Canada Reads
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Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC.
[edit] Overview
During Canada Reads, five personalities champion five different books, each champion extolling the merits of one of the titles over a series of five programs. At the end of each episode, the panelists vote one title "off the island" until only one book remains. This book is then billed as the book that all of Canada should read.
Canada Reads was first broadcast on CBC's Radio One in 2002; since its third edition it has been broadcast on Radio One and on television on CBC Newsworld. The fourth edition of Canada Reads ran from February 21 to 25, 2005. The fifth edition was broadcast from April 17 to 21, 2006, but only on Radio One.
The candidate books for each edition of Canada Reads are announced several months before the programs are broadcast. They are then promoted in bookstores, in the hope that the listening and viewing public will purchase and read them all before the programs air. In some cases, publishers have published special editions of the nominated titles. The publisher of the final Canada Reads title makes a donation to charity. In 2005 this a portion of sales proceeds of the winning book went to The Movement for Canadian Literacy.
Radio-Canada, the French-language service of CBC, produced a French version of Canada Reads in 2004 entitled Le combat des livres ("Battle of the books"), broadcast from March 29 to April 2 on La Première Chaîne. Another edition was broadcast from March 14 to March 18, 2005.
[edit] Canada Reads 2002
Canada Reads 2002 aired from April 16 to 19, 2002. The winning title was announced on April 23, 2002, Canada Book Day.
Mary Walsh was the moderator.
The books selected for Canada Reads 2002 and their respective champions were:
- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, championed by actor Megan Follows
- In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje, championed by Steven Page
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, championed by former Prime Minister Kim Campbell
- The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence, championed by Leon Rooke
- Whylah Falls by George Elliott Clarke, championed by Nalo Hopkinson
The winning title was In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje.
[edit] Canada Reads 2003
Canada Reads 2003 aired from April 21 to 25, 2003. Bill Richardson was the moderator.
The books selected for Canada Reads 2003 and their respective champions were:
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel, championed by author Nancy Lee
- Next Episode by Hubert Aquin (translation of Prochain épisode by Sheila Fischman), championed by journalist Denise Bombardier
- Sarah Binks by Paul Hiebert, championed by author Will Ferguson
- The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston, championed by educator Justin Trudeau
- The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys, championed by actor, writer and building contractor Mag Ruffman
The winning title was Next Episode by Hubert Aquin.
[edit] Canada Reads 2004
Canada Reads 2004 aired on both CBC Radio and CBC Newsworld.
Bill Richardson was the moderator.
The books selected for Canada Reads 2004 and their respective champions were:
- Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler, championed by author Zsuzsi Gartner
- Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King, championed by former mayor of Winnipeg Glen Murray
- The Heart is an Involuntary Muscle by Monique Proulx (translation of Le cœur est un muscle involontaire by Fred A. Reed and David Homel), championed by filmmaker and journalist Francine Pelletier
- The Last Crossing by Guy Vanderhaeghe, championed by musician Jim Cuddy
- The Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro, championed by soprano Measha Brueggergosman
The winning title was The Last Crossing by Guy Vanderhaeghe.
[edit] Canada Reads 2005
Canada Reads 2005 was broadcast from February 21 to 25, 2005.
CBC Radio host Bill Richardson was again the moderator.
The books selected for Canada Reads 2005 and their respective champions were:
- Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen, chosen and originally to be championed by singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright; tour commitments meant that Wainwright had to be replaced by singer Molly Johnson
- Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, championed by Olivia Chow, Toronto city councillor
- Rockbound by Frank Parker Day, championed by Donna Morrissey, author
- No Crystal Stair by Mairuth Sarsfield, championed by Olympic fencer Sherraine MacKay
- Volkswagen Blues by Jacques Poulin, translated by Sheila Fischman, championed by Roch Carrier, author and former National Librarian of Canada
The winning title was Rockbound by Frank Parker Day.
[edit] Canada Reads 2006
Canada Reads 2006 was broadcast from April 17 to 21, 2006.
CBC Radio host Bill Richardson was again the moderator.
The books selected for Canada Reads 2006 and their respective champions were:
- A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews, championed by singer-songwriter, poet and publisher John K. Samson
- Deafening by Frances Itani, championed by lawyer and author Maureen McTeer
- Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden, championed by filmmaker Nelofer Pazira
- Rooms for Rent in the Outer Planets: Selected Poems, 1962-1996 by Al Purdy, championed by poet Susan Musgrave
- Cocksure by Mordecai Richler, championed by actor and author Scott Thompson
The winning title was A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews.
[edit] Canada Reads 2007
Canada Reads 2007 aired from February 26 to March 2, 2007. Bill Richardson again moderated the competition.
For the 2007 competition, each of the five winning advocates from past series returned to champion a new title in an "all-star" edition of the series. The books chosen by the participants were revealed in late November 2006, in a series of interviews conducted by Richardson on Sounds Like Canada. The titles and champions were:
- Children of My Heart by Gabrielle Roy, championed by Denise Bombardier
- Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill, championed by John K. Samson
- Natasha and Other Stories by David Bezmozgis, championed by Steven Page
- The Song of Kahunsha by Anosh Irani, championed by Donna Morrissey
- Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor, championed by Jim Cuddy
The winning title was Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill.
