Where is Whitcoulls Takapuna?

Shop 14-15, Shore City Shopping Centre, 52-56 Anzac Street, Takapuna, Auckland.

What does the store sell?

A wide range of books — new releases, fiction, children's books, cookbooks, young adult, romantasy and non-fiction — plus pre-orders and special editions.

What is the Whitcoulls Top 100?

A curated chart of the books New Zealand readers are loving right now — great for gift ideas or choosing your next read.

Is there anything for children?

Yes — a full children's range from picture and activity books to teen titles, plus the Kids Top 50 chart of the books families are loving most.

Can I pre-order upcoming titles?

Yes. Upcoming releases, including limited deluxe and collector's editions like Empyrean: Threshing Day, can be reserved before release day.

What are Joan's Picks?

A curated shortlist of standout reads selected and promoted by Whitcoulls — currently including Never Say War, Dying Days and Whistler.

Can I browse or shop online?

Yes — whitcoulls.co.nz lists new releases, pre-orders, recommendations and the full range of books.

Whitcoulls Takapuna

book_shop — Takapuna · Auckland

About Whitcoulls Takapuna

Whitcoulls Takapuna is the Shore City Shopping Centre branch of Whitcoulls, a familiar name in New Zealand bookselling. You'll find it at Shop 14-15, 52-56 Anzac Street, right in the middle of Takapuna's main shopping strip — a straightforward stop for a specific title, a last-minute gift or a slow browse. The shelves cover everything from the week's new releases to fiction, children's books, cookbooks, young adult and romantasy, biography, history, business, humour and more.

What the store does particularly well is curation. The Whitcoulls Top 100 gathers the books New Zealand readers are loving right now — currently led by Rebecca Yarros's Fourth Wing — while the Kids Top 50 does the same for younger readers, mixing blockbusters like Harry Potter and Dog Man with homegrown classics such as Lynley Dodd's Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy. Alongside the charts sit Whitcoulls Recommends and Joan's Picks: shorter, more personal lists of titles the team thinks deserve a wider audience.

Beyond the charts, it's a genuine destination for fans. Pre-orders let you reserve hotly awaited titles — including limited deluxe editions — before release day, and the special editions range turns series loyalty into something worth shelving, from anniversary Divergent to collector's editions of Cassandra Clare and Lynn Painter. A BookTok section tracks what's trending online, and the whole range is also browsable at whitcoulls.co.nz, so you can scout new releases and recommendations before you visit.

Whitcoulls Takapuna: Curated Books, Bestsellers and Special Editions in Shore City Shopping Centre

Whitcoulls Takapuna sits at Shop 14-15 of the Shore City Shopping Centre on Anzac Street, putting a full-service bookshop in the middle of Takapuna's main shopping strip. It is part of Whitcoulls, a familiar name in New Zealand bookselling, and it pairs the reach of a national chain with the simple pleasure of browsing shelves in person — new hardcovers at the front, trusted favourites close by, and a curated chart or two to help when you're spoiled for choice.

The charts do the choosing for you

Ask any regular what sets Whitcoulls apart and they'll point to the lists. The Whitcoulls Top 100 rounds up the books New Zealand readers are loving right now — currently topped by Rebecca Yarros's Fourth Wing, with Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns & Roses, The Assassin's Blade, Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary and The Hunger Games all in the upper reaches. It's the fastest way to answer the question every gift-buyer dreads: what do you get someone who reads?

For younger readers there's the Kids Top 50, a chart that mixes global blockbusters with homegrown classics. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Dav Pilkey's Dog Man lead the way, but Lynley Dodd's Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy sits proudly alongside Wings of Fire and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. If you need a present for a book-loving eight-year-old, this list is the shortcut.

Hand-picked, not algorithm-picked

Beyond the charts, the store leans on genuine curation. Whitcoulls Recommends highlights titles the team wants more people to discover — at the moment that includes Beth Brower's The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Robert Harris's Agrippa, Lynda La Plante's The Governor and Virginia Evans's The Correspondent. Joan's Picks adds a more personal shortlist, from Åsne Seierstad's Never Say War to Ann Patchett's Whistler. The idea is simple: if you're daunted by the sheer number of books, start with a shelf someone has already thought carefully about.

