The best Canadian books of all time
Ah, Canada Day… with the BBQ prepped, the cottage decked out in red and white, it’s time to celebrate our country’s birthday, but also to unwind, relax and read. Why not mark the occasion with Canada’s most beloved books?
Over the years, authors from our very own backyard have be regaling us with stories that run the gamut, and their creativity, talent, and passion have won the hearts of bookworms, not only here in Canada, but around the world.
To determine which Canadian books our global readers loved most, we looked at sales, book open rates, and most importantly, books that were read from start to finish.
Here is our list of Kobo fan favourites:
1. The Book Of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
2. Still Life by Louise Penny
3. The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre
4. The Orenda by Joseph Boyden
5. The Birth House by Ami McKay
6. Ru by Kim Thuy
7. Bone and Bread by Saleema Nawaz
8. February by Lisa Moore
9. The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King
10. A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena
11. The Girl Who Was Saturday Night by Heather O'Neill
12. The Party by Robyn Harding
13. Annabel by Kathleen Winter
14. The Lightkeeper's Daughters by Jean E. Pendziwol
15. The Break by Katherena Vermette
16. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
17. Bellevue Square by Michael Redhill
18. Parting Shot by Linwood Barclay
19. Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
20. Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson
21. A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
22. Rituals by Kelley Armstrong
23. Sweetland by Michael Crummey
24. Canada by Richard Ford
25. The Reason You Walk by Wab Kinew
26. 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
27. Bride of New France by Suzanne Desrochers
28. Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie Macdonald
29. Rush Home Road by Lori Lansens
30. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
31. Birdie by Tracey Lindberg
32. Heart of the City by Robert Rotenberg
33. Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay
34. The Imam of Tawi-Tawi by Ian Hamilton
35. Immortally Yours by Lynsay Sands
36. The Complete Anne of Green Gables Collection by L.M. Montgomery
37. One Brother Shy by Terry Fallis
38. The Boat People by Sharon Bala
39. First Snow, Last Light by Wayne Johnston
40. This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong
41. Brother by David Chariandy
42. The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman
43. The Promise of Canada by Charlotte Gray
44. Cataract City by Craig Davidson
45. Find You in the Dark by Nathan Ripley
46. The Lost Ones by Sheena Kamal
47. In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje
48. Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
49. No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod
50. Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam
51. Feeding My Mother by Jann Arden
52. Twice Bitten by Lynsay Sands
53. The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart
54. Until It Fades by K.A. Tucker
55. Two Solitudes by Hugh Maclennan, Robert Kroetsch
56. Cockroach by Rawi Hage
57. Trumpocracy by David Frum
58. The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie Macdonald
59. No Is Not Enough by Naomi Klein
60. A Good House by Bonnie Burnard
61. A Student of Weather by Elizabeth Hay
62. All The Way by Jordan Tootoo
63. Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro
64. The Dutch Wife by Ellen Keith
65. The Colony Of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
66. Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson
67. The Outlander by Gil Adamson
68. Surrender to the Highlander by Lynsay Sands
69. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
70. A Newfoundlander in Canada by Alan Doyle
71. Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga
72. Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King
73. Bear by Marian Engel, Aritha Van Herk
74. Clara Callan by Richard B. Wright
75. The Time in Between by David Bergen
76. The Englishman's Boy by Gus Vanderhaeghe
77. Skitter by Ezekiel Boone
78. Deafening by Frances Itani
79. The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence, Adele Wiseman
80. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
81. River Thieves by Michael Crummy
82. Offside by Sean Avery, Michael McKinley
83. Lightfoot by Nicholas Jennings
84. Lost in the Barrens by Farley Mowat
85. I Hear She's a Real Bitch by Jen Agg
86. The Trickster's Lullaby by Barbara Fradkin
87. Is Canada Even Real? by J.C. Villamere
88. Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat
89. The Canadaland Guide to Canada by Jesse Brown, Vicky Mochama, Nick Zarzycki
90. Wildwood by Elinor Florence
91. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler
92. Christmas at the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean
93. Last Seen by Rick Mofina
94. The Game: 30th Anniversary Edition by Ken Dryden
95. Kit's Law by Donna Morrissey
96. The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu
97. Beautiful Scars by Tom Wilson
98. Reckless Daughter by David Yaffe
99. Game Change by Ken Dryden
100. Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
