The top 20 Canadian books of 2024, so far

Check out these Canadian booksthat have been flying off the shelves this year!

Starting withthe top-sellingtitle, here's a ranked list of the top 20 books Canadians have been trying to get their hands on so far in 2024.

Thisbestseller list is compiled by Bookmanager using weekly sales stats from over 260 Canadian independent stores between January 1 and June 30 of this year.

1.Denison Avenue by Christina Wong & Daniel Innes

Set in Toronto's Chinatown and Kensington Market,Denison Avenueis a moving portrait of a city undergoing mass gentrification and a Chinese Canadian elder experiencing the existential challenges of getting old and being Asian in North America. Recently widowed, Wong Cho Sum takes long walks through the city, collecting bottles and cans and meeting people on her journeys in a bid to ease her grief.

Denison Avenuewas championed by former Calgary mayor Naheed NenshionCanada Reads2024.

• How important are happy endings?Canada Readscontenders weigh in

Wong is a Toronto writer, playwright and multidisciplinary artist who also works in sound installation, audio documentaries and photography.

Innes is a multidisciplinary artist from Toronto. He works in painting, installation, graphic and textile design, illustration, sign painting and tattooing.

LISTEN | Naheed Nenshi and Christina Wong meetonThe Next Chapter:

The Next Chapter20:07Canada Reads Panellist Naheed Nenshi and Denison Avenue author Christina Wong meet for the first time

Former three-term mayor of Calgary and community builder Naheed Nenshi explains why he chose to champion Christina Wong and Daniel Inness Denison Avenue. Wong talks about her deep personal connection to the Kensington Market area of Toronto, and why it was the perfect setting for her novel.

2.Bad Cree by Jessica Johns

Bad Creecentres around a young woman named Mackenzie, who is haunted by terrifying nightmares and wracked with guilt about her sister Sabrina's untimely death. The lines between her dreams and reality start to blur when she begins seeing a murder of crows following her around the city and starts getting threatening text messages from someone claiming to be her dead sister.

Looking to escape, Mackenzie heads back to her hometown in rural Alberta where she finds her family still entrenched in their grief. With her dreams intensifying and getting more dangerous, Mackenzie must confront a violent family legacy and reconcile with the land and her community.

Athlete and CBC Sports broadcaster Dallas Soonias championedBad CreeonCanada Reads2024.

• 'It's not like you can put it on the doorstep': Dallas Soonias talks trauma in the subtext ofBad Cree

Johns is a queer nehiyaw aunty with English-Irish ancestry and a member of Sucker Creek First Nation. Johns won the2020 Writers' Trust Journey Prizefor the short storyBad Cree, which evolved into the novel of the same name.Bad Creealso won the MacEwan Book of the Year prize. Johns is currently based in Edmonton.

LISTEN | Dallas Soonias and Jessica Johns discussBad Cree:

The Next Chapter19:53Canada Reads Panellist Dallas Soonias and Bad Cree author Jessica Johns meet for the first time

Former professional volleyball player and filmmaker Dallas Soonias explore why he chose the novel Bad Cree by Jessica Johns as Canadas must-read book. The Indigenous author gives us a glimpse into the tense and often terrifying world of her novel.

3.Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

Moon of the Crusted Snowis a dystopian drama involving a protagonist named Evan Whiteskyanda northern Anishinaabe community facing dwindling resources and rising panic after their electrical power grid shuts down during a cold winter. While the community tries to maintain order, forces from outside and within threaten to destroy the reserve.

• 'I can create the future I want to see': Why Canada Reads-longlisted author Waub Rice loves the writing life

Riceis an Anishinaabe author andjournalist originally from Wasauksing First Nation. He is also the author of theshort story collectionMidnight Sweatlodgeand the novelsMoon of the Turning LeavesandLegacy.He used to be the host of CBC Radio'sUp North.

4.The Future by Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou

The Futureis set in an alternate history of Detroit where the French never surrendered the city to the U.S. Its residents deal with poverty, pollution and a legacy of racism. When Gloria, a woman looking for answers about her missing granddaughters, arrives in the city, she finds a kingdom of orphaned and abandoned children who have created their own society.The Futureis the translation of Leroux'sFrench-language novelL'Avenir.

