Whitcoulls Top 100: Ten New Zealand Authors Make A List As The Harry Potter Series Rules The Charts

Kiwi children remain under the spell of Pottermania more than 23 years after the Harry Potter series burst onto the literary scene.

The series written by JK Rowling has once again topped the Whitcoulls Top 100 Nation Books for 2020.

Irish actress-turned-historical-fiction writer Lucinda Riley took second place with her series The Seven Sisters, while Delia Owens shot up to third place with her mega novel “Where the Crawdads Sing.”

Whitcoulls’ book director Joan Mackenzie said many New Zealanders turned to literature for escapism and entertainment during the Level 4 lockdown, which boosted store sales.

“We are delighted to see 10 books by New Zealand authors appear in 2020,” he said.

“The notion of supporting local writers has clearly resonated with Whitcoulls voters and we are particularly pleased to see them on the list.”

Acclaimed West Coast writer Becky Manawatu (Ngāi Tahu), whose novel Auē won the Fiction Prize at the 2020 Ockham Book Awards, was voted # 30, while psychologist Gwendoline Smith’s The Book of Knowing Series came in at the number 29.

New Zealand author Doug Gold’s The Note through the Wire, a true story about a prisoner of war and a resistance heroine, ranked 43rd on the list and Elizabeth Knox’s new novel The Absolute Book ranked 45th. .

Mackenzie said there has been great enthusiasm for Maori language books throughout the year and that it was no surprise to see Scotty Morrison’s Māori Made Easy book make it to number 53 on the list.

The Normal People television series, based on Sally Rooney’s second wildly popular book, saw the book skyrocket to number five on the list after its screening in New Zealand.

Books written by women writers continue to be popular, with nine of the top 10 books written by women, including Michele Obama’s autobiography Becoming.

“Overall, there is something for everyone on this List and we look forward to introducing Kiwi readers to a wide range of books,” said Mackenzie.

“We hope our List will encourage you to take a risk and experience something different, trusting that thousands of Whitcoulls readers have already voted them in the Top 100.”

Twenty-five newcomers were voted on the Whitcoulls list this year, including the New York Times number one bestseller, Jeanine Cummins’ American Dirt, which ranked 10th.

Whitcoulls was founded more than 130 years ago when printer and bookbinder George Tombs and publisher and bookseller George Whitcombe joined forces.

For the past 23 years, he has asked Kiwi readers to vote for their favorite books, with online voting being the most popular method.

Top 10 books:

1. Harry Potter series, JKRowling

2. The Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley

3. Where the Crawdads sing, Delia Owens

4. Auschwitz tattoo artist Heather Morris

5. Normal people, Sally Rooney

6. Outlander Series, Diana Gabaldon

7. The Lord of the Rings, JRRTolkien

8. Me Before You Series, Jojo Moyes

9. Becoming Michelle Obama

10. American Dirt, Jeanine Cummins