The great Canadian reading list: 150 books to read for Canada 150
What books do YOU want to see on the great Canadian reading list? CBC Books posed this question to Canadians online. We combined the answers with recommendations from guests on The Next Chapter, Cross Country Checkup, books that were meaningful to prominent Canadians and added all 17 Canada Reads winners to build the ultimate reading list. Download the list as a PDF here.
This list is comprised of books available in English. If you're interested in books available in French, check out this list of 100 books from Radio-Canada.
1. Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, recommended by Shelagh Rogers
Also recommended by: @elenstangherlin, Jenn Passey, Karen Christine, Kathie Ramsey Hunter, @N_Squi, Pauline Vallee, Sue Lynn & Wendy Barker
2. A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny (Recommended by: Heather MacLeod, Marita Hannon, Mary Woods, Robin Harlick, Rose Penner, Wendy Barker, Julie Chuba & Kathleen Clements)
3. Firewater by Harold R. Johnson (Recommended by: Geri Patriquin)
4. Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien (Recommended by: Jenine Urquhart & @kathydinbc)
5. My Best Stories by Alice Munro, recommended by Eleanor Wachtel
Also recommended by: @DiSpeirs, Martha Beechie, @SarahMacJourno, Petra Young & Susan Munro
6. Susceptible by Geneviève Castrée (Recommended by: Wendy Barker)
7. The Game by Ken Dryden (Recommended by: @Tommy_Allen & Katie Jim)
8. Who Has Seen the by Wind by W.O. Mitchell (Recommended by: @DortheaHangaard, Laurel Hodgins, Shelley Southcott, @SarahMacJourno & Lisa Willner)
9. Whylah Falls by George Elliott Clarke, recommended by Perdita Felicien
10. Obasan by Joy Kogawa (Recommended by: Linda Hulme Leahy & Ellen van der Hoeven)
11. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Recommended by: Joan Koritko, Nancy Pendergast, Olivia, Shelley Kean & @audreywb)
12. The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King (Recommended by: Anne Dowson & Joyce Jackman)
13. Mabel Murple by Sheree Fitch, recommended by Hance Colburne
Also recommended by: Sandra Ferguson & Barbara Beaver
14. The Disappeared by Kim Echlin (Recommended by: @girlinthecityTO)
15. River Thieves by Michael Crummey (Recommended by: Andrea Paterson, Barbara Bethune, Bev Sanham Price, Kathie Ramsey Hunter & Teresa Reid)
16. The Right to Be Cold by Sheila Watt-Cloutier (Recommended by: Ewa Ligia & ewazadar)
17. Montreal's Irish Mafia by D'Arcy O'Connor, recommended by Jay Baruchel
18. Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese (Recommended by Andrea Hunt Gorgec, Jenn Passey, Jennifer Roswell, Kathie Ramsey Hunter, Lisa Willner, Sidney J. Frank, Mena Johnston & Misha Raven)
19. Town is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz, illustrated by Sydney Smith (Recommended by: Angela Reynolds)
20. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Sheila McGraw (Recommended by Chantal Antonakis & Emm Bee)
21. Fifth Business by Robertson Davies (Recommended by Alanna Jamieson, Carol Godard, @ChauDavid, Laurel Hodgins, Linda Hulme Leahy, Nicole Schmidt Peters, Shelley Kean & Kim Neudorf)
22. Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing by Tomson Highway, recommended by Duncan McCue
Also recommended by: Ellen van der Hoeven
23. Unless by Carol Shields (Recommended by @DiSpeirs, @peggyflynn25 & Kim Neudorf)
24. No Is Not Enough by Naomi Klein (Recsaiommended by Linda Evans, Nadine Dajani)
25. From the Fifteenth District by Mavis Gallant (Recommended by Durga Chew-Bose)
26. David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell, recommended by Shelley Joyce
27. Essex County by Jeff Lemire (Recommended by @TaraMurphy, @JoshCrewsReally & @Tommy_Allen)
28. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson (Recommended by Andrea Hunt Gorgec, @DiSpeirs, Pauline Vallee, @peggyflynn25 & Kim Neudorf)
29. Cockroach by Rawi Hage (Recommended by @CPBeacon)
30. Calling Down the Sky by Rosanna Deerchild, recommended by Jennifer Podemski
31. The Woefield Poultry Collective by Susan Juby (Recommended by Andrea Hunt Gorgec & Teresa Reid)
32. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (Recommended by Alvin Gongora, @JanRyeland, Chantal Antonakis & @peggyflynn25)
33. Saints & Misfits by S.K. Ali (Recommended by Kristilyn)
34. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, recommended by Nora Young
Also recommended by: Gail Edwards, Laura Warburton, Martha Beechie, Petra Young, Shelley Kean, @yolandabdacy,Tanis Orr Bergen, Barbara Bovaird & @sschleppe
35. 419 by Will Ferguson (Recommended by Dolores O'Reilly)
36. Celia's Song by Lee Maracle (Recommended by Glenna Bagley & Lori Steele Maddigan)
37. One Hour in Paris by Karyn Freedman (Recommended by Ileana Szymanski)
38. In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Maté, recommended by Russell Bowers
39. Birdie by Tracey Lindberg (Recommended by Jane Margot)
40. Ru by Kim Thúy, translated by Sheila Fischman (Winner Canada Reads 2015, defended by Cameron Bailey)
41. Roughing it in the Bush Susanna Moodie (Recommended by @dortheahangaard & Donna Skinn)
42. Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat, recommended by Bruce Poon Tip
Also recommended by: Vala Monestime Belter
43. In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje (Winner Canada Reads 2002, defended by Steven Page, recommended by @JulieGlaser3 & Ellen Donnelly)
44. Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam (Recommended by Kevin Longfield)
45. Half-Breed by Maria Campbell (Recommended by Lori Steele Maddigan)
46. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, recommended by Ify Chiwetelu
Also recommended by: Deb Marshall, Laurel Hodgins, @SarahMacJourno & Susan Paddock
47. Company Town by Madeline Ashby (Recommended by Wendy Barker)
48. New Tab by Guillaume Morissette (Recommended by @weiiilo)
49. The Illegal by Lawrence Hill (Winner Canada Reads 2016, defended by Clara Hughes)
50. North End Love Songs by Katherena Vermette, recommended by Bif Naked
51. Clara Callan by Richard B. Wright (Recommended by Fiona St. Jean & @audreywb)
52. Islands of Decolonial Love by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (Recommended by Lori Steele Maddigan)
53. The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence (Recommended by Gail Edwards, @super_crazy_kd, @kathydinbc, Linda Hulme Leahy, Nicole Schmidt Peters, Roxanne Lewis & Shelley Kean)
54. Saints of Big Harbour by Lynn Coady, recommended by Wendy Bergfeldt
Also recommended by: Kathie Ramsey Hunter & Teresa Reid
55. Take Us to Your Chief by Drew Hayden Taylor (Recommended by Patty Deline)
56. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (Recommended by Shelley Kean & @kathydinbc)
57. Cool Water by Dianne Warren (Recommended by Fiona St. Jean, Kim Neudorf & Wendy Barker)
58. This is Happy by Camilla Gibb, recommended by Chris dela Torre
59.The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier (Recommended by Katie Jim)
60. Jillian Jiggs by Phoebe Gilman (Recommended by Sandra Ferguson)
61. They Left Us Everything by Plum Johnson (Recommended by Kim Neudorf)
62. The Reason You Walk by Wab Kinew (Recommended by @MeandMyKat & Susan Southcott Noiseaux)
63. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt, recommended by Ron Sexmith
64. The Diviners by Margaret Laurence (Recommended by Gail Edwards, Kyra Collins, Laurel Hodgins, Lisa Willner & Petra Young)
65. #IndianLovePoems by Tenille Campbell (Recommended by @misswillow & @urbannativegirl)
66. The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis (Recommended by Sarah Orr)
67. Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan, recommended by Weyni Mengesha
68. And the Birds Rained Down by Jocelyne Saucier, translated by Rhonda Mullins (Recommended by Jane Margot)
69. The Darkhouse by Barbara Radecki (Recommended by @Philippeayoub)
70. Baseball Life Advice by Stacey May Fowles (Recommended by @singing2three)
71. The Collected Poems of Patrick Lane, recommended by Sheryl McKay
72. Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald (Recommended by Kim Neudorf, Jane Margot, @JulieGlaser3, Linda Hulme Leahy, Lorna Driscoll, Corina McNeill & @kathydinbc)
73. A Fair Country by John Ralston Saul (Recommended by Mary Walsh)
74. Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper (Recommended by Wendy Barker)
75. When The World Was New by George Blondin, recommended by Lawrence Nayally
76. Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson (Recommended by Lori Steele Maddigan)
77. Canoe Country by Roy MacGregor (Recommended by Katie Jim)