New releases, pre-orders and collector bait

The new-release selection moves with the season. Recent arrivals include How We Cook by Margo Flanagan, Airana Ngarewa's The Comeback Kid, Brandon Sanderson's Skyward Legacy: Blightfall, Victoria Aveyard's Tempest and Alex Aster's Barbie: Dreamscape. A BookTok section keeps a finger on what's trending online, with titles like Rachel Gillig's The Knave and the Moon and Olivie Blake's Dreamland.

Serious fans are well catered for. Pre-orders let you lock in upcoming titles ahead of release day — among them the limited deluxe edition of Rebecca Yarros's Empyrean: Threshing Day and new Sarah J. Maas trade paperbacks in the ACOTAR series. And the special editions range turns series loyalty into something worth shelving: a 15th anniversary Divergent, a collector's edition of City of Heavenly Fire, a collector's Better Than the Movies and a deluxe Heated Rivalry.

Something for every shelf

Underneath the headlines is a deep, well-organised range. Fiction runs from crime and thriller to romance, historical, horror and science fiction & fantasy; romantasy now has a section of its own. Children's books span picture books, activity books, early learning and teen titles. Non-fiction readers get biography and true stories, business, computing, history and military, family and health, home and garden, design and the arts, and Maoritanga. There are cookbooks for every kitchen — baking, New Zealand cooking, vegan and vegetarian among them — plus dictionaries, humour, crafts and hobbies, and mind, body and spirit.

Easy to visit, easy to browse

Being inside Shore City makes the store an easy add-on to a Takapuna shopping trip, and the range invites wandering: you can come in for one specific title and leave with a stack. If you'd rather plan ahead, the Whitcoulls website lists new releases, pre-orders and recommendations online, so you can browse before you visit — or simply let the Top 100 decide for you.

Signature items

Whitcoulls Top 100
Kids Top 50
Whitcoulls Recommends
Joan's Picks
Special Editions
Pre-Orders

Empyrean: Threshing Day — Limited Deluxe Edition — Rebecca Yarros — Reserve the limited deluxe edition before release day.
ACOTAR #06: A Court of Splintered Harmony — Sarah J. Maas — Upcoming trade paperback in the blockbuster fantasy series.
ACOTAR #07: A Court of Forgotten Melody — Sarah J. Maas — The next ACOTAR trade paperback, open for pre-order.
Emily Wilde #04: Emily Wilde's History of Dark Faerie — Heather Fawcett — The next instalment of the much-loved faerie series.
Bad Idea — Elle Kennedy — Lock in this upcoming release ahead of publication.

Kids Top 50

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone — J.K. Rowling — Topping the Kids Top 50 chart.
Dog Man — Dav Pilkey — Laugh-out-loud favourite for young readers.
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy — Lynley Dodd — The beloved picture book classic, high on the chart.
Wings of Fire #01: Dragonet Prophecy — Tui T. Sutherland — Dragon adventure opener that kids keep reading.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid — Jeff Kinney — Diary-style comedy that turns kids into readers.

Joan'S Picks

Never Say War — Åsne Seierstad — A current Joan's Picks selection.
Dying Days — Anthony Byrt — One of the hand-picked titles on the list.
Rule of Lies — Jamison R. Firestone — A personal pick worth a closer look.
Daughters of the Sun and Moon — Lisa See — A new novel championed on Joan's Picks.
Whistler — Ann Patchett — A celebrated author's latest, hand-picked for the list.

New Releases

How We Cook — Margo Flanagan — A fresh new-release title among the store's latest arrivals.
The Comeback Kid — Airana Ngarewa — One of the newest books to hit the shelves this season.
Skyward Legacy #01: Blightfall — Brandon Sanderson — The next Skyward chapter for sci-fi and fantasy fans.
Tempest — Victoria Aveyard — A buzzy new young-adult release in store now.
Barbie: Dreamscape — Alex Aster — A new release also picking up attention on BookTok.

Special Editions

Divergent 15th Anniversary Edition — Veronica Roth — A refreshed anniversary edition of the dystopian favourite.
The Mortal Instruments #06: City of Heavenly Fire Collector's Edition — Cassandra Clare — A collector's edition to complete the series in style.
Starside Special Edition — Alex Aster — Special edition for devoted series collectors.
Heated Rivalry Deluxe Edition — Rachel Reid — A deluxe edition pre-order for romance readers.
Better Than the Movies Collector's Edition — Lynn Painter — Collector's edition of the much-loved romcom.

