The St. Albert Public Library is going to put Canada’s national broadcaster to shame with its own version of the big book debate. The library is hosting five local bibliophiles to argue the winner of this year’s Canada Reads, a professional yet somewhat informal contest that pits book against book where only one can reign supreme at the end.
This year, CBC’s version of Canada Reads will feature arguments variously in favour of Lawrence Hill's The Illegal, Anita Rau Badami's The Hero's Walk, Tracie Lindberg's Birdie, Michael Winter's Minister Without Portfolio, and Saleema Nawaz's Bone & Bread as proposed by such literary luminaries as Adam Copeland, Clara Hughes, Bruce Poon, Farah Mohamed, and Vinay Virmani. Starting next Monday, that debate extends over four days and will be broadcast over radio and TV.
Adult programming librarian Michelle Steinhusen said that they initially toyed with the concept of simply screening the televised debate for library patrons and book lovers to enjoy. Then they realized how much more fun they could have if they took it one step further.
“We started thinking, ‘what if we actually did our own?’ That’s what we ended up coming up with. It’s the same books but we’re getting local celebrities to defend the books,” she stated.
Here in St. Albert, the library will host community panelists Coun. Cathy Heron, author and Metro Writer in Residence Marty Chan, Paul Kane High School teacher Paul Shamchuk, Friends of the Library president Valerie Spink, and horticulturalist Jim Hole to take on the task of a friendly but fierce book battle royale to decide what Canada’s Next Great Read should be while using the theme of Starting Over.
Steinhusen herself will be the moderator.
CBC’s Canada Reads will still take place from March 21 to 24. It will be livestreamed on TV for people to enjoy at the library.
With the theme of Starting Over, each book’s proponent will have to demonstrate their rhetorical prowess and oratorical mastery in order to win over the crowd. For his part in defending Minister Without Portfolio, Chan said that his job should be pretty easy since author Winter is one of the gods in this country’s pantheon of great writers, at least in his mind.
“All I'll say is this: if you want to knock the Canadian Ernest Hemingway off his throne, you'd better bring your 'eh' game,” he gibed, mockingly.
Spink was somewhat more cautious in her initial statement regarding A Hero’s Walk.
“There is no doubt that it is head and shoulders above the other four books in the ‘starting over’ department. It has characters we can both like and dislike, humour and redemption. Every person we meet in this book is heroic in some way,” she said, before dropping the mike with an added zinger, “I am sure, you won’t see that type of character development in the other four books. So, it is A Hero’s Walk that wins hands down.”
Hole suggested that his book The Illegal should be champ without a doubt.
“I know it’s going to win for sure.”
For those who want to study up on the contenders, Steinhusen suggested that people check out the library’s blog at www.saplreadersblog.com. There, people can also offer put down their votes in the online poll before Friday’s wrestling match of words.
What will Canada’s Next Great Read be? Takes place on Friday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Forsyth Hall on the library’s main floor. The event is free but people are asked to pre-register as seating is limited.
