{"title":"Shirl's Favourite Books of 2026","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe first half of 2026 has been packed with brilliant books, making it hard to choose favourites but here are a few that have really stood out to me.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-correspondent-by-virginia-evans-9780241721261","title":"The Correspondent","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e84 Charing Cross Road\u003c\/em\u003e meets \u003cem\u003eA Man Called Ove\u003c\/em\u003e in this heartwarming, witty story about the life of an extraordinary woman, told through her letters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn her letters to family and friends, we come to know the life of Sybil Van Antwerp—stubborn, cantankerous, opinionated, always steadfast in her belief in the power of the written word.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut as the clock begins to tick for Sybil, the need for a few post-scripts to the life she's led becomes apparent. Fixing her difficult relationship with her children. Taking a final chance at romance. Atoning for an old legal case which has come back to haunt her. And finally, reckoning with a devastating loss that she has spent the last thirty years holding close to her chest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House Distribution","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46233559957740,"sku":"9780241721261","price":29.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780241721261.jpg?v=1741067836"},{"product_id":"heart-the-lover-by-lily-king-9781837265787","title":"Heart the Lover","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e'You knew I'd write a book about you someday'\u003c\/b\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOur narrator understands good love stories — their secrets, their highs, and free falls. But her greatest love story, the one she lived, never followed the rules.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShe was in her senior year of college when star students Sam and Yash swept her into an intoxicating world of academic fervour, rapid-fire banter, and raucous card games. Their lives became quickly intertwined — with friendship but also with unpredictable passions and the intimations of first love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDecades later, she is a successful writer, living a comfortable life with her husband and children, when a surprise visit brings the past crashing into the present, forcing her to confront the decisions and deceptions of her youth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWritten with the precision of poetry and the emotional tide of an epic, \u003ci\u003eHeart the Lover\u003c\/i\u003e is a celebration of literature and the life-long echoes of young love. This is King at her very best, affirming her as a masterful chronicler of the human experience and one of the finest novelists at work today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46741111996652,"sku":"9781837265787","price":29.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/5637c73ca5b1c022847156e59e7d6a80.jpg?v=1755603326"},{"product_id":"main-characters-by-bobby-palmer-9781035435340","title":"Main Characters","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIrresistible, all-consuming and decades-spanning, this is the love story of the\u003cbr\u003eyear, told from the perspective of everyone but the main characters.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClara and Seb are about to fall in love.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThey don't know it yet.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBut everybody else does.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Clara and Seb meet in a quiet corner of London, it's the start of something. She\u003cbr\u003ewants to be a director. He's an actor, unsure what he wants from life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTheir connection is magnetic. Everyone can see that falling in love looks something like\u003cbr\u003ethis. But when Clara casts Seb in the film that will make her name, what should be the\u003cbr\u003ehappiest time of their lives ends with a gut-wrenching betrayal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome love stories are bigger than just two people. This one is told through the eyes of\u003cbr\u003efriends, flatmates, exes and strangers who see all the sides of Seb and Clara, from their\u003cbr\u003efirst date to the moment they fell apart.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEveryone has their version of events. But only Clara and Seb can decide how their story\u003cbr\u003eends...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis is a love story, told by everyone but the main characters.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hachette New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46859539513580,"sku":"9781035435340","price":31.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781035435340.jpg?v=1759443804"},{"product_id":"strangers-by-belle-burden-9781529936124","title":"Strangers","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe must-read memoir of the end of a marriage and the start of a personal revolution, based on the iconic \u003cem\u003eModern Love\u003c\/em\u003e essay in the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e and perfect for fans of Glennon Doyle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"A beautifully written eulogy for the loss of a relationship\"\u003c\/em\u003e — Joyce Carol Oates\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHow do we go on when a loved one betrays us?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn a chilly day in March of 2020, in the early days of the pandemic, Belle Burden's husband of twenty years announced, with no prior warning, that he was leaving her. His decision shocked Belle to her core—she believed he was a happy man, a committed partner, and a devoted father to their three children. She thought he was a man who had settled into the life he had always wanted—a successful career, summers spent at their beloved home on Martha's Vineyard, lots of tennis. Overnight, he transformed from her steady companion into a stranger.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs she pieces her life together in the wake of a loss she had never imagined coming, she finds she is much stronger than she ever expected. Exploring the transformation of a shy, quiet girl, nicknamed 'Belle the Good' to a powerful, brave, determined woman who has learned to use her voice to expose the patriarchal structures that have forced women to be discreet and compliant for far too long, \u003cem\u003eStrangers\u003c\/em\u003e is a must-read memoir of self-discovery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House Distribution","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46944297976044,"sku":"9781529936124","price":32.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781529936124.jpg?v=1781470455"},{"product_id":"yesteryear-9780008742775","title":"Yesteryear","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE\u003c\/strong\u003e — Nita Prose\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE\u003c\/strong\u003e — Abigail Dean\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eINVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE\u003c\/strong\u003e — Ashley Audrain\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS\u003c\/strong\u003e — Clare Mackintosh\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Stepford Wives\u003c\/em\u003e meets \u003cem\u003eThe Handmaid's Tale\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e — Hannah Deitch\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMy name was Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNatalie lives a traditional lifestyle – and has the social media accounts to prove it. Her charming farmhouse on her working ranch is artfully cluttered, her husband is a handsome cowboy, her homemade sourdough boules are each more beautiful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers and industrial-grade ovens behind the scenes? What Natalie’s followers don’t know won’t hurt them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThen, one morning, Natalie wakes up in a strange, horrible version of reality. