What Do You Think of the Debates?

Let's talk about the debates. What did you think of the panelists? Were you surprised at the result of the vote? There will be spoilers here, so read at your own risk!

I was impressed by Jody's defense of Nostalgia...he made the case very well and related it to issues the world is dealing with today.

I was surprised by the result of the vote...but that's what makes Canada Reads so exciting.

I was surprised at today's result, as well (though I'm not sure it's one I'll read!).

Was it my imagination, or did no one have anything good to say about any of the books that weren't their own? I don't like that.

In some previous years, they would ask a question and get people to talk a bit about a book (in a positive way) that wasn't their own. That is, not including your book, which book best did this...? I liked that way to do it.

Just note that I don't read the books ahead of time (on purpose, anyway!). I listen to the debates, then decide which ones I want to read.

At this point, there might only be two of the five books I'm interested in. Though I won't decide for sure until the end.

Reading your questions and comments, I realize I must have not been very involved when I listened. My impressions were all rather high level -- maybe because I'm not invested this year -- I don't really know any of the participants (books, authors, presenters). It all seemed very, very low key. I know there were years when I thought it was too much fire and flash, and other years when I thought it was just one hearth bleeding over an other bleeding heart, but this year it felt like no one cared about the books all that much. I just like a good book discussion.

I'm sure I just wasn't listening properly. (Sorry, too much life going on in my head right now)

Day Two started as a love in, but didn't continue that way. I'm surprised, though, that Company Town is still there!

In the on-line Q&A session after the debates, Jody Mitic made a stronger case for Nostalgia than he had during the official debate...could he have saved it?

Anyway, the two books I actually liked are gone. So far, no one's voted for the same book twice, so it will be interesting to see who wins.....anyone care to make a prediction?

>5 LynnB: And I am fine with the two that are gone (at least for what I'm interested in reading!). :-)

Company Town is one that sounds interesting to me, as does The Right to be Cold

It is interesting how much the debates are swaying the votes. I often wonder how much of the debates do that vs. how much their minds are made up already.

>6 LibraryCin: Company Town does sound good.

I linked into Company Town to see what it was about. The tags had me laughing. Serial killer, science fiction, Newfoundland, sex workers, cyberpunk, mystery - no book I've seen has all those words to describe it!

Awwwwww, the one I think is one to read "right now" just got voted out today. :-(

I was going to comment, whether it continued on or not, that I don't think Chantal is doing a great job at defending The Right to be Cold. Maybe it's just me?

>9 LibraryCin: Oh, I agree. Maybe she's distracted by her family problems, so I don't want to be too hard on her. But I feel like she's all arrogance and not being persuasive at all. I won't be surprised if she bows out at this point.

Chantal is facing the added problem of not being in the room. They said on Day One that the other panelists can see her, but she can't see them. That alone puts her at a disadvantage.

Company Town, in my opinion, is flawed. The plot makes no sense. The young heir is getting death threats from the future....a future that is better if he lives. I just didn't get it. And, didn't care enough to re-read sections to see if I'd missed something.

Fifteen Dogs is a good idea but poorly executed...the themes Humble describes are all there, but didn't come out strongly.

I sure wish Jody's comments about being forced to re-invent his life had been made during the debate, rather than at the Q&A. I think it would have saved Nostalgia.

Does anyone know what M.G. Vassanji said that offended Candy Palmeter?

>11 LynnB: Yes, I did wonder about the not being in the room and with the slight delay, that is tougher. I don't like being hard on her with her added family issues, either, but I agree that >10 Nickelini: arrogant is a good word for how she came off (unfortunately! I really wanted that book to win!).

I don't get to listen "live" and go to the website when I get home to watch/listen in the evenings. When I went to the website tonight, there were two headlines/links and the first one announced the winner! The one beside it to the right was to listen to today's debate. I hate spoilers!!!

However, although I love animals, I'm not convinced I want to read Fifteen Dogs, but I do think Humble did a good job defending it.

I've just watched and listened to a bit of Canada Reads. I was read Fifteen Dogs last autumn, as well as The Break and I really wanted The Break to win. Oh well. Fifteen Dogs was a 4 star read for me, but I think I was being a bit generous. I love dogs too, but a lot of these dogs sure had behavioural problems. :)

I agree , Lynn B, that the themes that Humble described are there, but it did not come through strongly in the book.

>12 LibraryCin: I listen in the evenings too, but I either downloaded the podcast, or got to it off of YouTube, so I avoided spoilers. Not surprised about the winner, really.

I thought Measha did the best job persuading. I don't think I actually want to read Company Town, but she sure made it sound good.

Still on the fence about whether I want to read Fifteen Dogs or not. It's short, so if a copy falls in my lap I think I will.

For a while, I feared Company Town might win. I say "feared" because I think there's a serious plot flaw where the death threats from the future make no sense. But no one raised that in the debate, and I'm not a SF reader, so maybe it's just me???

Measha did a great job defending it, and I was intrigued by an opera singer defending that kind of book...a different twist on the diversity of Canada, eh?

Yes, CBC needs to do something about spoilers! They announced the winners on the 6 p.m. radio news and I know many people who would not have yet heard the debate....which CBC radio re-ran at 8 p.m. itself....and promoted as "find out which book...."

As I perused Twitter, I saw that Canada Reads was sharing the winning book itself, but "CBC Books" shared a generic photo, with a message to click to hear who won, or something along those lines, which was much better than Canada Reads itself.

I specifically avoided coming here until I was done. :-)

If they just held off until the next day, at least, that would be nice!

I have still only read Fifteen Dogs but I did listen to all the podcasts. I thought Humble did the best persuading so I was happy that Fifteen Dogs won but I may have to reread it to say why it fits the theme. I was really annoyed by Chantal but had to keep reminding myself that she was at a disadvantage and her mind was obviously divided. I would love for her to be invited back next year to do it again.

I have e-copies of Company Town and The Break so I will try to get to them in the near future. I am curious about both.