This will be my last Canada Reads post of the season and will include some other interesting details from the week that did not make it into other blog posts but are interesting to share:
- Measha had the spines cut off her books and had them coil bound so that the pages would lie flat when opened (like she does for her music scores). This would make it much easier to read in bed but sure would not be appealing on the bookshelf!
- Host Ali said that 1.6 million people tuned in on Day 2 – wow! great to have so many Canadian’s talking about CanLit!!! Perhaps some of the controversy and aggressive styles paid off in getting more Canadians involved!
- This is Measha’s second time defending a book for Canada Reads. In 2004 she defended For the Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro and was the first book
voted off. - One of Candy’s favourite meals is moose meat poutine (I wonder where one would find that on the menu?)
- The first time that Measha picked up Fifteen Dogs she did not finish it.
- Jody’s mom provided him with notes about the books and is a super fan of Canada Reads.
- Humble was hoping that the winner would get to keep the table!
- Measha dedicated a lullaby, which she sang at her concert in Kingston Wednesday night, to Chantal’s son who remained in hospital for the entire week of Canada Reads. Sending positive vibes his way!
- Jody referred to the “crappy poetry” in Fifteen Dogs – there is a hidden gem in each of the poems. I did not realize this until I got to the end of this book and it made me want to reread and appreciate the poems even more!
- Humble the Poet owes Candy a poem – perhaps for her 50th birthday!
- Humble felt like a “kid at school who didn’t do his homework” as he tried to answer questions that he had not prepared for.
- Candy never mixes alcohol with books.
- Jody was taken aback by how personally some of his book criticisms were taken and “had a hard time processing being personally attacked”.
- Andre Alexis did not watch Canada Reads but is planning to have the show edited so he can watch Humble’s parts
I hope followers of A Year of Books have enjoyed the Canada Reads posts and will read and enjoy the terrific authors that Canada has to offer (please feel free to comment below on the Canada Reads books that you read)! My thanks to CBC for hosting such a fantastic event and to my friends Kim, May, Allison and Kristen who shared a fun day in Toronto. Here’s looking forward to Canada Reads 2018!!!
A Year of Books 
awesome posts!
Re Andre wanting just Humble’s parts to view, that really would take away from the whole thing, don’t you think? or is it an author ego thing? “No, i just want to hear what you said about my book, i don’t care about anyone else’s or about the actual competition”, that’s how it comes across to me.
I noticed Measha’s spiral bound books and there were loads of postit tags in them too.
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Thanks Diane – it has been so fun following the posts and writing about Canada Reads – sure will be quiet this coming week! I am not sure, he did not seem to have a lot of ego. At our quick meeting he seemed humble (lol), quiet and like a gentleman but who knows??? Measha took her role very seriously and was very prepared!
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I watched something before Canada Reads (I wish I could tell you exactly what it was, but I think it was a link connected to Canada Reads) that was a short clip of Andre Alexis talking about whether or not he planned to watch the show or not, and why. I also can’t exactly remember his answer, but it made sense to me, and didn’t sound arrogant. I think he’s genuinely interested in Humble’s opinion and perspective of his book, but yet thinks hearing the whole thing might be painful. It would certainly be nerve-wracking to listen to others debate your book!
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I think that he is very gentle and perhaps struggles with all of the attention. He strikes me as a guy who lives a quiet life. He was very soft spoken and seemed almost uncomfortable with the attention after the show ended on Thursday. 🙂
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I loved your posts, Susan! And 1.6 million people is pretty impressive, isn’t it?
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Thanks for the feedback!! I hope that they were not too much but I couldn’t help sharing the experience as it was SO MUCH fun!
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I totally get it! I added short updates to my own Canada Reads post, even though I know most people won’t go back and read them. But I still wanted to write them for myself. 🙂
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