Well, would you look at that? It’s Canada Reads time again. (Does anyone else experience the reoccurrence of particular times of year as complete and utter surprises every time? Daylight Savings Time is like that for me — whether forwards or back — the Oscars, and of course, Canada Reads. The homegrown book competition is always in the spring, but like the season itself, it seems to sneak up on me. We spend months wondering when warmer times will be upon us, and then all of a sudden they’re here. Let’s hope they stick with us. Anyway, the competition goes like this. Canadian notables choose a book penned by a Canadian writer and battle it out to declare the one ‘all Canadians should read.’ Lots of Canada for one sentence, and why not? I say. This year, VPL is marking the Canada Reads occasion with watch parties in ALL of our libraries. From April 13-16, catch four rounds of debate over four days at 10 a.m. ET on CBC YouTube channel (or Gem) and in a Vaughan library near you! If you’re not going to catch the program at the library, here’s a link to information on streaming/airing times. Each day is a knockout round where one book is eliminated until there’s only one left standing. The theme this year is “one book to build bridges.” In this time of extreme polarization, echo chambers, and ideological silos, it makes sense that’s the theme. So, let’s dive in and take a look at the books and their champions this year.