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.

First on the list alphabetically is Billy-Ray Belcourt’s A Minor Chorus. A name with increasing recognition in the Canadian literary scene, Belcourt has been garnering steady acclaim for his previously published works, including a poetry collection, memoir, and short story collection. Running through all of them is an exploration and representation of Indigeneity in Canada. A Minor Chorus zeroes in on Northern Alberta, which becomes the backdrop to the story. An anonymous narrator leaves the academic, postgraduate existence (and his degree), returning to the Cree Nation from whence he came. Queerness also plays a major role in Belcourt’s books. Another artist, from the film world, chose his work to champion in the competition — Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. The specificity of Belcourt’s Alberta resonated with Tailfeathers, familiar with the province herself as part of the Kainai First Nation (Blackfoot Confederacy) in Southern Alberta. She’s also Sámi — an Indigenous group of Sápmi (Northern Europe, including parts of Norway, Sweden, and Finland). Acting, directing, producing, and writing her own projects — her debut picture (available on CBC Gem here) not so coincidentally named after Belcourt’s essay The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open — she feels, in her own words, “kinship” between them. I’m interested to hear how she advocates for the novel during the debates.

Second up is one of those sports books I’m always hearing about. Searching for Terry Punchout is by Tyler Hellard. If you couldn’t tell by that opener, this may be the one I’m least likely to pick up. Hockey in particular is just not my sport. Sorry fans of The Good Old Game. Championing the novel in the competition, sports podcast czar, writer, and YouTuber Steve “Dangle” Glynn says that hockey is just a way into the universal story of disconnected family. A failing sports writer sets his sights on an interview with an infamous hockey goon (who just happens to be his father) to rescue what’s left of his career. Seeing his family with older, wiser eyes, he starts to appreciate them for all their complexity. To be fair, that doesn’t sound too bad, especially since I love the darkly comedic, Goon movies starring Seann William Scott and directed by Michael Dowse. Homegrown, Canadian film fare that, again, doesn’t have much to do with the sport and everything to do with dysfunctional relationships. Hmm, maybe this one does sound appealing after all.

To be honest, this third book is the one I’m most intrigued by, especially the way self-professed “one half of Tegan and Sara” band member Tegan Quin describes it. In the video of the Canada Reads rivals introducing their picks on CBC’s Commotion, Quin says her partner calls it “Heated Rivalry if Heated Rivalry was set during The Second World War and wasn’t about hockey.” What more can you ask for, right? The trans protagonist of The Cure for Drowning is Kit McNair. With Celtic influences and fantasy elements, there’s a lot that’s intriguing about non-binary author Loghan Paylor’s debut novel. Must be an exciting way to start off in the novel business, no? The impetus for the story came from the author’s own experience feeling alone and invisible. As a gender non-conforming young person, there were no narratives with non-binary or trans protagonists around to look to, to identify with. A passion for history, a job as a historical reenactor in BC, and an incredible bit of family history all led to the novel’s World War Two setting. I’m very intrigued by this one. In line for it as we speak.

The themes of the fourth finalist for Canada Reads are a little more ambiguous and distinctly sci-fi related. It’s called Foe by Iain Reid. In a post-apocalyptic landscape of sorts, one couple survives on a remote farm with only each other. Then, one day an unknown figure arrives, informing Junior and Henrietta that the former will have to accompany them elsewhere, unwittingly recruited to a science experiment. Henrietta — or Hen for short — won’t have to go it alone, however. The stranger has thought of that too. According to the author, he was influenced by artificial intelligence and technology, but also the dynamics within couples. It’s all very mysterious, so I would be interested to hear what Canada Reads advocate, Broadway actor (Aladdin) and children’s television host (Blue’s Clues & You!) Josh Dela Cruz thinks of it. As someone familiar with scripts and the thee-a-tre, reading the dystopian novel reminded him of seeing a play — making him want to fight for Foe to win the top prize.

If I may, I’d like to pause here to introduce a concept dear to my heart for what will remain enigmatic reasons. It’s called nominative determinism. Rightly brought up by host Elamin Abdelmahmoud in the Commotion interview mentioned above, you can’t talk about a BookToker named Morgann Book without talking about nominative determinism. Essentially, it means your name dictates what you will end up doing, being, becoming. In this case, it would suggest that a last name like Book inevitably results in an interest in reading. Who knows what kinds of things can influence us, but for this BookToker with over two million followers on the TikTok platform, there’s no doubt literature is a passion. Although she started out bringing viewers a behind-the-scenes look at ice milk cake decorating in her family’s Dairy Queen, she now gets folks to engage with their algorithms by posting book talks, news from the industry, and short reviews. Success has led to a production company called Bookish Media that does what it says on the tin. On top of an interview podcast where she interviews writers about their works, she’s following in the footsteps of her mentor Reese Witherspoon and looking to produce adaptations. Her pick for Canada Reads is a true piece of romance fiction. Another debut book, this one holds out hope for all the ‘second chance romance’ believers out there. Author Joss Richard is originally from Toronto, now based in LA. Aiming to write the story she wanted to see in the world, the leads of It’s Different This Time discover the feelings they once had as roommates in a New York brownstone never fully went away. Sounds like a great choice for fans of simmering romantic tension.

Check out the full longlist here to see what books were shut out of the fun this year. I’ve also included the list one of my colleagues made in our catalogue of all the shortlisted books and most of the longlisted books currently available in our collection. There may be gems languishing in the dark there. And I hope to see you in one of our libraries’ lobbies for the debates starting soon. Until then, happy reading!