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Is this a hoax? A reality show? A test from God? One thing Natalie does know is that it’ll make one hell of an Instagram post…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46955496112364,"sku":"9780008742775","price":29.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/y648_1c7e7049-130c-4553-9253-2f61c68daa31.jpg?v=1762372605"},{"product_id":"banjara-by-shana-chandra-9781869718411","title":"Banjara","description":"A powerful literary debut from an astonishing new Kiwi voice, focusing on the Indo-Fijian indenture system and how it affected generations across the Pacific.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eRajasthan 1888:\u003c\/b\u003e Avani Rathod, a nomad of the Banjara community, is summoned to teach a blue-eyed colonial officer the trees of her region, but instead is misled into indenture to the sugarcane plantations of Fiji. While on the voyage that leads her away from her ancestral land, Avani's baby forms in her belly and she forges close friendships with the other women bound for the Pacific - bonds that will be tested once they reach the islands, under the suffocating colonial powers.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAotearoa 2016:\u003c\/b\u003e Avani's great-granddaughter, Meera Chand, seeks the true history of her ancestors - the forgotten and displaced Girmitiya. Meera's search for her great-grandmother's origins leads her to a region of India, where she learns the rhythms of Odissi dance and where she meets up with her former lover - the man she can never have, but whom she can't forget. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  Set in Aotearoa, Australia, India and Fiji, \u003ci\u003eBanjara \u003c\/i\u003eis an essential reimagining of Indo-Fijian Girmitiya history, and a love letter to our ancestors whose stories live on in our genes.","brand":"Hachette New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47028146995436,"sku":"9781869718411","price":30.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781869718411_2.jpg?v=1768270382"},{"product_id":"the-black-monk-by-charlotte-grimshaw-9781776951314","title":"The Black Monk","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe latest novel from Charlotte Grimshaw, best-selling author of \u003cem\u003eThe Mirror Book\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA woman haunted by family denial, secrets and a shadowy figure . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhile her brother Cedric spirals into addiction, Alice Lidell finds herself confronted not only by his decline, but by memories of the past. From their chaotic Auckland childhood to her present day life, Alice is haunted by a mysterious figure she calls the Black Monk.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs Alice tries to hold her family together, the Black Monk appears in various guises - a stranger met in a cemetery, a face on television, a character surfacing in her own writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePart psychological thriller, part family saga, this is a daring novel that examines the themes of the moment - shame, addiction, truth and the stories we tell to survive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47083920621804,"sku":"9781776951314","price":31.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781776951314.jpg?v=1765299964"},{"product_id":"the-truth-about-ruby-cooper-by-liz-nugent-9781844885732","title":"The Truth About Ruby Cooper","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe latest deliciously dark novel from bestselling author, Liz Nugent.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIf my sister hadn't been beautiful, none of it would have happened.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRuby Cooper and her sister, Erin, live an idyllic life in their close-knit church community in Boston. But when Ruby is sixteen, she is involved in an incident that causes her family's world to implode.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcross decades, the fallout leaves a wake of destruction behind Ruby in Dublin and Erin in Boston.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot that Ruby wants to think about the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut it can't stay a secret forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47083933565164,"sku":"9781844885732","price":30.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/b15e36787c7d464cb244594ce6f0da42.jpg?v=1765310369"},{"product_id":"the-things-we-never-say-by-elizabeth-strout-9780241814307","title":"The Things We Never Say","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInternationally bestselling and prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout's new novel tells the story of a chance incident in a man's life—a poignant meditation on loneliness, friendship, and free will in a capsizing world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eArtie Dam is a man with a secret. He spends his days teaching history to high schoolers, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbours, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad—at himself and the people around him—and turns a question over and over in his mind: how is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnd then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear—and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith exquisite prose and profound insight, Elizabeth Strout captures the way grief reverberates through decades, the comfort found in deep friendships, and the freedom that comes when we break free of our secrets. \u003cem\u003eThe Things We Never Say\u003c\/em\u003e is a stunning new novel from one of our most acclaimed observers of the human heart. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47301725454572,"sku":"9780241814307","price":32.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780241814307.jpg?v=1770948355"},{"product_id":"stakes-by-noelle-mccarthy-9781776951031","title":"Stakes","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRead our \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/blogs\/latest-news-at-book-hero\/qa-with-noelle-mccarthy\"\u003einterview with author Noelle McCarthy\u003c\/a\u003e!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA darkly funny, sparkling follow-up to the author’s bestselling memoir \u003ci\u003eGrand.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eYou have to invite him in. You have to want the vampire’s badness in the house with you.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrowing up in Catholic Ireland, Noelle McCarthy is captivated by Bram Stoker’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eDracula\u003c\/i\u003e. The vampire is a risk-free fantasy, a suave alternative to the fraught realities of desire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwenty years later, exhausted by her unruly appetites, Noelle returns to\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eDracula\u003c\/i\u003e, reckoning with her own history and a changing world: generation-spanning shame and trauma given voice by #Metoo and the horrors emerging from Irish soil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore than a century after readers were first mesmerised by\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eDracula\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eStakes\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003etransposes its electric themes of transgression, intoxication and sexual danger onto Noelle’s own life, asking; what's the difference between an inheritance and a curse?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA funny, visceral follow-up to the acclaimed\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eGrand\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eStakes\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003ecelebrates the power of a gothic horror to help you face the parts of life that scare you most.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47318857515244,"sku":"9781776951031","price":31.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781776951031.jpg?v=1771450817"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/shirls-favourite-books-of-2026.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}