78. Alligator Pie by Dennis Lee, illustrated by Frank Newfeld (Recommended by Sandra Ferguson)
79. The Break by Katherena Vermette, recommended by Ali Hassan
Also recommended by: Lori Steele Maddigan, Margaret Dianne Harris, @leavethedayfree & Wendy Barker
80. The Just City by Jo Walton (Recommended by Wendy Barker)
81. Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley (Recommended by Eileen Carey, Sandra Dowhan, Shelley Kean, Jane Margot, @JesiquaR)
82. Lightfinder by Aaron Paquette (Recommended by Stephanie Michaels)
83. Two Solitudes by Hugh MacLennan, recommended by Terry Seguin
Also recommended by: Diane Lacasse
84. Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Stephen Leacock (Recommended by Donna Skinn)
85. Kamouraska by Anne Hébert (Recommended by Emma Richler)
86. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (Winner Canada Reads 2009, defended by Ali Velshi)
87. A Disappearance in Damascus by Deborah Campbell, recommended by Robyn Bresnahan
88. We All Fall Down by Eric Walters (Recommended by Deb Marshall)
89. And Home Was Kariakoo by M.G. Vassanji (Recommended by @peggyflynn25)
90. The Last Crossing by Guy Vanderhaeghe (Winner Canada Reads 2004, defended by Jim Cuddy, recommended by @peggyflynn25 & Barbara Bovaird)
91. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, recommended by Marjorie Dowhos
Also recommended by: @super_crazy_kd, Laurel Hodgins, Melinda Crump, Colin Wild & Nadine Dajani
92. Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill (Winner Canada Reads 2007, defended by John K. Samson, recommended by Joyce Jackman)
93. Slash by Jeannette Armstrong (Recommended by Lori Steele Maddigan)
94. We're All In This Together by Amy Jones (Recommended by Beth Damery)
95. Home Sweet Home by Mordecai Richler, recommended by Dave Bidini
96. A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (Winner Canada Reads 2006, defended by John K. Samson)
97. I Want to Go Home by Gordon Korman (Recommended by Lisa Willner)
98. The Perfection of the Morning by Sharon Butala (Recommended by Suzanne Marlow & Pat Bell)
99. Naked with Summer in Your Mouth by Al Purdy, recommended by Greg Bryk
100. Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner, translated by Lazer Lederhendler (Winner Canada Reads 2010, defended by Michel Vézina, recommended by Pamela Murray)
101. The Shoe Boy by Duncan McCue (Recommended by @Pschyolod)
102. Next Year, For Sure by Zoey Leigh Peterson (Recommended by @EmilySaso1)
103. Testifyin' by Djanet Sears, recommended by Amanda Parris
104. The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis (Winner Canada Reads 2011, defended by Ali Velshi, recommended by Kelly Hyland)
105. Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje (Recommended by @DiSpeirs)
106. Everything Beautiful is Not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman (Recommended by Kristilyn)
107. No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod, recommended by Jonna Brewer
Also recommended by: Bev Harding, @soondone, Judy Staffer, Danielle Chandler, Petra Young, Shelley Kean & Kent Miller)
108. The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood (Recommended by Una Rose & @yolandabdacy)
109. Jake and the Kid by W.O. Mitchell (Recommended by Mark Kingwell)
110. The Orenda by Joseph Boyden (Winner Canada Reads 2014, defended by Wab Kinew)
111. All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews, recommended by Christa Couture
Also recommended by: @CarlaCarmact, @ColleenCrawley, @kathydinbc & Linda Evans
112. The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart (Recommended by Marian Kuiper, Fiona St. Jean, @peggyflynn25, Petra Young & @ShelleyCooke10)
113. Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry (Recommended by @yolandabdacy)
114. Secret Path by Gord Downie & Jeff Lemire (Recommended by Emily Stewart)
115. Indian Fall by D'arcy Jenish, recommended by Craig Norris
116. The Birth House by Ami McKay (Recommended by @MsEllanDawn)
117. Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water (Recommended by David Alexander Robertson)
118. We'll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night by Joel Thomas Hynes (Recommended by @MeandMyKat)
119. February by Lisa Moore, recommended by Tom Power
Winner Canada Reads 2013. Defended by Trent McClellan.
