Canada Reads and so does ... Galt!

On March 15th, the Lennoxville Library hosted its 20th edition of CANADA READS… AND SO DOES LENNOXVILLE, our local version of the CBC’S Canada Reads competition. The event was MC’D by Ms. Brown, a cycle two AGRHS English teacher, who has been hosting the event since 2017.

Ms. Brown says her favourite part of the event is, “I get to learn about books I wouldn’t pick up otherwise. It’s a way to hear what other people have to say.”

Judith Munger, Galt’s beloved librarian, was a presenter for the first time at the event, defending the book Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah. She said she’s most excited about “the exchange with other people who are into books and reading something out of my comfort zone.”

Her process of analyzing the book was looking at the main character and trying to put herself in the character’s shoes, and seeing how she would react in the same situation. “It brings you to reflect outside the book. We always think we’re openminded, but we can still be biased.” She said that it’s important to see what makes you uncomfortable, in order to try and deal with it.

The event was a lively discussion amongst five local presenters, defending one of the five books chosen for the Canada Reads competition to, in the end, determine our own best book with help from the audience. The featured books are MEXICAN GOTHIC by Silvia Moreno-garcia,

STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel, DUCKS by Kate Beaton, GREENWOOD by Michael Christie and Hotline

by Dimitri Nasrallah. They were chosen by panellists under the coordination of the CBC Books team. All five books are available at the Lennoxville Library. The book the audience voted for to fit the CBC’S prompt of “a book to change your perspective” was GREENWOOD.

This year, there was a change in format, to make it more of a discussion, taking pressure off the presenters, fostering a greater exchange of ideas, and giving the audience a greater chance of interacting with the presenters.

For the last few years, more than 100 people have attended the event. Lennoxville Library coordinator Christian Collins said, “CANADA READS… AND SO DOES LENNOXVILLE has become one of our signature events here at the library that brings the community together not only to read, but to discuss and debate great books in a friendly, social atmosphere. It speaks perfectly to the role we want to play in the community.”

Mexican Gothic

SILVIA MORENO-GARCIA

Presented by Bruce Gilbert, a professor of philosophy and liberal arts at Bishop’s.

◊ 3.68 stars on

Goodreads*

A horror, thriller-style historical fiction novel about Noemí Taboada, who receives a letter from her cousin, asking Noemí

to save her from a “mysterious doom.” While Noemí doesn’t seem to be fit as a “rescuer,” being a glamorous debutante, she’s tough, smart and not afraid of her cousin’s husband and his family, or the mysterious house they live in. The house has its secrets, but Noemí might still find it “impossible” to leave it.

Greenwood Michael Christie

Presented by Curran Jacobs, from Kahnawá:ke, who works many jobs such as being a lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Bishop’s.

◊ 4.33 stars on Goodreads*

An “intricate clockwork” of a historical fiction novel that takes place through the decades, following various members of the Greenwood family. It’s a story about connections with nature and each other. It follows Jake Greenwood in 2034, a storyteller and a liar, carpenter Liam Greenwood in 2008, Willow Greenwood in 1974, finally out of jail for being in environmental protests, and Everett Greenwood in 1934, who gets caught up in a web of crime that will affect his family for generations.

Ducks

Kate Beaton

Presented by Isabelle Menard, a biology teacher, helper with the refugee sponsorship group at Champlain, and book lover.

◊ 4.5 stars on Goodreads*

A graphic memoir following Katie Beaton from a seaside town in Cape Breton. Katie heads off to Fort Mcmurray to work in a camp owned by an oil company, in hopes of paying off her student loans. She is one of few women working in the camps, and realizes trauma is a daily activity, and “her wounds may never heal.”

Station Eleven Emily St. John Mandel

Presented by Brendan Moores, an English teacher at Champlain since 2015.

◊ 4.07 stars on Goodreads*

A post-apocalyptic science fiction novel following

a Hollywood star and a nomadic group of actors moving around the Great Lakes. One night, a movie star dies onstage during a production, and the next day, the world as it was known begins to change. The book alternates from his early career to fifteen years later, when a theatre troupe “roams the wasteland of what remains.”

Hotline

Dimitri Nasrallah

Presented by Judith Munger, who’s worked in our Galt library for close to 20 years with a goal of creating a space where all ideas can be discussed respectfully. ◊ 4.27 stars on Goodreads*

A historical fiction novel taking place in the year 1986. Muna Heddad and her son move to Montreal, fleeing the civil war in Lebanon, in hopes of becoming a French teacher. However, the French don’t trust her teaching the language, so she quickly needs to find a job. She lands as a hotline operator at a weight-loss center, where clients have lots to say, including their deepest darkest secrets.

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*Stars on Goodreads are subject to change at any time as new ratings are posted. The ratings included are as of March 7th, 2023.