I must confess that I have traditionally been a big fan of Canada Reads. My shelves are lined with the books selected in previous years (most to be read, as is the case with most of my Canadian fiction—I am a horrible patriot), and I have absorbed the podcast radio archives of the biggest Canadian book debate when I'm looking for easy listening. It was corny and light. If one honest you really could just get the reading list and work your way through them without all the drama. Still is scratched that hard to reach Canadian itch.
Today was the first day of the 2011 Canada Reads that was filmed for television. I don't know if this transition was the cause but the show really seems pretty flat so far and the conclusion of the first day of voting was quite disappointing (voting down a graphic novel for some really lame reasons). The panelists are remarkably conservative and didn't hide the fact their minds were already made up prior to appear on television. It doesn't really feel like a serious book discussion with any hope of insight. It felt very rushed. The audience was a bit of a surprise and I'm not convinced that improved the show.
Maybe people are right when they say that more articulate people (in the sense of discussing books) need to be on the show. The cliques were quite thick this time around. I also hate the "kid's don't read". I would argue the old don't read and when they do, it is comfortable reading.
I will wait to see what happens, but I think we are going to end up with a typical older generation Canadian novel this year. No upset. I bit disappointing.
S
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