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Jian spends a couple of minutes re-introducing the panelists. They get 30 seconds to defend their book.

Simi- on Good to a Fault- “Life and literature are not always neat, tidy cute stories or ones that are larger than life. This tells the story of every day lives and that life is messy, unpredictable and precious.”

Perdita- on Fall On Your Knees- “This book deals with music and the theme of forbidden love. We talk about the dark things in this book, but we don’t talk about the love and the bright things.”

Michel on Nikolski- “Nikolski talks about two things that are very important in our era- humanity and garbage. It talks about our potential to care and to consider ourselves in the world.”

Samantha on The Jade Peony- This is a joyful, comic and tragic and painful story. The characters are richly developed and teach us something.

Rollie on Generation X- Over the course of this book, you get a glimpse into what keeps the characters and ourselves from obtaining stability. The book represents a fear of obsolescence, and the world’s obsession with media. The characters represent disenfranchised youths of the 90s, but the case can be made for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider.

Jian asked the panellists to jump in with their thoughts. Simi starts by saying that Good to a Fault is relevant and contemporary and deals with issues being faced today. Jian makes the point that only Nikolski and Good to a Fault are set in the present day.

Michel says that Nikolski talks about things that all important in our present, without making a thesis. Perdita doesn’t think of Fall On Your Knees as a historical piece and believes that all the themes and angles in the book are always relevant.

Simi retaliates by saying that none of the panellists would argue that Fall On Your Knees was not an epic novel. She believes that one of the drawbacks of choosing Fall On Your Knees is that the book is a classic and already has its place in Canadian literature but says that historical context and historical fiction does have its place. She argues that there is a lot of soul-searching in post-9/11 lit and that Good to a Fault could be included in that literature.

Rollie says he is looking for an escape when he reads. He finds Nikolski to be fun and bouncy, but didn’t care about the characters in Good to a Fault. He didn’t feel that the characters in Good to a Fault were well developed or that there was enough detail in the book.

Samantha thinks a huge amount of work goes into writing historical fiction and thinks it is important to know where you come from to know where you are going. She likes Good to a Fault but felt that sometimes she got lost in the details.

Perdita feels that Good to a Fault is stereotypical, righteous and predictable. “I couldn’t get Clara to do anything wrong, and I wanted to shake her.”

Samantha and Simi disagree.

All five panellists are asked which characters they think they will remember the longest. Samantha picks Frances from Fall On Your Knees, Perdita picks Mrs. Pell in Good to a Fault, Michel picks Frances and Clayton, the deadbeat dad in Good to a Fault. Simi picks Frances or the little girl from The Jade Peony. Rollie picks Noah from Nikolski.

Jian mentions that no one has picked characters from Generation X. Samantha argues that the characters are not the main experience of reading Generation X. Perdita reiterates her intense hatred for Generation X, and Michel agrees with her, saying he doesn’t relate to the characters and they annoy him.

Simi says that the characters in Generation X seem ungrateful. Everyone criticizes Generation X except Rollie and Samantha.

All panellists are asked which book contains writing that is the most creative or new.

Samantha and Perdita say that Nikolski is funny and humourous even though Samantha didn’t find that the book stuck with her. She really loves the writing in The Jade Peony. Simi also likes the time and characters and the playful nature of Nikolski.

Simi says that Generation X does not stand up. Rollie defends it again.

Jian asks how people feel about the worldwide success of Generation X and Fall On Your Knees and wondered if these books have had their time in the sun or whether it is time to expose them to other audiences.

Samantha says that Fall On Your Knees has had its time and feels it is time to bring attention to other books that deserve recognition.

Perdita says that she does not like this argument and that Fall On Your Knees is always relevant and does feel that it is dated.

Simi says that Fall On Your Knees is a classic and doesn’t need the help of Canada Reads.

Michel says he doesn’t think about this. He says, “We read five books and said we should declare which book is this year’s best.”

Rollie says all the books have a certain measure of success and are not obscure. The decision should come down to what book has the best content.

Michel, Samantha and Rollie all take their moments to defend their books.

And they vote one off, but we don’t find out which book it is until tomorrow.

My thoughts-

1. I do not agree at all with Rollie’s argument that there is not enough detail in Good to a Fault. I also do not agree with Perdita’s comment that Good to a Fault is predictable. Needless to say, I loved the book immensely, but I don’t agree with these two arguments, especially since many of the panellists identified characters from Good to a Fault as characters that they would remember.