• Heather O'Neill, championing The Future by Catherine Leroux, wins Canada Reads 2024

Lerouxis a writer, translator and journalist from Montreal. She was shortlisted for the2016 Scotiabank Giller PrizeforThe Party Wall, which is an English translation of her French-language short story collectionLe mur mitoyen.Leroux won the 2019 Governor General's Literary Award for English to French translation for her translation ofDo Not Say We Have Nothingby Madeleine Thien.

Ouriouis a French and Spanish to English translator, a fiction writer and a playwright. She has previously won the Governor General's Literary Award for translation for her work. She lives in Calgary.

LISTEN | Heather O'Neill and Catherine LerouxdiscussThe Future:

The Next Chapter24:50Canada Reads panelist Heather ONeill and The Future author Catherine Leroux discuss the annual battle of the books

Acclaimed Montreal writer and past Canada Reads-winning author Heather ONeill on why she chose to champion fellow Quebecer Catherine Lerouxs novel The Future in this year's debate. Leroux shares what inspired her to create a dystopian, French-speaking version of Detroit.

5.Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune

Meet Me at the Lakefinds 32-year-old Fern Brookbanks stuck she can't quite stop thinking about one perfect day she spent in her 20s. By chance, she met a man named Will Baxter and the two spent a romantic 24 hours in Toronto, after which they promised to meet up one year later. But Will never showed up. Now, instead of living in the city like she thought she would, Fern manages her mother's Muskoka resort by the lake, a role she promised herself she'd never take on.

Disillusioned with her life, Fern is shocked when Will shows up at her door, suitcase in hand, asking to help. Why is he here after all this time and more importantly, can she trust him to stay? It's clear Will has a secret but Fern isn't sure if she's ready to hear it all these years later.

Fashion influencer Mirian Njoh championedMeet Me at the LakeonCanada Reads2024.

• Blockbuster Canadian romance writer Carley Fortune dives into summer love at the lake

Fortuneis a Toronto-based journalist who has worked as an editor for Refinery29, The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine and Toronto Life.Meet Me at the Lakeis her second novel. Her debut wasEvery Summer After, a romance about childhood summer friends who reunite years later.

LISTEN | Carley Fortune discussesMeet Me at the Lake:

The Next Chapter17:47Canada Reads panellist Mirian Njoh and Meet Me At The Lake author Carley Fortune meet for the first time

The designer and fashion influencer talks about why she wants to champion Carley Fortunes novel, the first ever romance title to grace the Canada Reads round table. Carley Fortune weighs in on the power of love and why stories about love are stories about living.

6.Moon of the Turning Leavesby Waubgeshig Rice

Moon ofthe Turning Leavestakes place 10 years after the events of the post-apocalyptic novelMoon of the Crusted Snowand depictsan epic journey to a forgotten homeland. With food supplies dwindling, Evan Whiteskyand his band of survivorsneed to find a new home. Evan volunteers to lead a group including his daughter Nangohnsand a great archer and hunter to their ancestral home, the "land where the birch trees grow by the big water."

Along the way, they come across other survivors not all of whom can be trusted.

• Waubgeshig Rice continues his Anishinaabe-inspired vision for the future with novelMoon of the Turning Leaves

Rice is an Anishinaabe author, journalist and radio host originally fromWasauksing First Nation. Rice's first short story collectionMidnight Sweatlodge,which was about his life growing up in his Anishinaabe community, won an Independent Publishers Book Award in 2012. Moon of the Turning Leaves is the Sequel toMoon of the Crusted Snow, which was ontheCanada Reads2023 longlist.

7.Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults by Robin Wall Kimmerer, adapted by Monique Gray Smith, illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt

Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adultsbrings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and thelessons Kimmererbrought to the foreto a younger generation. Adapted by writerMonique Gray Smithand illustrated byNicole Neidhardt,this new editionreinforces the importance of gaining ecological knowledge from earth'soldest teachers: the plants around us.

• How a new adaptation of the hit book Braiding Sweetgrass delivers Indigenous wisdom to a younger generation

Wall Kimmereris an American scientist, professorand enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

Gray Smith is a mixed-heritage Cree, Lakota and Scottish author who often writes and speaks about the resilience of Indigenous communities in Canada. She is also the author of the children's booksSpeaking Our TruthandYou Hold Me Upand the novelsTillyandTilly and the Crazy Eights.

Neidhardt is a Din visual artist and illustrator.

LISTEN | Monique Gray Smith and Nicole Neidhardt onBraiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults:

The Next Chapter20:30Monique Gray Smith and Nicole Neidhardt on Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults

Monique Gray Smith and Nicole Neidhardt on Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults.

