The Canada Reads 2014 competition, led by Jian Ghomeshi, took place this week. If you are interested, here is a quick sum-up. The theme this year was to find the one book that could change Canada as a nation.
The Contenders:
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood, defended by Stephen Lewis
Cockroach by Rawi Hage, defended by Samantha Bee
The Orenda by Joseph Boyden, defended by Wab Kinew
Annabel by Kathleen Winter, defended by Sarah Gadon
Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan, defended by Donovan Bailey
Day One: The first book to be voted out of the competition was Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood, which was a disappointment for me. I was hoping it would go a bit further.
Day Two: Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan was voted out today. This was a good book, but I didn’t feel like the themes of the book were very relevant to this year’s competition.
Day Three: I expected to see Cockroach voted off today, but, instead it was Annabel by Kathleen Winter. I loved this book, so it was a little disappointing, but Samantha B. did such a passionate job defending Cockroach, that I have been somewhat swayed.
Day Four: The winner of Canada Reads 2014 is The Orenda by Joseph Boyden, which makes me very happy. I loved this book! Please go read this book, and all the others while you’re at it!
There were so many good and important things said around the panel during these debates, and it was so interesting and fun to listen to. If you are interested in seeing any or all of these debates, you can check them out here.
I loved what Stephen Lewis had to say about Canadians and Canada Reads. I loved Wab’s defense of the torture scenes in The Orenda. I loved how passionate Sam B. got about her book, Cockroach. I loved Donovan’s final remarks (Q&A Day 4) about the passion of readers and how he felt about being a Canada Reads panelist. And I loved what Stephen said about understanding the past being the key to changing the future. Go watch it!
Consumed by Ink 
What an interesting competition! I’ll have to check out Orenda and the others.
The competition is so much fun, and different every year. I’m already wondering about next year! The Orenda was my favourite out of the 5 – you should definitely check it out! I also think you would like Annabel.
I started watching the live stream on Day 1, but it kept cutting out and I never tried again. I have a hold on The Orenda that will probably takes months to come in, but I will probably try to read Annabel in the meantime.
It was cutting out on me too, so I switched to the radio. Then I watched the re-play later. I do like watching it better than listening, but it takes time to watch the whole thing. Annabel was very good, and not too long. I’m happy I read The Orenda before everyone else wanted it!