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.
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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 will run from February 21 to 25, 2005.
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 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 donates a portion of sales proceeds 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. It was broadcast from March 29 to April 2 on La Première Chaîne.
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.
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 soprano Measha Brueggergosman
- 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.
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 (translated 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 Nancy Lee
The winning title was The Last Crossing by Guy Vanderhaeghe.
Canada Reads 2005
Canada Reads 2005 will be broadcast from February 21 to 25, 2005.
CBC Radio host Bill Richardson will again be the moderator.
The books selected for Canada Reads 2005 and their respective champions are:
- Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen, championed by singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright
- 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 will be announced on Friday, February 25, 2005.
Le combat des livres
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 social activist 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.
External links
- Canada Reads web site
- Le combat des livres at Radio-Canada (in French)
- Canada Reads 2005 at Indigo Books
