The bestselling books of 2020
From controversial fiction to presidential wisdom, these are what Canadians read this year
After just one month in the bookstores, “A Promised Land,” the first volume of Barack Obama’s sweeping autobiography, sold more copies in Canada than any other book this year. Not too shabby for a 700-plus-page political memoir with a suggested retail price of $55 (though you don’t have to look far to find it for $36).
It’s clear we
Canadians can’t get enough of that First Family. “A Promised
Land” came out exactly t wo years after Michelle Obama’s
“Be c o mi n g .”
Her book dominated the bestseller charts as well, taking the No. 2 spot (after Jordan Peterson’s “12 Rules for Life”) in 2018 and the No. 1 ranking on the 2019 list. This year, “Becoming” is hanging in there at No. 12 on the original nonfiction list.
And indeed, our fascination with American politics extends to the current administration, with Donald Trump remaining a category unto himself.
The other topic that focused the national conversation — and bookshelves — in 2020 was racial-justice awareness.
Black and Indigenous stories were well-represented in both fiction and nonfiction lists this year, with a total of 12 books.
In Canada, two books centring on Black lives that emerged as bestsellers are Desmond Cole’s “The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power,” in which the Toronto activist chronicles racism over the course of 2017; and Robyn Maynard’s “Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present.”
And yet it is Indigenous issues, over other questions of race and belonging, that galvanized Canadian readers. In fiction: “Son of a Trickster” by Eden Robinson, now a CBC series; “The Marrow Thieves” by Cherie Dimaline, published in 2017 and a frequent visitor to the Canadian Top 10; and Thomas King’s “Indians on Vacation,” which came out in August.
In nonfiction, besides “From the Ashes,” the
Canadian list includes “21
Things You May
Not Know
About the Indian Act,” by Bob
Joseph; Thomas
Ki n g ’s 2 012 book “The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America”; and “Seven Feathers,” Tanya Talaga’s awardwinning 2017 investigation into seven deaths in Thunder Bay.
But what of the pandemic, I hear you cry.
Oddly, there is but one book: you’ll find it ranked No. 7 on our Health and Fitness list: “Soap and Water and Common Sense,” by Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer.
ORIGINAL FICTION 1. American Dirt, Jeanine Cummins,
Flatiron
2. Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens, G.P. Putnam’s
3. The Wives,
Tarryn Fisher,
Graydon House
4. If It Bleeds,
Stephen King,
Scribner
5. The Guest
List, Lucy Foley,
William Morrow
6. My Dark
Vanessa, Kate
Elizabeth Russell, William Morrow
7. A Time of Mercy, John Grisham, Doubleday
8. All the Devils Are Here, Louise Penny, Minotaur
9. Anxious People, Fredrik Backman, Simon & Schuster
10. Camino Winds, John Grisham,
Doubleday
ORIGINAL NONFICTION
1. A Promised
Land, Ba r a c k
Obama, Crown
2. Too Much and Never
Enough, Mary L.
Trump, Simon &
Schuster
3. Untamed,
Glennon Doyle,
Dial
4 . Fr o m t h e
Ashes , Je s s e
Thistle, Simon & Schuster
5. White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo, Beacon
6. Educated, Tara Westover, HarperCollins Canada
7. Rage, Bob Woodward, Simon & Schuster
8. The Room Where It Happened, John Bolton, Simon & Schuster
9. Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed
10. The Answer Is …, Alex Trebek,
Simon & Schuster
CANADIAN FICTION
1. All the Devils
Are Here, Louise Penny, Minotaur
2. Home Body,
Rupi Kaur, Simon & Schuster
3. The Handmaid’s Ta l e ,
Marg a r e t At - wood, McClelland & Stewart
4. The End of
Her, Shari Lapena, Doubleday Canada
5. The Forgotten Home Child, Genevieve Graham, Simon & Schuster
6. The Glass Hotel, Emily St. John Mandel, HarperCollins Canada
7. Woman on the Edge, Samantha M. Bailey, Simon & Schuster
