This year, June 21 marked the summer solstice, officially setting into motion summer of 2026. As readers emerge from their homes, bringing their books out to beaches and on planes en route to summer getaways, we wanted to take a look at what those books tucked away in their bags might be.
Given the growing interest in summer reading searches, it’s safe to say among holiday plans and travel, Canadians have reading on their mind.
So having done all that research for summer, we wanted to know what Canadian readers have been preparing to read this summer.
Top five recurring subjects
To try and get a sense of what works around this time of year, we looked at the six weeks leading up to summer solstice for the last five years and calculated the percent change in sales from the first week to the sixth week. Of the top ten selling subjects, the five recurring ones, are as follows in the table below.
Percent change by subject in the six weeks leading up to the summer solstice, 2022 to 2026
| Subject | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiction / Literary | 74% | -2% | 12% | -2% | 10% |
| Fiction / Romance / Contemporary | 29% | -6% | 7% | -20% | 41% |
| Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense | 22% | 24% | 77% | -20% | -11% |
| Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Humorous Stories | 18% | 41% | 10% | 25% | -4% |
| Fiction / Women | 16% | 39% | 20% | -9% | 10% |
In 2026, these five subjects were also the top five selling genres in the six weeks leading up to the summer solstice.
Weekly unit sales for top five bestselling subjects
Fiction / Literary
In 2026, the first four weeks of sales leading up to the solstice see a steady rise in units sold, much like 2025. However, we can see a slight drop in sales during week five, before a significant uptick: a 53% increase in sales in the week before the summer solstice compared with the previous week. Whereas, during the period last year, Literary titles saw a 9% decrease in sales week over week.
Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
For this Romance subcategory, we notice an almost mirrored effect on sales when comparing 2025 to 2026. While 2025, started off with a bang, peaking in sales at about around week three, we see a steady decline from then on. In 2026, however, we find that sales peaked at around week two, seeing a slight decline after, and picking up at a steady rate in the following weeks, with the final week seeing a 15% increase in sales over week five.
Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense
For Suspense titles, in 2025, sales peak during week three (May 26 to June 1, 2025), in large part due to the release of the Stephen King title, Never Flinch. These sales then level out near the end of the six week period. In comparison, the 2026 sales of Suspense titles remain more consistent, seeing a slight increase of 23% in the last week.
Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Humorous Stories
Sales for titles categorized under Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Humorous Stories see a similar trend across both years: a steady increase in sales across the six weeks. In 2026, sales increased by 12% over the six weeks, while in 2025 this increase was 17%.
Fiction / Women
For this category, in 2025, sales saw a significant increase in sales during week four (June 2 to June 8, 2025) with much of this impact coming from the release of Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Sales levelled out by the end of the six weeks in 2025, while in 2026, sales saw an 14% increase in sales during the last week.
Top selling titles in the top selling genres
Of the five genres, the most popular titles that Canadian readers bought during the six weeks were:
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Whistler by Ann Patchett
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune 🍁
Looking for more data on what Canadians are reading, buying, and borrowing? Visit our research page to look at our most recent reports or sign up to our weekly newsletter, eNews, for up-to-date information!
