What Canadian books are popular right now? Check out this week's bestsellers

Here are the bestselling Canadian fiction, nonfiction and children's books from Jan. 18-25, 2025.

Bestseller lists are compiled by Bookmanager using weekly sales stats from over 260 Canadian independent stores.

Canadian fiction

The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight is the #1 Canadian fiction book this week.

In The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, 18-year-old Pen arrives at the University of Edinburgh with some baggage from back home in Canada. Her parent's messy divorce has left her with some unanswered questions about their break up and she's hoping her new life in Scotland will provide some answers.

When she writes a letter to her dad's estranged best friend, thriller writer Lord Lennox, he invites her to spend a weekend at his family estate. She can't help but become enthralled with his entire family and begins to unravel family secrets and her experience her first debilitating crush.

See the full Canadian fiction list below.

1. The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight
2. The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny
3. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
4. Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey
5. Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
6. Held by Anne Michaels
7. In Winter I Get Up at Night by Jane Urquhart
8. Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew
9. Greenwood by Michael Christie
10. Prairie Edge by Conor Kerr

Canadian nonfiction

At a Loss for Words by Carol Off is the #1 Canadian nonfiction book this week.

At a Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage, traces what former CBC Host Carol Off calls the manipulation and weaponization of language through the lens of six words: freedom, democracy, truth, woke, choice and taxes.

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See the full Canadian nonfiction list below.

1. At a Loss for Words by Carol Off
2. Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
3. All the Little Monsters by David A. Robertson
4. Fire Weather by John Vaillant
5. Who We Are by Murray Sinclair, with Sara Sinclair and Niigaan Sinclair
6. Chrystia by Catherine Tsalikis
7. The Certainty Illusion by Timothy Caulfield
8. Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston
9. Matty Matheson: Soups, Salads, Sandwiches by Matty Matheson
10. Doppelganger by Naomi Klein

Canadian kids

Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao is the #1 Canadian kids book this week. 

In the follow up to the New York Times bestselling YA novel Iron Widow, Zetian finds herself on the seat of power in Huaxia after enduring devastating loss and making drastic decisions.

When revelations about an enemy who holds the fate of her loved ones in their hands come to light, Zetian must team up with a dangerous man and work together to depose their common enemy and stoke a revolution against the dark forces that plague their world.

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See the full kids list below.

1. Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao
2. Paws: Hazel Has Her Hands Full by Nathan Fairbairn, illustrated by Michele Assarasakorn
3. The New Girl by Cassandra Calin
4. The Squad by Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Joanna Cacao
5. The Animal People Choose a Leader by Richard Wagamese, illustrated by Bridget George
6. The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson
7. I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
8. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
9. Carson Crosses Canada by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Kass Reich
10. The Baby-Sitters Club: Claudia and the Bad Joke by Ann M. Martin, illustrated by Arley Nopra