We can’t believe it’s already July, and wanted to take a moment to celebrate some of the spectacular books released during the first half of this year: The team at Time Out Bookstore sent us some of their favourite 2022 titles thus far.
The Netanyahus
Joshua Cohen
Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, this is the funniest, cleverest book I’ve read this year. Joshua Cohen was told by critic Harold Bloom of a terrible set of house guests his family had back in the 1960s. The guests? The Netanyahus, including future prime minister of Israel, Benjamin. Cohen brings this anecdote into fictional comedy, dissecting the nuances of the Jewish experience in America. Think of an East Coast Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Grand
Noelle McCarthy
Noelle McCarthy is a well-respected journalist who moved from Cork to Auckland during her 20s, leaving her alcoholic mother behind. When she too, realises she’s also an alcoholic, a self-examination needs to happen. Tracing her mother’s demons, McCarthy travels between Ireland and New Zealand, telling her story as both a daughter and a mother in lyrical prose that is visceral, heart-warming and heart-wrenching. This book has been consistently on our bestsellers list since its release.
Hedgewitch
Skye McKenna
From our kids’ room, we have something sweet and sassy in equal measure. Hedgewitch is as much about the magic of friendship and family as it is broomsticks and spells. Cassie has bided her time behind the iron fence of Fowell House Orphanage for seven long years but enough is enough. As if it wasn’t bad before, but now girls have started going missing, and if her mother won’t come back for her, she’ll go out and find her instead. Recommended for middle grade readers.
How To Loiter In A Turf War
Ccco Solid
How to Loiter In a Turf War is the first novella by creative extraordinaire, Coco Solid, also known as Jessica Hansell. Following three women of colour living in an evolving Tāmaki Makaurau, the book weaves prose, essay, illustration, and poetry into an innovative, accessible, and entertaining read. The writing is sharp and spare, the dialogue fierce, as the characters experience the effects of gentrification and colonisation. Hansell lets the reader fill in the gaps and draw their own conclusions.
