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 been 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 Kobo readers around the globe loved most, they looked at sales, book open rates, and most importantly, books that were read from start to finish. Here is their 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