Canada Reads 2023 Long-List Discussion

[❀ Susan]

getting ready for the long-list annoucment

[Alan]

Is it coming?! I didn’t think it would be so early.

[❀ Susan]

the long-list usually comes in January. dates are not on the CBC site and. I have sent an email asking so will update when I know more. :)

[Rainey]

Cant wait. I am hoping its in person 2023. I have booked the last week off in March as thats when it was last year.

[Allison]

I sure hope it's in person too!! We have missed the last three years. Allison Hikes the Bookwoods - are you going to try to make it from Newfoundland!?!

[Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺]

Oh man, I would love to. If the stars align, perhaps I will!

[❀ Susan]

It would be amazing to see both you and Rainey this year. I will share any information I receive

[Allison]

No hint on when the long list is coming out, huh Susan!?

[❀ Susan]

no hints other than it is coming soon!! it is always so exciting to see both the long and short-lists... not to mention learn about the defenders!!

[Allison]

I’ll try to be patient!

[❀ Susan]

Good news!! CBC Books has just posted:

January 12: 15 longlist books
January 25: meet the contenders and their book picks
March 27–30: debates

[Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺]

Live audience this year?

[Rainey]

There will be no studio audience but I am still coming to TO - we could watch them in my hotel room :-)

[Rainey]

Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺ wrote: "Live audience this year?"

NOPE:

CBC Books -

At this time we are not planning to have a studio audience in 2023, but we hope to invite people back in the near future!

[Joanna G]

❀ Susan wrote: "Good news!! CBC Books has just posted:

January 12: 15 longlist books
January 25: meet the contenders and their book picks
March 27–30: debates"

Oooh, excited!

[Allison]

Me toooooo!

[Kathleen]

Very exciting news!!!!

[❀ Susan]

hopefully we can reunite in 2024 for an in-person but it is still so exciting to have the dates... best book time of the year!!

[❀ Susan]

any ideas of books that you would like to see on the long list?

I was thinking:
Greenwood
My Mother's Daughter
would be great discussions

[Em]

Greenwood would be my top choice. It was the book that moved me like a book hasn’t done in too long. It will stay with me always. I recommend it constantly.

[Allison]

So much love for Greenwood. I need to get to that book!

I’d like to see an oldie but a goodie get in there: Unless by Carol Shields. SUCH a tight, beautiful read that I think would be great for debates.

[Alan]

They seem to have gotten rid of the oldies a long time ago. Remember Rockbound?
Very exciting to wait for the list-I hope it’s a great theme and a good choice to read.
Here and somewhere else I keep hearing talk about Greenwood. I’ve never heard of the book before but now I really want to get a copy. And I just got my plum plus card with twenty dollars off.

[Allison]

Sounds like it's time for you to get ahold of Greenwood, Alan! And yes, I remember Rockbound well! That was really the year I dug in hard to Canada Reads, actually.

I have stumbled across reviews recently of Permanent Astonishment and wonder if it would be a good choice for Canada Reads 2023. I haven't read it, but I am intrigued... Has anyone here read it?

[Kathleen]

I also remember Rockbound.
Allison, thank you for bringing Permanent Astonishment to my attention. The reviews look very convincing. I understand why you are intrigued. I would like to listen to the audiobook.

[❀ Susan]

I have actually never read Rockbound....

Permanent Astonishment is on my shelf and was a Christmas gift last year.

so exciting that the list comes Thursday!!

[❀ Susan]

Great to wake up to this list!

The 2023 longlist is:

Ducks by Kate Beaton
Revery: A Year of Bees by Jenna Butler
Half-Bads in White Regalia by Cody Caetano
Greenwood by Michael Christie
Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye
Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin
All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay
Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew
We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Finding Edward by Sheila Murray
Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah
We Spread by Iain Reid
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

So happy to see Greenwood on the list. I have also read Mexican Gothic, Moon over Crusted Snow and Station Eleven. I have some research to do as many of these books are new to me.

[Wanda]

Thanks for sharing Susan, it's a list of books of which many I am not familiar- I have read Mexican Gothic, We Spread, Moon of the Crusted Snow and Station Eleven. I will be checking out the rest- looks like a good competition!

[Rainey]

My tickets are booked in TO from 26 departing April 1.

If anyone wants to meet up. Let me know. :-)

[Kathleen]

Thanks for sharing this list, Susan. Wonderful to see Greenwood on it!

[Allison]

Thanks Susan! Here is the link to the list: https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/...

