Presented in partnership with Indigo.

As Canada’s leading book authority, Indigo proudly curates its annual “Best Books of the Year” list, highlighting exceptional literary works of the past year. Indigo is thrilled to reveal 2025’s top 10 books. This year, half of the list is made up of Canadian authors and also includes titles from BIPOC and Indigenous voices.

“This year, we tackled something together that had not been done before. Since the last week of April, we have dedicated ourselves every week to getting our Best of the Year program to achieve new heights,” says Amanda Gauthier, Print Director & BOTY 2025 Committee Chair. “Nearly 100 Indigo booklovers volunteered to do deep reading, tackling many books in each genre to build a shortlist of 30, and from there, our final committee came up with the final 10. Together, we picked a list I am confident represents the passion of the dedicated readers of this program that will excite Canadians coast to coast.”

Fun Facts About Indigo's Best Books of the Year

Indigo is so confident in its Best Books of the Year that it has deemed the top 10 novels "Guaranteed Reads," meaning if you read it and don't love it, you can return it!
Since April, Indigo’s team of book lovers and experts have read and reviewed hundreds of titles to find the top 10 standouts that make up the 2025 Best Books of the Year.
The 2025 Best Books of the Year reflect Canada’s growing desire for books by home grown talent, with five out of the 10 books in the list written by Canadian authors.
The list is proudly global, including authors from Australia, India, Vietnam and China.
Last year’s top 10 list saw an average +130 per cent week-over-week sales lift after it was announced.

#10 Finding Flora by Elinor Florence

A rollicking historical novel set in turn-of-the-century Alberta about a young woman on the run from her abusive husband who uses a legal loophole to claim a homestead in the Wild West—perfect for fans of Outlawed and The Giver of Stars.
Buy Finding Flora here!

#9 Vanished Beyond the Map: The Mystery of Lost Explorer Hubert Darrell by Adam Shoalts

Canada’s greatest modern-day explorer sets out into the arctic wilderness to solve a mystery more than 100 years old.
Buy Vanished Beyond the Map here!

#8 A Flower Traveled in My Blood: The Incredible True Story of the Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children by Haley Cohen Gilliland

A remarkable new talent in narrative nonfiction delivers the epic true story of a group of courageous grandmothers who fought to find their grandchildren who were stolen.
Buy A Flower Traveled in my Blood here!

#7 Whistle: A Novel by Linwood Barclay

New York Times bestselling author Linwood Barclay enters new territory with a supernatural chiller in which a woman and her young son move to a small town looking for a fresh start, only to be haunted by disturbing events and strange visions when they find a mysterious train set in a storage shed.
Buy Whistle here!

#6 Katabasis (Deluxe Limited Edition): A Novel by R. F Kuang

Order now to receive the stunning DELUXE LIMITED EDITION— only available on the first printing while supplies last! The collector’s hardcover features stenciled edges, case effects, and illustrated endpapers.

Dante’s Inferno meets Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi in this all-new dark academia fantasy from R. F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface, in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own.
Buy Katabasis here!

#5 One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

*THIS INDIGO EXCLUSIVE EDITION INCLUDES A DELUXE FOIL COVER AND BONUS CONTENT: LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR, PLUS A CROSSWORD PUZZLE – PREORDER NOW!*

A radiant, new escape to the lake from #1 New York Times bestselling author Carley Fortune.
Buy One Golden Summer here!

#4 The Emperor of Gladness: Oprah's Book Club: A Novel by Ocean Vuong

The instant New York Times bestseller • Oprah’s Book Club Pick • A 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction finalist.

Ocean Vuong returns with a bighearted novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive.
Buy The Emperor of Gladness here!

#3 Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy

A raw and deeply moving memoir from the legendary author of The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness that traces the complex relationship with her mother, Mary Roy, a fierce and formidable force who shaped Arundhati’s life both as a woman and a writer.
Buy Mother Mary Comes to Me here!

#2 Book of Lives (Signed Edition): A Memoir of Sorts by Margaret Atwood

How does one of the greatest storytellers of our time write her own life? The long-awaited memoir from one of our most lauded and influential cultural figures.
Buy Books of Lives here!

#1 Wild Dark Shore: Reese's Book Club Pick (A Novel) by Charlotte McConaghy

NSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • #1 AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR 2025.

An ENTHRALLING new novel from the NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author of Migrations and Once There Were Wolves.
Buy Wild Dark Shore here!

For all your book needs, plus Holiday gifts and, well, year round gifts, visit Indigo.ca