The top 10 Canadian books of 2022

CBC Radio Specials48:28CBC Books Holiday Countdown Special

Join host Ali Hassan as he counts down the top 10 bestselling Canadian books of 2022, as sold in independent bookstores across the country.

CBC Booksis counting down the top 10 bestselling Canadian titles of 2022! These are the 10 bestselling Canadian titles of the year, as determined by book salesfrom close to 300 independent Canadianbookstores, courtesy ofBookmanager.

You can listen to the countdown specialhosted byAli Hassanbelow orkeep scrolling to see which books made the cut!

10. The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr

The Sleeping Car Portertells the story of Baxter, a Black man in 1929 who works as a sleeping car porter on a train that travels across the country. He smiles and tries to be invisible to the passengers, but what he really wants is to save up and go to dentistry school. On one particular trip out west, the train is stalled and Baxter finds a naughty postcard of two gay men. The postcard reawakens his memories and longings and puts his job in jeopardy.

The Sleeping Car Porterwonthe 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

• Suzette Mayr's novel The Sleeping Car Porter uses magic realism to highlight Black Canadian history

Suzette Mayr is a poet and novelist based in Calgary. She is the author of the novelsDr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall,Monoceros,Moon Honey,The WidowsandVenous Hum.

LISTEN | Suzette Myer reacts to winning the Scotiabank Giller Prize:

11:01Suzette Mayr on winning the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize

It's Canada's biggest literary prize with a cash purse of $100,000. The morning after the Scotiabank Giller Prize was awarded, Tom Power caught up with this year's winner, Suzette Mayr, for a chat about her award-winning novel The Sleeping Car Porter.

9. Ducks by Kate Beaton

Ducksis an autobiographical graphic novel that recounts author Kate Beaton'stime spent working in the Alberta oil sands. With the goal of paying off her student loans, Kate leaves her tight-knit seaside Nova Scotia community and heads west, where she encounters harsh realities, including the everyday trauma that no one discusses.

• Kate Beaton's affectingDucksdives into the lonely life of labour in Alberta's oil sands

Kate Beaton is a cartoonist from Nova Scotia who launched her career by publishing the comic stripHark! A Vagrantonline. The sassy historical webcomic gained a following of 500,000 monthly visitors and was eventually turned into a bestselling book. Beaton's success continued with the bookStep Aside, Pops,which wonthe 2016 Eisner Award for best humour publication. Beatonhas also published two children's books:King BabyandThe Princess and the Pony.

LISTEN | Kate Beaton discusses her time in the Alberta oilsands:

The Sunday Magazine22:53Emily St. John Mandel's visionary new novel is a journey through time, space and speculative simulation

Canadian writer Emily St. John Mandel was described as a prophetic visionary during the pandemic, for writing about a flu-like illness that shut down the world in her 2014 novel Station Eleven. The book surged in popularity during the actual pandemic and was adapted into an acclaimed television series. Her 2020 book, The Glass Hotel, also earned raves Barack Obama listed it as one of his favourites of the year. In her much-anticipated follow-up, Sea of Tranquility, Mandel is once again revisiting life during global crisis and yes, that includes pandemics. She sits down with Piya Chattopadhyay to talk about the new book, which takes readers on a journey through time travel, moon colonies, and big questions like whether we're all living in one big simulation.

8. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Sea of Tranquilityis a novel about time travel and metaphysics that spans from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a colony on the moon 500years later. When detective Gaspery-Jacques Roberts is hired to investigate an anomaly in the North American wilderness, he uncovers a series of lives upended from an exiled son driven mad by beauty and mystery in a Canadian forest to a writer living in a colony on the moon as a pandemic ravages Earth. Through his work, Gaspery has the chance to do something extraordinary that will disrupt the timeline of the universe.

• Emily St. John Mandel has no idea where she's going... and she's okay with that

Emily St. John Mandel is a bestselling author currently based in New York. Her other novels includeThe Glass Hotel,which was afinalist for the Scotiabank Giller PrizeandStation Eleven.Station Elevenwas adapted for television for HBO.

LISTEN | Emily St. John Mandel discusses Sea of Tranquility withPiya Chattopadhyay:

20:24Catherine Hernandez on Scarborough (Canada Reads Finalist)

Shelagh Rogers talks to Catherine Hernandez about Scarborough, which is a Canada Reads 2022 Finalist.

7. The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson

The Barren Groundsis the first book of a new middle-grade series by David A. Robertson. It is set in Winnipeg where two Indigenous kids, Morgan and Eli, are placed in a new foster home. The pair feel out of place and disconnected in their new surroundings until they uncover a secret portal in the attic that opens up to a magical reality. The frozen barren grounds they find set the pair on a mission of survival and self-determination.

The other books in the Misewa seriesare The Great Bear and The Stone Child.

• 'Write what you're passionate about.' David A. Robertson's advice for his younger self

Robertsonis a Cree writer from Winnipeg who writes books for readers of all ages. He has published severalbooks across a variety of genres, including the graphic novelsBreakdown,Will I See?andSugar Falls;the picture booksWhen We Were Aloneand On the Trapline,both whichwere illustrated by Julie Flett;theMisewaYA series;the memoirBlack Water;and the novel The Theory of Crows.