8.This Summer Will Be Differentby Carley Fortune

Vacationing one summer on Prince Edward Island, Lucy meets Felix in an electric, chemistry-filled night. Only one problem: Felix is her best friend Bridget's younger brother. On her annual return trips to P.E.I., Lucy vows to avoid Felix and his bed, thatThis Summer Will Be Different easier said than done. When Bridget rushes home to P.E.I. in crisis a week before her wedding, Lucy can only follow and remind herself to protect her heart, but finally wonders if she really wants to do that after all.

• How Carley Fortune's buzzy romance books are making beloved Canadian locations seem ... sexy

Fortuneis a Toronto-based writer and journalist who has worked as an editor for Refinery29, The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine and Toronto Life. Her previous books areEvery Summer AfterandMeet Me at the Lake, whichwas a contender forCanada Reads2024,championed by Mirian Njoh.

LISTEN | Carley Fortune on leaving journalism to become a romance novelist:

385:50:00Carley Fortune: On leaving journalism to become a romance novelist

Carley Fortune is the Canadian author behind the New York Times bestselling novels Every Summer After and Meet Me at the Lake (the latter of which is being adapted for Netflix by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle). Carley talks to Tom about her new book This Summer Will Be Different, leaving journalism to pursue being a novelist, and why the romance genre is having a moment right now.

9.Shut Up You're Pretty byTa Mutonji

Shut Up You're Prettytells stories of a young woman named Loli coming-of-age in the 21st century in Scarborough, Ont.The disarming, punchy and observant stories follow her as she watches someone decide to shaveher head in an abortion clinic waiting room, bonds with her mother over fish and contemplates her Congolese traditions at a wedding.

Actor Kudakwashe RutendochampionedShut Up You're PrettyonCanada Reads2024.

• Why Ta Mutonji wanted her first short story collection to challenge what diverse literature is supposed to be

Mutonji was nameda writer to watch in 2019byCBC Books. Born in Congo-Kinshasa, she is also the editor of the anthologyFeel Ways: A Scarborough Anthology.She currently lives in Toronto.

LISTEN |Ta MutonjidiscussesShut Up You're Pretty:

The Next Chapter19:57Canada Reads panelist Kudakwashe Rutendo and author Ta Mutonji meet for the first time

Albertan actor Kudakwashe Rutendo, known for her breakout role in the 2023 film Backspot, will be championing Toronto writer Tea Mutonjis book Shut Up Youre Pretty in the upcoming Canada Reads debates. Shut Up Youre Pretty is a collection of loosely connected stories that follow a teenage girl and her desire for love and belonging.

10.The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

In the dystopian world ofCherie Dimaline'saward-winningThe Marrow Thieves, climate change has ravaged the Earth and a continent-wide hunt and slaughter of Indigenous people is underway. Wanted for their bone marrow, which contains the lost ability to dream, a group of Indigenous people seek refuge in the old lands.

In 2017,The Marrow Thieveswon theGovernor General's Literary Award for Young people's literature textand theKirkus Prizefor young readers' literature. The national bestselling book iscurrently being adapted for television. The sequel,Hunting by Stars,was released in 2021.

The Marrow Thieveswas a finalistonCanada Reads2018.

• After blockbuster bookThe Marrow Thieves, 'peer pressure' led Cherie Dimaline to pen sequelHunting by Stars

Dimaline is a Mtis author and editor. Her other books includeRed Rooms,The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy,A Gentle HabitandEmpire of Wild.The Marrow Thieveswas named one ofTime magazine's top 100 YA novels of all time.

11.Lightning Strikes the Silence by Iona Whishaw

In this Lane Winslow mystery, an explosion shakes King's Cove. Lane goes to check out what's going on and finds a young girl injured and mute, but alive. At the same time, Inspector Darling hears about a nighttime break at alocal jeweller and finds the jeweller dead. Lightning Strikes the Silencefollows Lane as she tries to find the girl's family and Inspector Darling as he tries to find the murderer.

Whishaw is a Vancouver-based author and teacher. She has published works of short fiction, poetry and the children's bookHenry and the Cow Problem. Whishaw has published11novels in theLane Winslow Mysteryseries.

12.A Year of Last Thingsby Michael Ondaatje

A Year of Last Thingsis Michael Ondaatje's long-awaited return to poetry. Drawing on his personal experiences, this collection goes back in time to all the borders that he's crossed with imagery at once witty, moving and wise.