I have read Station Eleven. Didn't love it, but it would probably be better with good discussion.

I believe Silvia Moreno-Garcia had a book on last year's long list, so maybe that bodes well for her this year.

I'm thrilled to see Local-To-Me Kingston author Iain Reid on the list! His books are awesome! Scary and unique and creepy and creative and fun and memorable. I haven't read We Spread yet but I've wanted to. He sort of reminds me of Shirley Jackson in a way, whose writing I just get engrossed in.

[Susan]

Looks like an interesting list! I've read Ducks, Greenwood, Moon of the Crusted Snow, and Station Eleven (all of which I enjoyed). There are a few others on the longlist that were already on my TBR, so that is nice to see.

[Joanna G]

I love all of Greenwood, Moon of the Crusted Snow and Station Eleven - I'm going to be so torn if all of them make the debates!

It is a very modern list though - I see Alan and Allison commented about that above. I hadn't really noticed before this year, but now I feel a bit like surely we haven't gone through all the Canadian classics already?

[Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺]

These books are all new (at least within the last couple of years), except for Station Eleven. Seems like a good chance that it's someone's pick to defend.

[Joanna G]

I'm going to guess the five short list books are:

Ducks by Kate Beaton
Half-Bads in White Regalia by Cody Caetano
Finding Edward by Sheila Murray
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

[Tina]

So happy to see the list for 2023!
Greenwood has been sitting on my shelf waiting, seems like the perfect time to pick it up now. I have Ducks on hold at my library.
Can’t wait for the actual event!

[❀ Susan]

Hi all - just a heads up that some of these books are available at www.bookoutlet.ca including. The prices are great with their 15% off today:
Greenwood - $6.70
Half-Bads $3.64
Blood Scion $10.19
Hana Khan $2.79
We Were Dreamers $11.33

[❀ Susan]

Interesting the theme is books to "shift your perspective". although I don't know much about a few of the books - Greenwood, Station Eleven, Revery and Moon of the Crusted Snow certainly have an environmental theme.

[Karin]

Station Eleven is the Mandel book I've liked the best at 4 stars.

[Joanna G]

❀ Susan wrote: "Hi all - just a heads up that some of these books are available at www.bookoutlet.ca including. The prices are great with their 15% off today:
Greenwood - $6.70
Half-Bads $3.64
Blood Scion $10.19
H..."
Oh no! That is such a dangerous link, Susan! (Not really, I'm delighted to find the site, but this won't be good for my resolution to read more books that I already own and not buy as many)

[Alan]

Thanks Susan,heading over there. There are quite a few on the list that I want to read. I find it incredible that Greenwoodis included as I’ve never heard of it before a few of you started raving about it a few weeks back. I’ve really wanted to read Finding Edward and I can’t remember the title but the one about the call centre sounds very interesting.

[Alan]

Joanna-several years ago a member wrote a great post here about her issues with Canada Reads. One of them is that it isn’t a competition like the ggs or the Gillers where we hope the best book is being chosen,but that it is more of reality tv where the most skilled participant wins. The other concern was that unlike the earlier days when Canada Reads picked books from whenever-didn’t Justin win for Herbert Aucoin -who was reading him before or since?-that it’s become an event that now deals entirely with the most contemporary books. I’m happy to read Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands but that and Station Eleven don’t need more publicity. I think it would be great if something from the forties….was chosen,but this is where Canada Reads is today and I’m happy the CBC is still committed to it.

[Heather(Gibby)]

I think the defenders have quite a bit of say in what books they defend as well, so it depends if there tastes run contemporary or classic

[Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺]

I really enjoyed Ducks and it tells an important story, but it’s interesting to see a graphic novel on the list. Has that ever happened before?

[Allison]

I know that a graphic novel has never made the short list in any year, but not sure if one was on the long list before?? Maybe Essex County? I don't think so but something in my grey matter is saying it was...

[❀ Susan]

Good remembering!! Voted off first in 2011

https://nationalpost.com/afterword/je...

[Allison]

Ah! Not perfect memory, but not too shabby for 12 years ago! Hahaha.

[Allison]

Just went through some old reviews and realized that Station Eleven was on the CR long list in 2016! That’s when I read it.

[Susan]

Wendy, Master of Art was on the long list in 2021. I really enjoyed the entire Wendy series of graphic novels.

[Susan]

Also, Essex County is soooooo good! I can’t believe that was voted off first.

[Allison]

Yea, Susan! I loved Essex County!