[edit] Le combat des livres 2004
Radio-Canada, the French-language service of CBC, aired a French version of Canada Reads entitled Le combat des livres from March 29 to April 2, 2004. It was moderated by Marie-France Bazzo.
The books selected for Le combat des livres and their respective champions were:
- L'histoire de Pi by Yann Martel, the French version of Life of Pi, championed by singer Louise Forestier
- La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes by Gaétan Soucy, championed by filmmaker and actor Micheline Lanctôt
- Une histoire américaine by Jacques Godbout, championed by union activist Gérald Larose
- Un dimanche à la piscine à Kigali by Gil Courtemanche, championed by environmentalist and writer Laure Waridel
- La servante écarlate by Margaret Atwood, the French version of The Handmaid's Tale, championed by lawyer and professor Julius Grey
The winning title was Un dimanche à la piscine à Kigali by Gil Courtemanche.
[edit] Le combat des livres 2005
Radio-Canada, the French-language service of CBC, aired a French version of Canada Reads entitled Le combat des livres from March 14 to March 18, 2005. It was moderated by Marie-France Bazzo.
The books selected for Le combat des livres 2005 and their respective champions were:
- Dolce agonia by Nancy Huston, championed by physician and president of Médecins du monde Canada Réjean Thomas
- L'avalée des avalés by Réjean Ducharme, championed by actor Sophie Cadieux
- Thérèse et Pierrette à l'école des Saints-Anges by Michel Tremblay, championed by union activist Monique Simard
- La chair disparue by Jean-Jacques Pelletier, championed by pianist Alain Lefèvre
- À la hauteur de Grand Central Station, je me suis assise et j'ai pleuré by Elizabeth Smart, the French version of By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, championed by journalist and broadcaster Dennis Trudeau
The winning title was L'avalée des avalés by Réjean Ducharme.
[edit] Le combat des livres 2006
Radio-Canada, the French-language service of CBC, aired a French version of Canada Reads entitled Le combat des livres from January 30 to February 3, 2006. It was moderated by Marie-France Bazzo.
The books selected for Le combat des livres 2006 and their respective champions were:
- Un petit pas pour l'homme by Stéphane Dompierre, championed by comedian Louis-José Houde
- Une coquille de silence, the French-language translation of Deafening by Frances Itani, championed by lawyer and author Maureen McTeer (this is the same title that McTeer championed in Canada Reads 2006)
- Comment devenir un monstre by Jean Barbe, championed by actor Lucie Laurier
- La femme de ma vie by Francine Noël, championed by journalist Françoise Guénette
- Prochain épisode by Hubert Aquin championed by actor Pierre Lebeau (Next Episode, the English-language translation of Prochain épisode, was championed by journalist Denise Bombardier in Canada Reads 2003, where it won the competition)
The winning title was La femme de ma vie by Francine Noël.
[edit] Le combat des livres 2007
Radio-Canada, the French-language service of CBC, aired a French version of Canada Reads entitled Le combat des livres from February 26 to March 2, 2007, moderated by Christiane Charette.
The books selected for Le combat des livres 2007 and their respective champions were:
- Le poids des ombres by Marie Laberge, championed by politician Pauline Marois
- Vamp , by Christian Mistral championed by rap artist Biz
- L'iguane by Denis Thériault, championed by actor and comedian Dominique Lévesque
- D'où viens-tu berger? by Mathyas Lefebure, championed by sportswriter Robert Frosi
- The French-language version of Self by Yann Martel, championed by politician Sheila Copps
The winning title was L'iguane by Denis Thériault.
[edit] Success
As a vehicle to promote interest in reading and books and to increase sales, Canada Reads has been a signal success. Even already successful titles see increases in sales driven by their inclusion in the contest: sales of Michael Ondaatje's In The Skin of A Lion increased by 80,000 in 2002, the year of its appearance on Canada Reads. Its publisher, Random House of Canada attributed much of this increase to Canada Reads.
The success for lesser known titles can be as marked. Hubert Aquin's Next Episode sold 18,500 copies in the year when it won Canada Reads.
For the 2005 edition, sales of Jacques Poulin's Volkswagen Blues, which usually are about 200 copies a year, increased to 7,500 between the time the nominations were announced and the shows began airing. During the same period, 7000 copies of Frank Parker Day's Rockbound were shipped by its publisher, the University of Toronto Press.
[edit] Criticism
There has been some criticism of Canada Reads. First, criticism has been made of the use of "celebrity" panelists. Criticism has also been made of the game show format, and the fact that discussion of books often remained on a superficial level.
Criticism has also been made of the choice of books; originally each panelist provided a list of five books, from which the producers chose the final contenders. In 2005, this process changed, and the panelists submitted only one choice. (The fact that Molly Johnson had to step in and defend Rufus Wainwright's choice threw a spanner in the works to a certain extent.)
[edit] References
- "The great Canadian book brawl" from The Globe and Mail, Saturday, February 19, 2005, Page R7
[edit] External links
- Canada Reads web site
- Le combat des livres 2004 at Radio-Canada (in French)
- Le combat des livres 2005 at Radio-Canada (in French)
- Le combat des livres 2006 at Radio-Canada (in French)
- Le combat des livres 2007 at Radio-Canada (in French)
- Canada Reads 2005 at Indigo Books
- Canada Reads 2006 at Indigo Books
- Canada Reads 2007 at Indigo Books