Ondaatje is a Canadian literary icon. His novels and poetry have earned international acclaim, and he was the first Canadian ever to win the Man Booker Prize in 1992, for the wartime storyThe English Patient. Born in Sri Lanka and educated in England, Ondaatje moved to Canada when he was 18 to attend university.

• For prize-winning poet and novelist Michael Ondaatje, every book is an act of discovery

Ondaatje began his writing career in 1967 as a poet, winning two Governor General's Awards for poetry before turning to fiction. Over his career, he's won the Giller Prize, the Governor General's Literary Award and France's prestigious Prix Medicis among other prizes.

13.Greenwood by Michael Christie

Greenwood begins in theyear 2038 when most of the world has suffered from an environmental collapse. Yet, on aremote island with 1,000-year-old trees, Jacinda Greenwood, known as Jake, works as a tour guide for the ultra-rich in one of the world's last remaining old-growth forests. From there, the novel jumps through time as you learn more about Jake, her family and how secrets and lies can have an impact for generations.

• How do we make sense of climate crisis? Michael Christie's Greenwood traces disaster through a family tree

Greenwoodwaschampioned by actor and filmmaker Keegan Connor TracyonCanada Reads2023. It was also on the2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlistandwon the 2020 Arthur Ellis Award (now theCanadian Crime Writing Awards) for best novel. CBC Books namedGreenwoodone of the best works of Canadian fiction in 2019.

Christieis a novelist currently living in Victoria.His 2011 shortstory collectionTheBeggar's Gardenwon the Vancouver Book Award and was a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. His 2015 novelIf I Fall, If I Diewon the Northern Lit Award and was longlisted for theScotiabank Giller Prize.

14.The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson

InThe Barren Grounds,Morgan and Eli befriend the Misewa hunter Ochek, who is in charge of keeping everyone from starving during the icy winter. Ochek teaches Morgan and Eli about traditional ways of survival, and embarks with them and a sassy Squirrel onan epic quest to save his community.

The book was a finalist for the 2020 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature text.

• How David A. Robertson manages to write as much as he does

Robertson is an author andgraphic novelist based in Winnipeg.The multi-talented writer of Swampy Cree heritage has published 25 books across a variety of genres, including the graphic novelsWill I See?andSugar Falls, aGovernor General's Literary Award-winning picture book calledWhen We Were Alone,illustrated by Julie Flett and the YA bookStrangersand the memoirBlack Water.

LISTEN | David A. Robertsondiscusses writing all different types of work:

Unreserved43:38'I have so much to say': Cree author David A. Robertson on writing everything from graphic novels to a memoir

To say Cree author David A. Robertson is prolific is a bit of an understatement. He started his writing career in 2009, and has already published more than 20 titles. This fall he has three books being released. This week on Unreserved, an extended conversation with the author.

15.Doppelganger by Naomi Klein

InDoppelganger, Klein blends political reportage and culturalanalysis to explorethe concept of the Mirror World, where elements of far-right movements attempt to appeal to the working class. The book examines issues such as the rise ofanti-vaxxers, the implications of artificial intelligence in content curationand how society constructs identities to engage and interacton social media.

Byreferencing thinkers such as Sigmund Freud and bell hooks, Klein also connects to greater social themes to share how one can break free from the Mirror World.

Doppelgangerwon the inaugural Women's Prize for Nonfiction.

• Naomi Klein on conspiracy culture and confronting our doppelgangers

Klein is the author of international bestsellers includingThis Changes Everything,The Shock Doctrine,No Logo,No Is Not Enough, andOn Fire, which have been published in more than thirty-five languages. She is an associate professor in the department of geography at the University of British Columbia and the founding co-director of UBC's Centre of Climate Justice.

LISTEN | Naomi Klein discusses writingDoppelganger:

The Sunday Magazine27:44Naomi Klein on conspiracy culture and confronting our doppelgangers

Have you ever met your doppelganger? It could be a stranger that people constantly mistake you for, or a celebrity that friends say youre a spitting image of. But for acclaimed author, filmmaker and social activist Naomi Klein, finding her doppelganger turned into a much darker experience. Thats because Klein has been mistaken for noted conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine crusader Naomi Wolf for years. Klein joins Piya Chattopadhyay to explain why she used that experience as a starting point for her book Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, which takes on the complicated, messy and misinformation-filled world of social media where the other Naomi thrives.