Also recommended by: Jane Margot
120. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields (Recommended by @MaryWWalters & Meeya Awbay)
121. milk and honey by Rupi Kaur (Recommended by Emily Stewart)
122. Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis (Winner Canada Reads 2017, defended by Humble The Poet)
123. Shake Hands with the Devil by Roméo Dallaire, recommended by Stephen Lewis
124. Annabel by Kathleen Winter (Recommended by Nancy Hall)
125. Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang by Mordecai Richler (Recommended by Kyra Collins)
126. Skim by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki (Recommended by Emily Stewart)
127. The Hero's Walk by Anita Rau Badami, recommended by Vinay Virmani
Also recommended by: Corina McNeil
128. The Fire-Dwellers by Margaret Laurence (Recommended by Jen Sookfong Lee)
129. Something Fierce by Carmen Aguirre (Winner Canada Reads 2012, defended by Shad)
130. We Sang You Home by Richard Van Camp, illustrated by Julie Flett (Recommended by Emily Stewart)
131. The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield (Recommended by Anne Crosby)
132. Where I Belong by Alan Doyle, recommended by Trent McClellan
133. The Cure for Death by Lightning by Gail Anderson-Dargatz (Recommended by Laurel Hodgins, Teresa Reid & Kathie Ramsey Hunter)
134. King Leary by Paul Quarrington (Winner Canada Reads 2008, defended by Dave Bidini)
135. Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine (Recommended by Sandra Ferguson)
136. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko (Recommended by Chantal Antonakis & Emm Bee)
137. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston, recommended by Lisa Laco
138. Rockbound by Frank Parker Day (Winner Canada Reads 2005, defended by Donna Morrissey)
139. Island by Alistair MacLeod (Recommended by Lesley Choyce)
140. Sing a Song of Mother Goose by Barbara Reid (Recommended by Sandra Ferguson)
141. Fatty Legs by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, illustrated by Liz Amini-Holmes (Recommended by Katie Jim)
142. Generation X by Douglas Coupland, recommended by Adam Copeland
143. The Wonder by Emma Donoghue (Recommended by @yolandabdacy)
144. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Recommended by Pauline Vallee)
145. Next Episode by Hubert Aquin, translated by Sheila Fischman, (Winner Canada Reads 2003, defended by Denise Bombardier)
146. Life of Pi by Yann Martel, recommended by Jason D'Souza
Also recommended by: Martha Beechie
147. Stepping Stones by Margriet Ruurs, illustrated by Nizar Ali Badr (Recommended by Carolyn)
148. I Am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis & Kathy Kacer, illustrated by Gillian Newland (Recommended by @BrandonZoras)
149. Kiss of the Fur Queen by Tomson Highway (Recommended by @jmkershaw & Tal Taylor)
150. Klondike by Pierre Berton (Recommended by @lavee76 & Vala Monestime Belter)