
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING WINNER OF THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION, HATCHARDS AND BIOGRAPHERS' CLUB FIRST...
Saltwater cure : true stories of the transformative power of the ocean
Gripper, Ali
Paper Book
Life-affirming true stories about the power of the ocean for transformation and healing and why it's so important for us to protect it.
The serviceberry : abundance and reciprocity in the natural world
Kimmerer, Robin Wall
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, a bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world....
The story of a heart
Clarke, Rachel (Physician)
Paper Book
FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER DEAR LIFE AND BREATHTAKING, A MAJOR TV DRAMA'Profoundly moving and at the same time wildly inspiring' Rob Delaney'The best narrative non-fiction I've read in years. Rachel Clarke has written a profound piece of...
The trading game : a confession
Stevenson, Gary (Economist)
Paper Book
'If you were gonna rob a bank, and you saw the vault door there, left open, what would you do? Would you wait around?' Ever since he was a kid, kicking broken footballs on the streets of East London in the shadow of Canary Wharf's skyscrapers, Gary wanted something better....

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