16.Health for All by Jane Philpott

From medical doctor and formerfederal Minister of Health,Health for Allis a call to action for a disruption of a health care system that's broken but that doesn't mean it can't be fixed. Philpott outlines a revitalization of public health care that offers universal access to primary care teams and the political will necessary to make it happen.

Philpottis a medical doctor and former member of the Canadian government and has served asfederal Minister of Health, Minister of Indigenous Services, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government. She is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Director of the School of Medicine at Queen's University and CEO of the Southeastern Ontario Academic Medical Organization.

17.The Mystery Guestby Nita Prose

The Mystery Guestis a sequel to the bestsellerThe Maid.The Mystery Guestsees Molly now risenthrough the ranks to become the Head Maid at the five-starRegency Grand Hotel. Things are looking great until world-renowned mystery author J.D. Grimthorpedrops dead in the hotel. Molly must look deep into her past to unlock clues that revealher connection toGrimthorpeand hopefully solve his murder.

• Toronto author's bestselling novelThe Maidstarted as an idea on a napkin

Prose is a Toronto author and editor. She was the Canadian vice president and editorial director for publishing company Simon & Schuster.

LISTEN | Nita Prose discussesThe Mystery Guest:

Here and Now Toronto7:40Tuesday afternoon Book Club: Nita Prose

Toronto author Nita Prose hit it big with her debut novel The Maid. The sequel, The Mystery Guest is out now. Nita Prose was our Here and Nows Tuesday afternoon book club guest.

18.The Myth of Normalby Gabor MatwithDaniel Mat

InThe Myth of Normal, Gabor Mat examines why chronic illness and general health problems are on the rise in Western countries with good healthcare systems. Mat explains how Western medicine, while technologically advanced, fails to treat the whole person and ignores cultural stressors. With his son Daniel, Mat untangles common myths about what makes us sick and offers a guide on health and healing.

• Treating addiction requires both science and compassion, says Dr. Gabor Mat

Gabor Mat is a doctor and an expert on topics such as addiction, stress and childhood development. He's the author of several other books, includingIn the Realm of Hungry Ghosts,When the Body SaysandThe Cost of Hidden Stress.

Daniel Mat is a composer and lyricist whose musicals includeThe Longing and the Short of It,Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & GunterandMiddle School Mysteries. He's received the Kleban Prize for Lyrics and the ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award.

19.Five Little Indians by Michelle Good

InFive Little Indians, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie were taken from their families and sent to a residential school when they were very small. Barely out of childhood, they are released and left to contend with the seedy world of eastside Vancouver. Fuelled by the trauma of their childhood, the five friends cross paths over the decades and struggle with the weight of their shared past.

Five Little Indianswon Canada Reads2022, defended byChristian Allaire,the2020 Governor General's Literary Award for fictionandthe 2021 Amazon Canada First Novel Award.It was also onthe 2020 Writers's Trust Fiction Prize shortlistand2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist.

• Michelle Good'sFive Little Indiansis a fictional look at the real Canadian legacy of residential schools

Good is a Cree writer and lawyer, as well as a member of Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. Her other book is nonfiction essay collectionTruth Telling:Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada.

LISTEN | Michelle Good on Five Little Indians:

20:31Michelle Good on Five Little Indians

Michelle Good talks to Shelagh Rogers about her fictional book Five Little Indians.

20.Fire Weather by John Vaillant

In May 2016, Fort McMurray, the hub of Canada's oil industry and America's biggest foreign supplier, was overrun by wildfire. The multi-billion-dollar disaster melted vehicles, turned entire neighbourhoods into firebombs, and drove 88,000 people from their homes in a single afternoon.

Fire Weatherexplores the legacy of North American resource extraction, the impact of climate science and the symbiotic relationship between humans and combustion.

• John Vaillant's Fire Weather looks at the Fort McMurray wildfire and a 'new century of fire'

Fire Weatherwon the 2023 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfictionand theShaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writingand was a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction, the 2023 National Book Award for Nonfiction and the 2023 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

LISTEN | John Vaillant wins 2024 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing:

Ottawa Morning9:01John Vaillant wins 2024 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing

At the annual Politics and the Pen gala in Ottawa yesterday, John Vaillant was announced as the winner of this years prestigious prize for political writing for his book, Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast.