March Reading Challenge: Read a book that has won or been nominated for Canada Reads

Canada Reads will be taking place at the end of this month! CBC’s Canada Reads is a battle of the books, where prominent Canadian personalities and citizens ‘defend’ and discuss some amazing Canadian books, all of which have been chosen to meet a specific theme.

This year’s theme is “One Book to Connect Us”. Given the past two years of isolation, this theme resonates strongly, and all of the books nominated this year will speak to this important theme. The book topics range from residential school survivors living in Vancouver, to the story of a Toronto community that grapples with poverty and crime (and has recently been adapted into a critically-acclaimed movie), to a novel that tells the story of the global refugee crisis through the eyes of two children – among others.

I distinctly remember following along with Canada Reads in 2020, when it had been postponed from March to July due to COVID-19. It was my first year watching/listening to the debates, and that collective experience definitely made me feel more connected to other readers across Canada, even though that’s not what the theme was! I’m very much looking forward to the discussion this year about how these books will help connect Canadians, especially since many of the choices this year explicitly focus on marginalized communities.

Given the popularity of Canada Reads, you can expect to see very long waitlists for the current nominees. Some of them (like Scarborough!) are available to borrow instantly on Hoopla. But this month’s reading challenge is to read a book that has won or been nominated for Canada Reads for any year, not just this year, so this is a great chance to check out some of the previous years – like this list or blog post for 2021. The list of nominees for 2022 also includes some of the titles that were longlisted, many of which do not have many holds on them either.

Here’s a small selection of some standouts from Canada Reads over the years that are available right now.

Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson. This is the first book in a trilogy (with the last book in the trilogy having been published last year). The main character, Jared, will stick with you for a long time – he’s 16 and he has his issues (with his family, and with easy access to drugs and alcohol) and he has a total heart of gold – the kind of kid who everyone in his community relies on. His life gets more complicated when he learns he can communicate with ravens, and it seems his heritage isn’t as straightforward as it once seemed. This was nominated for Canada Reads in 2020.

American War by Omar El Akkad. Omar El Akkad is also the author of What Strange Paradise, nominated for Canada Reads this year and also the winner of the 2021 Giller Prize. In this debut novel which was nominated for Canada Reads in 2018, a second Civil War has broken out in the United States over fossil fuels and climate change, and refugee camps have been set up for Americans caught between the North and South.

The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk. This Canada Reads 2021 nominee will sweep you into a world of magic and fantasy. Beatrice Clayborn has ambitions to be a great Sorceress, but her family instead plans to marry her off for greater riches – which would mean cutting Beatrice off from her powers, as all women who marry must consent to wearing a collar that blocks women from access to their magic.

Something Fierce by Carmen Aguirre. For a true backlist recommendation, look at some of the nominees and winners from over 10 years ago. The debate around Something Fierce (which ended up winning Canada Reads 2012) made headlines when one of the panelists accused Aguirre of being a ‘bloody terrorist’. According to this interview with Something Fierce’s defender, the musician Shad, that panelist ended up voting for Something Fierce to win in the end – which speaks to the importance of the debate Canada Reads encourages. Something Fierce is Aguirre’s memoir about her life growing up as the daughter of a Chilean revolutionary during Pinochet’s regime, and her own decision to join the resistance as well.

In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje. This was the very first Canada Reads winner, but would have been a Canadian classic even without this superlative. Ondaatje’s lyrical and poetic novel is about Toronto in the early 20^th century, and the immigrants and labourers who made it into the recognizable city it is now. It can also be read as the predecessor to The English Patient, as several of the characters appear in both novels.

February Challenge: Read a Book by a Black Canadian author.

Given that February is Black History Month, this challenge seems particularly salient to debut this month. During Black History Month, we celebrate the legacy and the daily contributions that Black Canadians have made to society – today and every day. However, these contributions are not always recognized appropriately or equally. For instance, only 11% of books published in the year 2018 were by people of colour (Just How White Is the Book Industry? – The New York Times). Marginalized voices are often left out of high-profile articles and profiles, which impacts their sales figures, and therefore their likelihood of being signed to a publisher in the first place.

But most of us, I’m assuming, aren’t in positions of power where we can impose change. What we can do is, with our reading habits and our choices, make a concerted effort to support these authors – and hope that makes a statement publishers will notice.

With that in mind, the challenge for this month will be: Read a book by a Black Canadian author.

The blog post called February and Forever: Reads for Black History Month has some excellent choices, as does this book list. Here are a few more for you to consider:

Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi

This Canada Reads 2021 finalist was critically acclaimed almost from release date. This is an interwoven story of three Nigerian women – mother Kambirinachi and her daughters, who are twins. Before giving birth to her daughters, Kambirinachi believes herself to be a malevolent spirit who will cause her family misery. Her daughter Kehinde experiences a traumatic event in her youth, which splinters the family, and so the rest of the story spans three continents, taking place in Lagos, Halifax, London and France.

What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J. A. Chancy

This is a very personal look at the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and its impact on many different characters throughout this novel. Myriam Chancy did years of research and interviews with survivors of the earthquake, and the results are evident in this searing novel. While natural disasters like this one often dominate the news and headlines, personal stories of those affected, and how they coped and recovered afterwards, are not generally told – which is what makes this story so powerful.

Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia

Now that we’re cycling into the 2020s, there’s been a lot of interest in the ‘Roaring 20s’ – it’s such a rich time for fashion, culture, and prosperity, and I know there have been some hopes that the 2020s will follow the same trajectory. One key event that doesn’t always see the same coverage is the Harlem Renaissance – a time that is considered a golden age for African American culture, arts, and politics. And the Harlem Renaissance is the setting of the mystery novel Dead Dead Girls by Canadian author Nekesa Afia. In here, a young woman is arrested at a speakeasy she often dances at, but is given the opportunity to avoid jail by helping the police solve the murder of several local girls.

The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter

This is an epic new fantasy series that is also partially inspired by Xhosa culture and history. In this world, some women have the gift to call down dragons, and some men have the gift to transform into super soldiers – and both of these gifts are used in an unwinnable war the Omehi people have been fighting for centuries. But Tau has neither – and no desire to get involved in this war. But when the people closest to him are brutally murdered, he dedicated himself to becoming the greatest warrior his people have known – gift or no gift.

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And for more recommendations, check out this Bibliocommons list: VaughanPL: Reading Challenges 2022: Read a Book by a Black Canadian Author.

2022 Reading Challenges:

January: Read a book that brings you joy or makes you laugh.

February: Read a book by a Black Canadian author.