Canada Reads: Day One

Today was the first of three days of debates for Canada Reads! It was hosted by Q's Jian Ghomeshi.

The top five books were picked in November. They are:
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis (defended by Ali Velshi),
The Birth House by Ami McKay (defended by Debbie Travis),
The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou (defended by Georges Laraque),
Unless by Carol Shields (defended by Lorne Cardinal),
and, my personal favourite, Essex County by Jeff Lemire (defended by Sara Quin).


Essex County was my top choice. The author lives in my neighbourhood and he comes into the coffee shop where I work, so I feel the need to cheer him on. But it is an amazing graphic novel. It doesn't have many words, but the drawings are spectacular. Yes, they are quite simple, but so much is shown through the characters' minute changes in facial expression. It is a sad, powerful, novel. (And yes, "cartoons" count as novels. There is a huge difference between a cartoon and a thoughtful, in-depth graphic novel.)

Not only did I love the book itself, but Sara Quin was defending it, and I love her. She is half of the musical duo Tegan and Sara. I love them! Love, love, love them! I have most of their CDs (I haven't bought the new one. I'm a little behind in my CD purchasing.) I saw them perform live at Danforth Music Hall a couple years ago. They had great stage banter. Highly amusing.

Sara did a great job at defending Lemire's novel. She had very good arguments, resolute but sound opinions, and she spoke eloquently. She had a lot of punch behind what she said, but she didn't have to swing her arms around or point her finger at people (*ahem* Ali Velshi).

I think Essex County was the first to be voted off because the older generation isn't actually as open minded to a new form of novel as they think they are. Sara and the audience were all of a younger generation, while the rest of the panelists were older. They weren't much older, but there was a definite generational gap.

After the broadcast stopped, the audience got their chance to speak. The majority of the audience was in support of Lemire's novel, and they vehemently defended the book. Several audience members also spoke up, and the panelists looked a little taken aback that everyone was ganging up on them.

Yes, they may have been told to pick the "essential Canadian novel," but they barely gave this newer form of book a chance. They may be hoping for a novel that could change the way Canadians think about reading, but they voted off the only book that is different from the others, the only novel that was a change itself.