Toronto Star bestsellers for Sept. 18, 2024

The annual autumn book deluge is upon us.
The top six novels on the fiction bestseller list were all published within the past two weeks. The two names heading the list are Matt Haig with his latest, “The Life Impossible” at No. 1, and Liane Moriarty’s “Here One Moment” at No. 2.
What may turn out to be the big non-fiction book of the season, Yuval Noah Harari’s “Nexus,” joins the list at No. 1. It was the top title across all categories purchased in Canada last week.
Meanwhile, in the cookbook category, eight of the top 10 books are appearing on our list for the first time, most by authors who will be new names to readers — though not Dolly Parton (who with her sister Rachel Parton George is the author of “Good Lookin’ Cookin’”) and Stephen Colbert (who has co-written “Does This Taste Funny” with his wife, Evie McGee Colbert).
September is also the month when the enduring books of lists come out. They appeal to all members of the family and are popular on bathroom bookshelves, which makes them perennial holiday gifts. “Guinness World Records 2025” ranks No. 4 and “Ripley’s Believe It or Not 2025” debuts at No. 9.
ORIGINAL FICTION
1. The Life Impossible, Matt Haig, Harper Avenue (2)
2. Here One Moment, Liane Moriarty, Doubleday Canada (1)
3. Somewhere Beyond the Sea, T.J. Klune, Tor (1)
4. Tell Me Everything, Elizabeth Strout, Random House (1)
5. Wild Eyes, Elsie Silver, Bloom (2)
6. We Solve Murders, Richard Osman, Pamela Dorman (1)
7. Daydream, Hannah Grace, Atria (4)
8. The Briar Club, Kate Quinn, William Morrow (11)
9. It Starts With Us, Colleen Hoover, Atria (35)
10. It Ends With Us, Colleen Hoover, Atria (99)
ORIGINAL NON-FICTION
1. Nexus, Yuval Noah Harari, Signal (1)
2. Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions (149)
3. Above the Noise, DeMar DeRozan, Dave Zarum, Collins (1)
4. Guinness World Records 2025, Craig Glenday, Guinness World Records (1)
5. The Knowing, Tanya Talaga, HarperCollins Canada (4)
6. The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Press (25)
7. At a Loss for Words, Carol Off, Random House Canada (2)
8. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! 2025, Ripley’s Entertainment (1)
9. Who Could Ever Love You, Mary L. Trump, St. Martin’s (1)
10. The Siege, Ben Macintyre, Signal (1)
CANADIAN FICTION
1. Wild Eyes, Elsie Silver, Bloom
2. What Have You Done?, Shari Lapena, Doubleday Canada
3. The Capital of Dreams, Heather O’Neill, HarperCollins Canada
4. When the World Fell Silent, Donna Jones Alward, One More Chapter
5. Real Ones, Katherena Vermette, Hamish Hamilton
6. Fall With Me, Becka Mack, Simon & Schuster
7. Till Death Do Us Part, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, Simon & Schuster
8. Butcher and Blackbird, Brynne Weaver, Zando
9. This Summer Will Be Different, Carley Fortune, Viking
10. Consider Me, Becka Mack, Simon & Schuster
CANADIAN NON-FICTION
1. Above the Noise, DeMar DeRozan, Dave Zarum, Collins
2. The Knowing, Tanya Talaga, HarperCollins Canada
3. At a Loss for Words, Carol Off, Random House Canada
4. Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Matthew Perry, Flatiron
5. Our Green Heart, Diana Beresford-Kroeger, Random House Canada
6. Battle of Britain, Ted Barris, Sutherland House
7. The Traitor’s Daughter, Roxana Spicer, Viking
8. 21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act, Bob Joseph, Indigenous Relations
9. True Reconciliation, Jody Wilson-Raybould, McClelland & Stewart
10. I Heard There Was a Secret Chord, Daniel J. Levitin, Allen Lane
CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT
1. Little Blue Truck’s Halloween, Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry, Clarion
2. Kristy and the Walking Disaster (Baby-Sitters Club #16), Ann M. Martin, Ellen T. Crenshaw, Graphix
3. Bluey: Awesome Advent Book Bundle, Penguin Young Readers
4. Impossible Creatures, Katherine Rundell, Ashley Mackenzie, Knopf Books for Young Readers
5. Advent Calendar Book Collection, Usborne
6. Powerless, Lauren Roberts, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
7. The Wild Robot, Peter Brown, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
8. Reckless, Lauren Roberts, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
9. Bluey’s Halloween Mix-and-Match, Penguin Young Readers
10. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Holly Jackson, Ember
COOKING
1. The Ambitious Kitchen Cookbook, Monique Volz, Clarkson Potter
2. Big Vegan Flavour, Nisha Vora, Avery
3. Good Lookin’ Cookin’, Dolly Parton, Rachel Parton George, Ten Speed
4. Spend With Pennies Everyday Comfort, Holly Nilsson, DK
5. Make It Easy, Danielle Walker, Ten Speed
6. Chef AJ’s Sweet Indulgence, Chef AJ, Glen Merzer, University of Toronto
7. Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving, Judi Kingry, Lauren Devine, Sarah Page, Robert Rose
8. Feeding Little Lunches, Megan McNamee, Judy Delaware, Rodale
9. Does This Taste Funny?, Stephen Colbert, Evie McGee Colbert, Celadon
10. The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook, ConcernedApe, Ryan Novak, Random House Worlds
* Weeks on list
The bestseller lists are compiled by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited from information provided by BookNet Canada’s national sales tracking service, BNC SalesData.