Books By Category

Children's Books — Activity books, picture books, early learning, fiction and more.
Fiction — Crime & thriller, romance, sci-fi & fantasy, historical and beyond.
Cookbooks — Baking, New Zealand cooking, vegan, vegetarian and budget cooking.
Young Adult — YA fiction, non-fiction and educational material for teens.
Romantasy — The romance-fantasy crossover genre everyone's reading.
Biography & True Stories — Lives lived and real stories, told well.
Business — Management, economics, finance and industry titles.
Computing & Infotech — Programming, security, networking and digital lifestyle.
Crafts & Hobbies — Crafts, hobbies & games, antiques and collectables.
Design & The Arts — Architecture, art, music, photography and performing arts.
Dictionaries — Dictionaries, thesauri and bilingual references.
Family & Health — Parenting, fitness & diet, health and medicine.
History & Military — World history, warfare & defence and specific events & topics.
Home & Garden — Gardening, garden design and home maintenance.
Humour — Cartoons, jokes, parodies and comedy collections.
Maoritanga — Maori history, language (Te Reo), art and customs.
Mind, Body, Spirit — Healing, dreams, feng shui and more.

Whitcoulls Top 100

Empyrean #01: Fourth Wing — Rebecca Yarros — Currently sitting at number one on the chart.
ACOTAR #01: A Court of Thorns & Roses — Sarah J. Maas — The series-starter readers keep coming back to.
Throne of Glass #0.5: The Assassin's Blade — Sarah J. Maas — The prequel novella collection, high in the Top 100.
Project Hail Mary — Andy Weir — A sci-fi favourite inside the top five.
The Hunger Games — Suzanne Collins — The dystopian classic, still going strong.

Whitcoulls Recommends

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion #01 — Beth Brower — A staff-recommended discovery for series lovers.
Agrippa — Robert Harris — Historical fiction on the current recommended shelf.
The Governor — Lynda La Plante — A team pick from a big name in crime fiction.
The Four Wives of Windsor — Simon Vigar — A non-fiction pick from the current list.
The Correspondent — Virginia Evans — A recommended read for literary fiction fans.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Whitcoulls Takapuna?: Shop 14-15, Shore City Shopping Centre, 52-56 Anzac Street, Takapuna, Auckland.
What does the store sell?: A wide range of books — new releases, fiction, children's books, cookbooks, young adult, romantasy and non-fiction — plus pre-orders and special editions.
What is the Whitcoulls Top 100?: A curated chart of the books New Zealand readers are loving right now — great for gift ideas or choosing your next read.
Is there anything for children?: Yes — a full children's range from picture and activity books to teen titles, plus the Kids Top 50 chart of the books families are loving most.
Can I pre-order upcoming titles?: Yes. Upcoming releases, including limited deluxe and collector's editions like Empyrean: Threshing Day, can be reserved before release day.
What are Joan's Picks?: A curated shortlist of standout reads selected and promoted by Whitcoulls — currently including Never Say War, Dying Days and Whistler.
Can I browse or shop online?: Yes — whitcoulls.co.nz lists new releases, pre-orders, recommendations and the full range of books.

Tips

{"body":"Stuck for a gift? The Top 100 and Kids Top 50 charts narrow thousands of titles down to the books readers actually love.","title":"Let the charts choose"}
{"body":"Limited deluxe editions like Empyrean: Threshing Day can be reserved before release day — worth doing if a series is on your wishlist.","title":"Pre-order the big ones"}
{"body":"If nothing is jumping out, start with Whitcoulls Recommends or Joan's Picks — short lists of titles the team is actively championing.","title":"Follow the curation"}
{"body":"The BookTok section tracks what's trending with younger readers — an easy way to find the book everyone's talking about.","title":"Check the BookTok shelf"}
{"body":"The store sits inside Shore City Shopping Centre on Anzac Street, so it pairs easily with the rest of a Takapuna errand run.","title":"Make it a shopping-trip stop"}

Good to know

{"family":"Full children's range plus the Kids Top 50 chart for young readers."}