Hi friends, happy Tuesday! I hope you’re all doing well. Today I’m going to be posting my, now annually, post of my rankings of the Canada Reads longlist for 2022.

In 2021 I started this challenge for myself to read more Canadian authors and books and I decided to continue it into this year. Now after 2 years of reading the longlisted Canada Reads books, I think I’ll make this a tradition every year.

If you want you can read my ranking of the books for 2021

Now, I’m going to be ranking them in order from least to best*, in my opinion.

*if a book has the same rating I went with what I read first.

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by: Rivka Galchen 2 ⭐️ This is the most recent book I read, and I’m sad that I had to end this year’s longlist on a sad note. I wanted to like this because the title is so amazing, but this wasn’t for me. I felt more confused than anything else while reading it. Read my review.

Satellite Love by: Genki Ferguson 3 ⭐️ This was a good book, it was short and really packed a punch, especially when it talked about dementia because it handled it with such care. The writing was also really beautiful, I didn’t rate it higher because it just didn’t stick with me as much as I would have liked. Read my review.

All the Quiet Places by: Brian Thomas Isaac 3 ⭐️ This packed a punch talking about the harrowing realities that Indigenous people have had to face in their every day lives. It was a short read that read like poetry. Read my review.

What Strange Paradise by: Omar El Akkad 3 ⭐️ I wanted more from this; the plot of this was interesting and moving, but it just didn’t move me as strongly as it could have. Read my review.

Book of Wings by: Tawhida Tanya Evanson 3 ⭐️ This was poetic, but I felt unconnected from the main character for most of the novel. Every time I got a glimpse of connection, it was lost again, but the story was still good. Read my review.

Dominoes at the Crossroads by: Kaie Kellough 3 ⭐️ I went into this not realizing it was a collection of short stories and I think that left me confused when I was reading this. I probably would have liked it a little more if I had known a little bit going in. Also, this author uses his own name as the character’s name, which was again, confusing – but it was an interesting read. Read my review.

Washington Black by: Esi Edugyan 4 ⭐️ This was the first Canada Reads book I read this year and I was happy that this year started off well (unlike last year). This was such a journey and I really enjoyed the characters. Read my review.

Velvet Was the Night by: Silvia Moreno-Garcia 4 ⭐️ I was so happy to see Silvia Moreno-Garcia longlisted because I love her writing and I can’t wait to read all her books! This one was so entertaining. They say this is like Pulp Fiction and I really did get that feel. It was such a strange read, but in a good way. Read my review.

Driven by: Marcello Di Cintio 4 ⭐️ I went in thinking this book was about one thing and realized it was about something else… and I liked that I was wrong. This was a non-fiction read about becoming a taxi in Canada and the intersectionality within this was very fascinating. Read my review.

The Spoon Stealer by: Lesley Crewe 4 ⭐️ This book shocked me on how much I liked it. The plot and the characters and how it all came together was just so good, highly recommend. Read my review.

Five Little Indians by: Michelle Good 4 ⭐️ This was a hard hitting novel and I believe this was the winner this year, which is deserving. I liked how hopeful this felt after everything Indigenous people face, especially going through residential schools. Read my review.

Scarborough by: Catherine Hernandez 4 ⭐️ This took a look at the city of Scarborough and personified it a bit in telling a story about the people and the culture of who live there. It also revolves around a school program where essentially, the main character tries to set up a before and after school program for kids – it’s a heartbreaking story. Read my review.

Life in the City of Dirty Water by: Clayton Thomas-Müller 4 ⭐️ This author is such a poet, his writing was so beautiful and really had me thinking about things in a different way. This was his memoir, and he really went into talking about his advocacy for the Indigenous land that the government want to steal from. This was such a great book. Read my review.

From My Mother’s Back by: Njoki Wane 4 ⭐️ Another author who has such beautiful writing – her writing was so calming and lulled me into her story of how she got to where she is now. Her life from Kenya to Canada. It was just inspiring in many ways. Read my review.

We Two Alone by: Jack Wang 4 ⭐️ This was a collection of short stories that spanned a century; the different experiences that immigrant Chinese face, it was a different experience read, but also really good. I feel like a lot of the stories were sad, two people who wanted to be together, but life kept forcing them apart, deeply moving. Read my review.

That’s a wrap on the 2022 longlisted Canada Reads books! This year felt more enjoyable for me and I’m looking forward to seeing what books will be nominated in 2023! Have you read any of these books? Let me know in the comment below!