8. The Jane Austen Society, Natalie Jenner, St. Martin’s Press
9. The Woman Before Wallis, Bryn Turnbull, Mira
10. The Pull of the Stars, Emma Donoghue, Harper Avenue
CANADIAN NONFICTION
1. From the Ashes, Jesse Thistle, Simon & Schuster
2. The Answer Is …, Alex Trebek,
Simon & Schuster
3. The Skin We’re In, Desmond Cole, Doubleday Canada
4. Burke’s Law, Brian Burke, Stephen Brunt, Viking
5. 12 Rules for Life, Jordan B. Peterson, Random House Canada
6. If I Knew Then, Jann Arden, Random House Canada
7. Talking to Strangers, Malcolm Gladwell, Little Brown
8. Extraordinary Canadians, Peter Mansbridge, Simon & Schuster
9. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act, Bob Joseph, Indigenous Relations
10. Beauties, James Duthie, HarperCollins Canada
CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT
1. Grime and Punishment, Dav Pilkey, Graphix
2. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel), Suzanne Collins, Scholastic
3. Midni g h t Sun, Stephenie Meyer, Little Brown Books for Young Readers
4 . Fet c h - 2 2 , Dav Pilkey, Graphix
5. The Deep End: Diary of a Wimpy Kid #15, Jeff Kinney, Amulet
6. Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure, Jeff Kinney, Amulet
7. Love You Forever, Robert Munsch, Sheila McGraw, Firefly
8. Logan Likes Mary Anne! (The Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novel #8), Ann M. Martin, Gale Galligan, Graphix
9. For Whom the Ball Rolls, Dav Pilkey, Scholastic
10. The Wonky Donkey, Craig Smith, Katz Cowley
BUSINESS AND PERSONAL FINANCE
1. Atomic Habits, James Clear, Avery
2 . Ri c h Dad Poor Dad, Robert T. Kiyosaki, Plata
3. The Intellig ent Investor (Rev. Ed.), Benjamin Graham, Harper Business
4. Dare to Lead, Brené Brown, Random House
5. Start With Why, Simon Sinek, Portfolio
6. Never Split the Difference, Chris Voss, Tahl Raz, Harper Business
7. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey, Simon & Schuster
8. The Ride of a Lifetime, Robert Iger, Random House
9. Strengthfinder 2.0, Gallup, Gallup
10. Principles, Ray Dalio, Simon & Schuster
COOKING
1. Oh She Glows for Dinner, Angela
Liddon, Penguin Canada
2. Magnolia Table, Vol. 2, Gaines, William Morrow Cookbooks
3. Modern Comfort Food, Ina Gar t e n , Clarkson Potter
4. Fr a i c h e Fo o d , Ful l Hearts, Ji l l i a n Har r i s, To r i Wesszer, Penguin Canada
5. Mandy’s Gourmet Salads, Rebecca Wolfe, Meredith Erickson, Mandy Wolfe, Appetite by Random House
6. The Oh She Glows Cookbook, Angela Liddon, Penguin Canada
7. Ultimate Veg, Jamie Oliver, HarperCollins Canada
8. 7 Ways, Jamie Oliver, HarperCollins Canada
9. Half Baked Harvest Super Simple, Gerard Tieghan, Clarkson Potter
10. Yum and Yummer, Greta Podleski, One Spoon
Joanna
HEALTH AND FITNESS
1. What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel, Workman
2. The Obesity Code, Jason Fung, Greystone
3. Medical Medium Clean se to Heal, Anthony William, Hay House
4. When the Body Says No, Gabor Maté, Vintage Canada
5. Come as You Are, Emily Nagoski, Simon & Schuster
6. Find Your Path, Carrie Underwood, Day Street
7. Soap and Water and Common Sense, Bonnie Henry, House of Anansi
8. The Miracle Ball Method, Elaine Petrone, Workman
9. Medical Medium Liver Rescue, Anthony William, Hay House
10. The Plant Paradox, Steven R. Gundry, Harper Wave
SELF-IMPROVEMENT
1. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck,
Mark Manson, HarperCollins Canada
2. Think Like a Monk, Ja y
Shetty, Simon &
Schuster
3. The Power of Now, Eckhart
Tolle, New World
4. How to Win
Friends and Influence People,
Dale Carnegie,
5. The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz, Janet Mills, Amber-Allen
6. The Gifts of Imperfection, Brené Brown, Hazelden
7. You Are a Badass, Jen Sincero,
Running Press
8. Mind Over Mood (2nd ed.), Dennis Greenberger, Christine A. Padesky, Guilford
9. Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon
Hill, Ballantine
10. Daring Greatly, Brené Brown,
Avery