2. I can see the argument that many people think that the contest should be about the best book this year. However, I’m in agreement with those who say that Fall On Your Knees has had its time in the sun.

3. Generation X is not receiving any love in this competition. The only two people who are actively defending the book are Samantha and Rollie. I predict that it will be voted off first.

4. Nikolski has received a lot more love on this day. It might stay onboard a lot longer.

5. People seem somewhat conflicted on Good to a Fault. No one seems rather conflicted on Fall On Your Knees. They all think it is an incredible work, but that it is a well known book that might not be one that Canada has to be reminded to read.

6. Not very much discussion about The Jade Peony today, except by Samantha Nutt.

7. Simi seems to be taking a very diplomatic approach to the discussions. She recommends that Canada read all five books.

Your thoughts?

I’m excited!

All the panellists are introduced and given a few minutes of fame.

Each defender is given one minute to make a pitch for their book. They all succeed in completing the challenge but there are a few things that should be noted:

• We learn that none of the books will be voted off on the first day. The first book to go will be on Day 2, and all panellists will stay in the debates for the entire week.
• Samantha Nutt defends The Jade Peony, saying “It is a beautifully crafted book that is very moving with lots of mystery and intrigue. It is a poignant, intergenerational book that teaches us something about our history as Canadians and challenges us to think differently.”
• Michel Vezina defends Nikolski by talking about the social web and network of our cities and how our relationships are getting more and more complex.Nikolski talks about the ideas of exploded families and how we have neighbours we don’t even know.
• Simi Sara talks about Good To A Fault and says that one of the reasons why people should read the novel is because they have not heard of it, and it is a lesser known book. “The book reminds us that we’re all looking for answers. Life is messy and full of change and we don’t expect it.” She says that people have probably read most of the other books and they aren’t likely to go away.
• Rollie Pemberton begins the debates by being defensive. He says that he picked Generation X because he sees it as being relevant to his life. He thinks it did a good job of studying human nature and thinks it has been punished because it is well-known.
• Perdita Felicien thinks Fall On Your Knees is multi-layered book that deals with themes of sexuality, immigration and identity. She believes these themes never really go away and that there are complex and humourous elements to the novel.
• Both Simi Sara and Samantha Nutt argue that Canada Reads is about choosing a book that they should recommend to all Canadians.

The debaters are then asked to comment another debater’s book.

• All three women were lukewarm on Nikolski and didn’t feel very satisfied by the novel, even though they all said that they liked elements of it. All three of them wanted or expected more from the book. Things are split clearly along gender lines.
• Michel Vezina says he loved Fall On Your Knees, but it took a long time for him to get into it. Rollie Pemberton thinks the book was well written but heavy. He said he would have trouble recommending it to others because it is extremely dark. Perdita comes on the defensive by saying that we don’t live in Disneyland and that the subjects in the book deserve to be talked about. Samantha also likes Fall On Your Knees and its narrative structure.
• Simi enjoys the Chinese history of The Jade Peony but feels that the book is not a novel, but three short stories that are disconnected for her. Perdita loves the narrative style and the voices of the children in the book.
• Perdita did not like Generation X and said it took her three months to read because there was no forward moving plot. She said the book did not work for her and was annoyed by the characters. Samantha likes it, and calls it a cult classic and “intensely clever.” She said it was a smart, nice read that kept her engaged. Rollie says the sentiment of the book will always work, because it refers to a disenfranchised group in any generation. Michel and Simi think the book is dated and doesn’t relate to them. Simi says that it tried too hard to be cute and clever. Samantha thinks it’s a book that makes her laugh out loud.
• Michel did not like Good To A Fault. He liked that the book was about poor people, but felt there were too many details in the story that took him out of the book. Rollie had problems with the grammar in the book. Simi thought it was a great book because it took a story of a middle-aged woman from the prairies and makes her relatable.

(The audio then cut out on my podcast, so I can’t say anything else.)

A few comments:

1. People seem very passionate about their books and will likely vote strategically.

2. Perdita is a great debater and makes a good case for Fall On Your Knees and her other opinions.

3. It looks likely that Generation X or Nikolski may be the two first books to get the boot.

What are your thoughts?

It is now March 5th so we are officially closed for accepting more participants in this year’s Canada Reads Challenge. I know I said I need your predictions by midnight tomorrow - March 6th - but I think I can keep updating throughout the day on Sunday so you have until 9 p.m. on Sunday March 7th to tell us who you think is going to win this year. After that if I haven’t heard from you I can’t add you to this list because the debates will have started.

