Of these 15 books selected for their potential to shift your perspective, one will become the Canada Reads winner for 2023! Canada Reads is an annual battle of the books organized and broadcast by the CBC.
The five panellists and the final five books they choose to champion will be revealed on Jan. 25, 2023.
Ducks by Kate Beaton
An untold story of Canada: a country that prides itself on its egalitarian ethos and natural beauty while simultaneously exploiting both the riches of its land and the humanity of its people.
Revery: A Year of Bees by Jenna Butler
A story of women, bees and how beekeeping became Jenna Butler's personal survival story.
Half-Bads in White Regalia by Cody Caetano
An unforgettable debut that unspools a tangled family history with warmth, humour, and deep generosity.
Greenwood by Michael Christie
A multigenerational family story that spans from before the first World War to the year 2038, in which a remote island off the coast of British Columbia links the fates of five people.
Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye
Following one girl's journey of magic, injustice, power, and revenge, Deborah Falaye's debut novel, inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology, is a magnetic combination of Children of Blood and Bone and An Ember in the Ashes.
Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin
From the author of Ayesha at Last comes a sparkling rom-com for fans of You've Got Mail, set in two competing halal restaurants
All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay
A story of vengeance, power, and love, set in a near-Renaissance world.
Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew
A beautifully written and affecting novel about motherhood, family secrets, migration, isolation, and mental illness. With clarity and care, it delves into the many ways we define home, identity, and above all, belonging.
We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu
Canadian actor Simu Liu shares his own inspiring and unexpected origin story, from China to his work in Hollywood.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
An isolated mansion. A chillingly charismatic aristocrat. And a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets…
Finding Edward by Sheila Murray
Cyril Rowntree, a mixed-race Jamaican, migrates to Canada, and is drawn into exploring the life of Edward, a mixed-race baby born in the 1920s. Along the way, he discovers hidden pieces of Canada’s Black history and gains the confidence to take on his new world.
Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah
A vivid elegy to the 1980s, bringing the era's systemic challenges into the current moment through this deeply endearing portrait of struggle, perseverance, and bonding.
We Spread by Iain Reid
Iain Reid's genre-defying third novel explores questions of conformity, art, productivity, relationships, and what, ultimately, it means to grow old.
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. An unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow. Out of catastrophe comes resilience. And as one society collapses, another is reborn.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Sometimes terrifying, sometimes tender, Station Eleven tells a story about the fragility of life, the relationships that sustain us, and the beauty of the world as we know it.
