Canada Reads Top 10

This year, CBC’s Canada Reads is taking a retrospective approach, selecting the best book from the last ten years rather than a general call for Canadian fiction. On Tuesday they released the top 10 finalists, based on suggestions from the public, with a top five to be revealed on November 24th. This year, I am venturing to read the top 10 books (regardless of which five actually make the cut) before the debate is aired sometime in February. Here’s the list:

The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis

The Birth House by Ami McKay

The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

Bottle Rocket Hearts by Zoe Whittall

Essex County by Jeff Lemire

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden

Unless by Carol Shields
Fortunately for me, I have read or own half of these books. Life of Pi is already in the bag, and I already own The Birth House, The Book of Negroes, Three Day Road and Unless (Incidentally, there is a giveaway contest on CBC right now asking you to predict the top five - guess which five I picked). The remaining five I will have to investigate further, but they all look interesting.

I will begin with Unless, and report on each book as I finish it. By the end, I will be able to determine if the panel got it right, not just about the winner, but about the top 5 as well. For more info, see the Canada Reads main page.