Here is the format I am going by for tallying up who thinks who is going to win and who wants who to win. I hope that made sense. I will use myself as an example:

Melanie in Calgary - final book count: 5
Predicted win: The Jade Peony
Favourite book: Good To A Fault

What would work best for me is if you left a comment on THIS POST telling me your Predicted and Favourite wins. That way I am not going back and forth between e-mails and comments. Plus then you have a chance to explain your choices to everyone and get the debate started.

Now on to the rest of you! I will try and keep this post at the top of the page because I will be updating it constantly. Read more

I’m going to start off by saying that I did not hate this book. However, I didn’t love it and it was a bit of a slog for me, both on my first and second reading. I’m not going to deny that there is a sheer amount of craft and a lot of value in this book, which traces the story of four generations of a family living in Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton.

Author Ann-Marie MacDonald is able to put a lot of history into the story. The history of the Lebanese on the island, the coal mines, and popular legends and activities all play a part in this book. There are a number of strong, well defined characters and MacDonald goes a great job of distinguishing and illuminating what could easily be an overwhelming cast. Her writing is dense and lush and she has strength as a storyteller. There’s one particular scene in the middle of the novel that is astonishingly and horrifically conveyed, and it’s difficult for me to get that scene out of my mind.

There is very little light in this novel; MacDonald goes past gothic sensibilities all the way to horror and bleakness.

I read the book years ago and was struck by several things on my more recent second reading. The first is the overarching power of Catholicism in this novel. The second is the Lebanese immigrant history included.

Essentially, my problem with this book is its brutality. It’s bleak and heavy and I just wanted to stop reading. Things just kept on getting worse and worse and worse. Another issue that I have with this book is its sheer length. I tend to prefer books that are around 300 pages. I know this is a selfish personal preference, but I did feel bogged down by the end of Fall On Your Knees.

I understand that many people find this book engrossing, and I think the storytelling and overall craft of this novel are excellent. However, this is not the book I will be backing during the debates.

I put off reading this book for a long time. I remembered reading it when it was first released and I didn’t really like it. A few years after that, I read it again and STILL didn’t like it. I should be honest here; I’m a long time Douglas Coupland fan. I’ve read all of his books except “All Families Are Psychotic”, which I put down when he described a lake as “lakey.” I loved “Microserfs” and “Shampoo Planet” and “Life after God” and have read all of them multiple times.

My affection for Coupland waned over time, but I continued to read everything he published. I liked some of his books (J-pod, City of Glass and Hey Nostradamus!) and was lukewarm about some of his books (”Polaroids of the Dead” and “Girlfriend in a Coma”.) So when it came to read Generation X again, I sighed, and picked up the book with resignation.

It appears that the third time is indeed a charm. Read more

Can you believe it is the first of March already? That means you have until Thursday at midnight to join the Challenge if you haven’t already (March 4th) - and until Saturday at midnight to let me know your final book count and who you predict will win this year’s Canada Reads (which can be different from who you WANT to win Canada Reads).

Do you think you will have all five books read by then? Don’t forget though - you can still play along if you don’t and will still be entered for a prize but you have to send me an e-mail by midnight on the 6th so I can get everything ready before the debates begin on the following Monday, March 8th. I will publish everyone’s predictions in an update on Monday morning before the debates begin.

I’m still undecided who I think will win or even who I want to win. So far I haven’t felt overly passionate about any of the books. I’m hoping the debates will change that.

~Melanie

Nikolski was the dark horse on my Canada Reads list, as it was the one book I hadn’t heard of or read before the announcements. It was completely off my radar, so I’m glad that Michel Vezina brought it to the table and made it a choice in this year’s debates. Hopefully, this book will find some new fans thanks to its inclusion.

I finished the book a while ago and I’m still not completely sure what I think of it. Nikolski begins with an unusual narrator and eventually introduces two central characters; Joyce and Noah. Both are slightly odd people who are drawn to Montreal. I loved the descriptions of Montreal and the areas of the city since I spent some time living there. I also loved the sheer breadth and scope of the information and themes alluded to in this book and the way that author Nicholas Dickner seems to view the world as a playing field that could be easily explored.

I’m a nomad and a trivia buff, so I loved the travelling elements and the way that Dickner was able to weave strange information and trivia into the book. There were also reoccuring themes of ocean, fish, piracy and trash and I found that all fascinating.

My problems fall mainly with the plot of the book. I’m not quite sure what I was supposed to take away, or even what the book was about. It seemed to unravel at the end. Maybe I’m dense? Maybe I don’t get it?

Other reviewers have called this book “quirky” and I’d have to agree. At times, it felt to me like the book was trying to hard to be overly quirky or tongue in cheek. The book, although somewhat charming, is not one that I am rushing to recommend to others, and it did not really resonate with me.

This was my second time reading “Good to a fault”. I originally read it for a review for Edmonton’s Vue Weekly and then I had to really savour it, study it and figure out what I was going to write for the long review for the publication.

“Good to a fault” is much stronger on its first reading. The element of suspense works in the novel works well. I knew that at any minute, a precarious situation might break into shards and unravel. The novel’s themes are about goodness and human kindness. What do we owe to others? When are we being good to others altruistically, and when and why do we do things that ultimately benefit ourselves? The novel literally starts with a bang, when 43-year-old Clara Purdy hits a car in an intersection in Saskatoon. The family inside is bound for Fort McMurray and have been living inside their car. At the hospital, the mother of the family is diagnosed with a form of cancer. Desperate to help, Clara opens her home to the other family members. What I love about this novel is how it caresses and portrays the smallest details. The characters are three-dimensional and the outcome of the story could go either way. There’s a lot of morality in this novel, and a Christian theme, which is present without being overly heavy. Characters are flawed and seem like real people. I also love the sheer number and range of characters and how easy it was for me to picture certain scenes in my head. I’m always scared of being too specific and spoiling people in reviews so I’ll just say that the scene in which a cake hits the floor was vivid and nervewracking for me on my first reading of this book.

Endicott’s writing reminds of Carol Shields, a writer whose work I love and admire. I love the domestic nature of this novel; its quiet nuances and its small movements. I love that it’s set in my hometown of Saskatoon, a city that’s not often depicted in fiction, especially not with this care and grace. The novel was best on my first reading, as I was so tense and tied up in the plot and what was about to happen. On the second reading, it was still enjoyable, but lacked the sense of urgency. On this reading, I paid more attention to Endicott’s craft and the way in which she tells the story. This was good, but not as much fun as being stressed out by all that the characters stand to lose in the story. I’m interested to see what people say about this book during the debates.

Two weeks until the debates begin! How are you doing? For those of you who recently sent me a note wondering where your status update went please check the Challenge page and make sure you are up to date because believe me, I’m not skipping you on purpose. My husband and daughter decided to turn our apartment into a vomitorium last week - and then the little one got sick with a raging fever - and, well, life as I knew it quickly flew out the window.

After weeks of suffering through it I gave myself permission to not finish Fall On Your Knees. Like I said before, it is well written but maybe it is too well written because there are certain scenes that I can’t get out of my mind and at this stage in my life it was just too emotionally draining. Besides, I have read it before and know how it ends - it was the relieving what Piper was doing to his girls that was causing me so much stress. In fact, my husband was the first one to suggest I give myself a break and stop reading so I was obviously troubled by it even when I wasn’t reading it. Anyone else have this problem?

Have you heard about Civilian Reads? A fun project for Canada Reads by the gang at The Keeping It Real Book Club.

Mojgan at Something Lemon believes Hot Cocoa makes everything better in connection with Fall On Your Knees.

Sara at Read And Bead is disappointed with The Jade Peony.

Anyone starting to feel the time crunch? Even though I only have one book to finish I will admit that I am. I can’t seem to get through Fall On Your Knees with any sense of urgency (I’ve been reading it for weeks) - to be honest, I’m finding it a really hard read this time. Yes, it is well written but it is so bleak that I can’t get through much of it before I need to go and do something happy - like play with my daughter and make sure that she is okay. If you are reading it or have read it you will know what I am talking about.

I’m also behind on the updating because we were away and then little Miss & I got the Norwalk virus (which sounds bad but is way better than getting H1N1 but involves a lot of vomiting). Hopefully I can catch up on everything this week.

Our total number of participants now stands at 36 - and we now have three guys!

Monica over at Monniblog talks Nikolski.

The Jade Peony inspires Mogjan at Something Lemon to make bacon ice cream. (Which to a bacon hater like myself sounds like the grossest thing ever but I’m sure bacon lovers everywhere are going to want to try it.)

Jen over at the Keeping It Real Book Club found that the relevancy of Generation X did not have an expiry date.

Charlotte at Inklings compares Good To A Fault to a Canada Reads Independently selection Hair Hat calling them affectionately: “the two books starring a lot of people I hate.”

Sara at Read And Bead found something lacking in Nikolski.

Hopefully I have the Challenge page fully updated. Leave a comment or send me a note if you haven’t updated in a while.

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