Canada Reads is a CBC program designed to appeal to avid and occasional readers. During the week, Host Bill Richardson will lead a spirited quest to find a homegrown book which can then be recommended as a must read for all Canadians. During the battle of books, celebrity panellists will defend their chosen title and try to sway each other in favour of his or her pick. One of the five books will be voted off the list each day, and the surviving title will be named as the Canada Reads winner.

Through the generosity of the publishers of this year’s selections, additional copies of the books under discussion on the CBC program are being made available to Islanders in libraries across the province. The five books in the upcoming competition are Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden, Deafening by Frances Itani, Rooms for Rent in the Outer Planets by Al Purdy, Cocksure by Mordecai Richler, and A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews.

“We want to encourage reading, and this is a fun and interactive way to do that,” said Community and Cultural Affairs Minister Elmer MacFadyen. “Islanders may find reading the books, either individually or in groups, before the CBC debates can add to the fun. Book Clubs may even want to read one of these titles and stage their own debates before the program is broadcast.”

The Minister expressed his thanks to publishers Penguin Canada, Harper Collins, Harbour Publishing, McClelland & Stewart, and Random House for making copies of the books available in local libraries, and to CBC for promoting the value of reading to Canadians.

“I encourage Islanders to join readers across the country in this entertaining event. We know from experience that Canada Reads has made an impressive impact on people’s interest in Canadian fiction, and the donations of these books will allow the Library Service to better respond to the public interest generated by the program,” he said.

Panellists on the CBC program this year are John K. Samson, singer, songwriter, poet and publisher based in Winnipeg; Maureen McTeer, successful lawyer and author who lives and writes in the Gatineau Hills near Ottawa with her spouse, the Rt. Hon. Joe Clark; Nelofer Pazira, who directed two documentaries about Iran and works on CBC’s “The National”; Susan Musgrave, award winning writer from Vancouver Island; and Scott Thompson, performer and writer living in Toronto.

Detailed Information on the selections and the program can be found at www.cbc.ca/canadareads.