LISTEN | David A. Robertson on how to talk to your kids about reconciliation:

CBC Books10:20Bob Joseph on All in a Weekend with Sonali Karnick

Author and educator Bob Joseph spoke to Sonali Karnick in Montreal about his book 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act.

6. TheMaid by Nita Prose

In the mystery novel TheMaid, hotel room maid Molly Gray relies on her gran to interpret the world for her, as she struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. When her gran dies, Molly is left to navigate life's complexities all by herself and dives deep into her work as a hotel maid. But her orderly life is upended when she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find him dead. Caught up in a web of deception and suspicion, Molly unites with her friends to find out what really happened to Mr. Black.

• Toronto author's bestselling novel The Maid started as an idea on a napkin

Nita Prose is an Toronto author andeditor. She is currently theCanadian vice president and editorial director for publishing company Simon & Schuster.The Maidis her debut novel.

LISTEN | How Nita Prose went from book editor to bestselling writer:

CBC Books7:18Cherie Dimaline on Airplay with Dave White in Whitehorse

Award-winning author Cherie Dimaline speaks with Dave White about her dystopian YA novel The Marrow Thieves.

5. Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez

Scarboroughis a novel full of characters who are facing strugglebut findsupport and grace in their community.Scarboroughisa love letter to Hernandez's own Ontario communityand readers loved it right back. It was shortlistedfor the 2017 Toronto Book Award, the 2018 Trillium Book Awardand the 2018 Edmund White Award for debut fiction.

Scarboroughwas adapted into a feature film thatpremiered at TIFF in2021.The film won eight Canadian Screen Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay.Scarboroughwas also the runner-up on Canada Reads 2022, when it was championed by the actor andactivist Malia Baker.

• How Catherine Hernandez's resilient neighbourhood inspired her Canada Reads-longlisted novel Scarborough

Catherine Hernandezis a Canadian writer, author and playwright who was named byCBC Books as a writer to watch. She is the author of several books, includingthe dystopiannovelCrosshairsand the upcoming novel The Story of Us,as well aschildren's booksI PromiseandM is for Mustache. She is also the creator and star of the Audible Original sketch comedy podcastImminent Disaster.

LISTEN | Catherine Hernandez discusses Scarborough with Shelagh Rogers:

Quirks and Quarks17:01A pioneering forest researcher's memoir describes 'Finding the Mother Tree'

Finding the Mother Tree that protects her young saplings in pioneering researchers memoir

4. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph

Based on a viral article,21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Actis the essential guide to understanding the 1876 Indian Act and its repercussions on generations of Indigenous Peoples. It also explores how the legal document'slegacy has shaped the lives of Indigenous people from 1876 until now.

• Bob Joseph believes Indigenous reconciliation can be realized sooner rather than later

Bob Joseph is a member of the Gwawaenuk Nation and is an initiated member of the Hamatsa Society. He is the founder of Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. andis the author of several books about Indigenous history and relations, includingIndigenous RelationsandWorking Effectively with Indigenous Peoples.

LISTEN | What Bob Joseph wants you to know about the Indian Act:

3. 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. It iscurrently being adapted for television. The sequel,Hunting by Stars,was released in 2021.The Marrow Thieveswas also defended byJullyBlackonCanada Reads2018.

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

Cherie 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.Dimalinewonthe 2021 Writers' Trust Engel Findley Award. The$25,000 recognizes the accomplishments of afiction writer in the middle of theircareer.

LISTEN | Cherie Dimaline reflects on writing The Marrow Thieves:

2. Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard

Biologist Suzanne Simard discovered the reality of the interconnection and intelligence of the forest. She's been able to find out that the trees are indeed whispering to each other communicating not through the wind, but through the soil. Her new scientific memoir,Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest,describes her life and research.

• When the trees talk, we need to listen, Suzanne Simard reveals inFinding the Mother Tree

Suzanne Simard is a B.C.-based author and academic who grew up in Canadian forests as a descendant of loggers. She is a professor in the department of forest and conservation sciences at the University of British Columbia.Simard was a panelliston Canada Reads 2022 when she defended Life in the City of Dirty Water by Clayton Thomas-Mller.

LISTEN | Suzanne Simard reflects on her career and what's she's learned from a life in the forests:

1. Five Little Indians by Michelle Good

In the novelFive 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 the2020 Governor General's Literary Award for fictionandthe 2021 Amazon Canada First Novel Award.It was alsoonthe 2020 Writers's Trust Fiction Prize shortlistandthe 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist.

The novel wonCanada Reads 2022, whenit was championed by fashion journalist Christian Allaire.

• Michelle Good on how residential schools fit into our national story

Michelle Good is a Cree writer and retired lawyer, as well as a member of Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan.Good holds an MFA and a law degree from the University of British Columbia and, as a lawyer, advocated for residential school survivors.Five Little Indiansis her first book.CBC Books named her a writer to watch in 2020.

LISTEN | Michelle Good and Christian Allaire reflect on winning Canada Reads: