Canada Reads 2024 Day Two: Seeing Life in a Chinese-Canadian Community [SPOILER]

"There are three major shifts facing Canada right now: immigration, aging population, housing choice and neighbourhood change. [...] Denison Avenue addresses all of these issues through art." — Naheed Nenshi, Canada Reads (televised March 5, 2024)

Day Two of the annual Canada Reads book competition began on a dramatic note. Mirian Njoh, the fashion model who had been championing Carley Fortune's romance novel Meet Me at the Lake, sat at the panellists' table with a translucent black veil over her hair. Clarifying that she had donned a mourning costume as a sign of sorrow after 'her' novel was axed yesterday, Njoh briefly paid tribute again. Then moderator Ali Hassan led the champions through deeper dives into the remaining books.

NAHEED NENSHI, the former mayor of Calgary, began by praising Denison Avenue.

Written by first-time novelist Christina Wong in collaboration with the artist Daniel Innes, it tells the story of an elderly Chinese-Canadian woman Choe Sam, who struggles not just with a personal tragedy but also with trying to fit in to her gentrifying urban neighbourhood.

The Torontonian, Canada Reads panellist Kudakwashe Rutendo had already singled out the book for praise the day before. Its detailed scene-paintings gave her insights into a neighbourhood she had walked by but did not know very well. "I don't think there is a lot of representation in literature for that." 

Championing the book, Nenshi dwelled not just on its subject matter but also on its literary quality. "You want to say that you read Christina Wong's first book," he claimed.

MOST OF THE OTHER panellists poked holes in the book during the second day, however.

Mirian Njoh began by wondering if Denison Avenue really embodies the motto of this year's Canada Reads:

"This year, the great Canadian book debate is looking for one book to carry us forward."

Instead of carrying her forward, she

"found this book to be relentlessly gut-wrenching, honestly. [...] It ultimately raises more questions than it answers. [...] It just leaves us with the sentiment that this is a path we all must walk."

Nenshi, given the chance to defend the book, replied that to him the ending is redemptive: it shows the main character moving forward from grief in her own way.

Cover of Denison Avenue
ECW Press

Athlete Dallas Soonias also chimed in to defend Denison Avenue, contending that a neat resolution isn't necessary or realistic. "It's not tied up in a bow and you're not super-happy, but that's kind of real life." He felt that there has been a cultural shift in the last decade toward seeing winning as a be-all and end-all, which has changed expectations. He added, "I think it's a lovely book."

From an author's perspective, Heather O'Neill took issue with Denison Avenue's style.

O'Neill found that the passages written in the first person from the perspective of Chloe, a child, and from the perspective of the elderly main character, all sounded like a millennial writer rather than people of different generations.

Kudakwashe Rutendo, speaking next, argued that it made little sense to start and end the novel with the viewpoint of Chloe if this child character barely appears in the narrative in between.

The actress added that the free verse that Christina Wong worked into the novel, adding blank lines between short phrases of prose, was not more effective than straightforward prose would have been.

Former mayor Nenshi replied to Rutendo by pointing out that the intermittent 'disappearance' of Chloe emphasizes that the elderly main character, Wong Cho Sum, had "more people in her community looking after her than she knows. Cho Sum had to go through that period of great loneliness to accept the fact that there is this helper right next door."

***

The clock on the wall read 6:05. “Ai ya, luk ehm?!” (It’s six o’clock?!) I glanced at the kitchen table: the two bowls of plain rice, the two bowls of winter melon soup, and the plates of stir-fried green beans with fermented bean curd, steamed spare ribs with preserved black beans, and steamed pork patty with salted fish remained untouched.

“Ah See Hei? See Hei ah? Lay fahn jor gwuy may ah?” I called out. (Are you home yet?)

No answer.

—Excerpt from Denison Avenue, by Christina Wong and Daniel Innes (Toronto: ECW Press, 2023)

Canada Reads 2024 Day One: Down With Romance? [SPOILER]

“Romance readers are avid and they are the most open-minded readers of all types of readers.” — Mirian Njoh, Canada Reads (televised March 4, 2024)

TWO DECADES after launching a nation-wide books competition with literary fiction from internationally renowned writers of the genre like Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje, the Canadian national broadcaster CBC has opened up Canada Reads to the romance genre.

In a joint radio, television, and online broadcast this evening, comedian Ali Hassan hosted a discussion of five books by Canadian authors with celebrity guests: an actress, an athlete, an author, a fashion model, and a former mayor of the western city of Calgary.

The guest judges wore eye-catching outfits as they sat around the CBC studio table, piles of books at their sides.

Heather O'Neill's red blouse with matching tiered skirt and bright lipstick suggested a grown up Little House in the Prairie aesthetic.

The actress Kudakwashe Rutendo wore a powder-blue dress with a flounced hem and a trend-conscious red shoulder bow. Meanwhile, Mirian Njoh's dress — paired with pink framed cat-eye glasses — was green with black and colourful patterns, summery with short flaring sleeves.

Dallas Soonias wore a long coat in geometric patterns in tan and brown ombré, the black lines matching his mustache.

Ali Hassan selected a sweatshirt with Arabic lettering in lines across it, like Bart's chalkboard messages in The Simpsons. Former mayor Naheed Nenshi kept his outfit cozy: a black zip-up knit sweater, worn over a lilac-coloured shirt.

Canada Reads 2024: Day One (screen grab)
CBC on YouTube. March 4, 2024.

THE BOOKS lying beside them span many genres.

Bad Cree is a horror novel set in a Nehiyaw (known in English as Cree) community. Denison Avenue is multimedia fiction about life in a Chinese-Canadian neighbourhood in Toronto. Shut Up You're Pretty is a short story collection of growing up Black Canadian in an eastern Canadian city.

The Future is a dystopian novel by French-Canadian author Catherine Leroux, translated into English by Susan Ouriou.

Meet Me at the Lake is the romance novel. Written by Carley Fortune, who had already published the popular romance Every Summer After, its plot obeys the 'second chance' trope: protagonists meet again after a failed first romance. In this case, their meeting takes place against the backdrop of a popular lake for holiday outings, in the forests of Ontario.

As each book in the Canada Reads competition is also championed by one of the guests, the fashion influencer Mirian Njoh spoke in praise of Meet Me at the Lake — and of the romance novel genre in general.

Women's World Cup Liveblog: Spain vs. Sweden, Semi-Final, August 15

Looking at Eden Park’s South Stand from the North Stand [...]
Attributed to TimBray, 2015
Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

10:12 a.m. (Central European Summer Time)

The game is afoot in Auckland, or rather Tāmaki Makaurau!

Spain's team is in red, Sweden's in yellow.

Spain's goalie took her time kicking out the ball, as the turquoise-shirted referee gently encouraged her, and the stadium camera crew took time to single out two horned 'Viking' helmets in the rows of spectators.

When Spain received the ball again, however, their forwards rushed up to Sweden's goal and there was a definite risk of a goal until a Swedish player cleared it in a long kick.

10:16 a.m.

More movement in Spain's half, now, as Sweden also attempts to run on their opponent's goal. A deliberately paced game so far, with ample coverage of the field, I think.

Subjective observation: In a few matches teams have been favouring their 'weaker' sides, so the ball only goes up and down one side instead of passing right to left. Or the offense has had to be especially active to compensate for the defense, or vice versa. Here there's no such concern.

10:32 a.m.

Filippa Angeldal briefly in trouble with the referee (who has a good 'smh' face) for holding onto a Spanish player's arm.

10:34 a.m.

But now Alexia Putellas of Spain gives Angeldal a firm shove in the small of the back... Free kick.

10:36 a.m.

Magdalena Eriksson just bounced a Spanish shot across the Swedish goal high into the air and into safety, to the relief of her teammates.

Shortly afterward, Angeldal takes a firm grip on a Spanish player's upper arm. Spanish player is massaging the spot... Wouldn't be surprising if yellow cards begin to appear in this game.

10:38 a.m.

As the play resumes after Aitana Bonmati just fired the ball low past Sweden's goal, the statistics: Spain has had about 65% of the ball possession so far, whereas Sweden has had 35%.

10:44 a.m.

Sweden was eager to profit by an opportunity to sink a goal before half-time, but a corner kick ended in nothing.

10:47 a.m.

And now it's half-time!

11:19 a.m.

We're well into the second half now, lots of Swedish activity near Spain's goal.

Kosovare Asllani thrust her foot in front of Spain's Olga Carmona and trod fully upon the Spanish player's toes, leaving Carmona folded on her side on the ground and then hobbling.

No yellow card, although the German TV commentator suggests that one would be appropriate.

11:24 a.m.

Fridolina Rolfö just accidentally kicked her foot up into a Spanish player's face while defending near Sweden's goal. That looked painful... Free kick for Spain.

Free kick ends in corner kick. That corner kick ends in a long ball over back into Spain's half.

11:28 a.m.

In this second half, I still have the vague impression that both teams are saving part of their energies for the finale. (Or 3rd place match.)

But Alba Redondo almost manages to score a goal while lying on the ground; however, it skims low past the net.

11:31 a.m.

Substitutions news: Alba Redondo out, Eva Navarro in for Spain.

Salma Paralluelo was already substituted in earlier (also for Spain).

But it looks like Sweden's team has stayed the same, now for over 73 minutes...

11:34 a.m.

But now Stina Blackstenius and Johanna Kaneryd are out, while Rebecka Blomqvist and Olivia Schough are in!

11:38 a.m. ⚽

Salma Paralluelo scores for Spain with a swift low ball. 1-0

Spain's lead would have appeared even better deserved in the first half than the second half, I think.

Sweden's team has improved in the second half, also statistically: they were driving much of the action, and are now at 44% ball possession.

11:42 a.m.

Spain's goalie Catalina Coll is sitting on the ground, and being medically checked out. (The German TV commentator suspects it might be a ploy, but is willing to give the benefit of the doubt. If it is a ploy, Coll is not bothering to feign pain dramatically.)

Spain’s coach, who looked quite worried when his players scored the 1-0, is talking to the team in the meantime.

11:47 a.m. ⚽ ⚽

A lot to catch up on:

Sweden: Rubensson out, Hurtig in.

Huge cheers in the stadium as Sweden earns 1-1 with a goal from Rebecca Blomqvist. As a throw-in from near the corner results in a clear kick.

Now Spain earns a goal from a great distance and the coach looks happy. Spain 2 - Sweden 1.

And it's very close to the end...

11:48 a.m.

We're launched into 7 minutes of added time.

11:51 a.m.

Spain substitutes in Esther González for Mariona Caldentey.

11:55 a.m.

With the 2-1 score still standing, Spain wins a place in the World Cup final on August 20th.

Women’s World Cup Liveblog: Colombia vs. England, Quarter-Finals, August 12

 

Aboriginal rock carving, Grotto Point, Sydney Harbour National Park, Sydney
(Kodachrome slide scanned at 6400)
Photography attributed to Sardaka, ca. 1987
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

12:42 p.m. (Central European Summer Time)

Today, women's soccer fans have already been treated to a suspenseful quarter-final between Australia and France. In the end, after the longest penalty shot phase in this World Cup and fewer than 30 minutes before the next quarter-final, Australia won 7-6.

So Colombia and England are contending to meet the World Cup co-host in the semi-finals in the middle of next week.

Its fans are numerously represented in the stadium in Sydney — the city of over 5 million inhabitants, known as Wangal in the region's Aboriginal language. You may recognize the fans by their yellow t-shirts — and their energetic boos whenever England's team has possession of the ball.

12:44 p.m.

I missed it while typing the last update, but one of Colombia's players has already had to leave the field due to injury. Carolina Arias has been substituted out, Ana Guzman is in.

12:50 p.m.

England's team is looking incredibly fit and their reflexes quick. There's not so a perceptible height difference between the two teams as in other matches, but physically I'd say that Colombia's players — while diligent — are looking marginally slower. Of course this is subjective. Besides it may change in the second half of the game: it's important to pace one's self.

There was loud booing again as Alex Greenwood and other players were passing back and forth to each other in England's half. Now the game has opened up again.

12:54 p.m.

Guzman appears to ignore the ball and to ram her hand into an English player's face, besides body-checking her. Rachel Daly is crouching, clutching her face in pain. No foul, apparently? After talking to two physiotherapists, Daly is playing again.

1:01 p.m.

So far England has had 69% of the ball possession, Colombia 31%, roughly speaking.

Definitely a more eventful game than Japan vs. Sweden yesterday. It's riskier to take one's eyes off the match: steep chances of missing something.

1:15 p.m. ⚽

In another exchange in England's half, which did not look especially dangerous, Leicy Santos hits a long ball into the top of the net. England's goalkeeper stretches out her arm, but doesn't manage to block it and it bounces down again behind the goal line. Colombia 1 - England 0.

1:23 p.m. ⚽

In the added time of 6 minutes, Colombia's players stayed firmly in their own half, trying to prevent England from scoring a counter-goal rather than scoring a second goal of their own.

But their strategy failed after the 7th minute arrived. Goalie Catalina Perez accidentally let go a ball that she had captured in front of her goal, and two of England's players kept it in play, Lauren Hemp rolling it into the net. 1-1. Quite a messy goal, but effective.

End of the first half.

1:45 p.m.

Second half underway again, several corner kicks from England result in no goals. But they are definitely seeing more chances.

1:50 p.m.

More statistics shown on screen: 343 (England) to 151 (Colombia) passes completed.

1:53 p.m.

Loud boos as England prepares to take a free kick. Hemp fires it from nearly at the end line to the front of the net. No goal.

Goalie Catalina Perez is being attended to by medical staff — it’s not clear why.

But now the game has started again.

1:57 p.m. ⚽

Two of England's players manage to run toward the goal together. Alessia Russo finds a makeshift opening and practically rolls it into the net. Colombia 1 - England 2.

1:59 p.m.

Goalie Perez is escorted off the field as the physiotherapists and fellow players look concerned; it seems her eyesight is faltering? Natalia Giraldo will be substituted in.

2:07 p.m.

Lorena Durango almost sinks a strong long-distance goal for Colombia. But England's goalkeeper Mary Earps takes a flying leap and deflects the ball up over the net.

It looks like with Perez's substitution, Colombian players are newly intensely focused on getting another goal. Maybe less certain that the score will remain roughly even.

...And Natalia Giraldo makes her first save.

2:09 p.m.

Both teams are showing their quality and highly justifying their presence in the quarter-finals, I'd say. Not an entirely clean game, but it's good technically and in terms of its energy and of its variety of strategies and skills. No tedious deadlock.

2:11 p.m.

Substitution: Ospina Garcia off, Ivonne Chacon on, for Colombia.

2:18 p.m.

Another player - Chloe Kelly - getting ready on England’s bench.

Daniela Arias is lying on the ground; it looks like she wasn't fouled, though. Physiotherapists have come over.

Alessia Russo, one of England's goalscorers, is substituted off for Kelly in the meantime.

2:21 p.m.

Corner kick for Colombia as Mary Earps captures a ball that had whizzed diagonally to near the net. It doesn’t result in a goal.

2:22 p.m.

Two England players body-sandwich a Colombian player = apparently not a foul.

2:24 p.m.

Eight minutes of added time.

2:26 p.m.

Bethany England is substituted in. Lauren Hemp goes out.

2:29 p.m.

In the 6th minute, Mayra Ramirez fires a ball — past England's goal, but narrowly.

2:32 p.m.

End of game: Colombia still had a few chances, but it wasn't enough for a 2:2. England will be playing Australia in the semi-finals.

Women's World Cup Liveblog: Japan vs. Sweden, Quarter-Finals, August 11

9:34 a.m. (Central European Summer Time)

The scene of Japan's and Sweden's confrontation: Auckland, 8:30 p.m. local time in winter (so well after nightfall), a loud stadium with rhythmic thumping. In this World Cup, the hosts Australia and New Zealand have begun displaying Indigenous names for the cities: in the Māori language, Auckland is known as Tāmaki Makaurau.

Auckland skyline from the Auckland harbor bridge, 20 September 2019
Photography attributed to Jack189417 , 2017.
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The last eight teams to be standing in the women's World Cup are contending for spots in the semi-finals, today and on Saturday. Spain already defeated the Netherlands in an earlier game, 3 a.m. in my time zone. Which leaves Australia, Colombia, England, France, Japan, Spain and Sweden in the running.

Sweden barely defeated the United States in the last round. Their game ran into added extended time with a score of 0-0 and the stalemate was only broken by penalty shots.

Japan, however, defeated Norway 3-1. In its team, Hinata Miyazawa has shot the most goals of any player in the tournament — five — which means that she may win the Golden Boot at the end of the cup.

9:59 a.m.

Both Sweden and Japan have each had a good chance at a goal, now. Sweden has monopolized the ball possession at 64% to Japan's 36% and...

10:02 a.m. ⚽

Sweden has converted a free kick from a larger distance to Japan's goal into their 1-0 score!

10:11 a.m.

It’s a tense game as we head toward the end of the first half — like a chess game that's become so close to the checkmate stage that the players hesitate a long time before advancing a piece.

Conservative passes between Sweden’s players. Japan’s players are challenging their opponents closely, In a sign of their fear of ceding any ground at all, Swedish players are also physically pushing them away.

Another Swedish goal attempt has failed.

10:16 a.m.

End of the first half. Not a very exciting game, admittedly.

But, aside from a little arm-pulling by a Swedish player (the Guardian's statisticians report 2 fouls by Japan, 6 fouls by Sweden) and a few falls, it's been pretty fair and polite.

10:38 a.m. ⚽

As a Japanese player lay injured on the ground, the referee walks off the field to review not a potential foul but a different interaction: there was a handball in front of Japan's goal by Fuka Nagano, who held out her arm to deflect in the row of players — easy to see from the front, harder to see from the side.

Sweden receives a penalty kick, and it goes in the far corner of the net for 2-0.

Japan's goalie looks understandably disappointed.

10:49 a.m.

Japan's been effectively besieging Sweden's goal for the last few minutes, quite a few players forward and near the net.

But after the ball sailed off the field, the ball is back in Swedish hands (or, rather, feet).

10:53 a.m.

A long ball toward Hinata Miyazawa is a little too long and sails off the field. But for a while it looked like she might have a chance at running on Sweden's goal, relatively far ahead of most of Sweden's midfielders and forwards.

10:57 a.m.

Corner kick for Japan!

10:59 a.m.

It ends harmlessly.

For Sweden, captain Kosovare Asllani is switched out, giving off her captain's armband to Magdalena Eriksson. Fridolina Rolfo is also switched out. Madelen Janogy and Lina Hurtig are switched in.

11:03 a.m.

The referee awards an 11-metre penalty kick to Japan after a Swedish player seemingly thrusts an arm into the back of her Japanese opponent.

It doesn't fully make sense after looking at the video replays, however, as there was only fleeting contact with Swedish player (Janogy). The Japanese player appears to have stumbled on her own, after Janogy was further away again.

Either way, Riko Ueki's ball bounces off the top bar of the net. At first it's nail-bitingly unclear if the ball was in or out. But it was out: no goal for Japan.

11:12 a.m.

Japan receives a free kick that no one would dispute: Eriksson had essentially scissored a player who was running toward goal. The free kick does not result in a goal, but..

11:15 a.m. ⚽

Honoka Hayashi scores her first goal in a game where she's representing her country, according to the German TV commentator! 1-2 for Japan.

At first, Sweden's goalie looks injured and is undoubtedly in pain, but she can keep playing.

11:19 a.m.

To catch up on the substitutions:

Aside from Riko Ueki and Jun Endo earlier in the second half, and Hayashi, Kiko Seike has also been switched in.

11:22 a.m.

Another free kick for Japan, but no goal this time.

...

The pressure on Sweden's team to hold onto their advantage seems intense: Japan's team is highly active, and 10 minutes have been added onto the 90 minutes of the match due to injury time etc.

Corner kick for Sweden ends in nothing.

11:26 a.m.

The Swedish team in general is looking passive and exhausted, also committing lots of mistakes in their passes etc.. Nowhere near as strong as in the first half.

11:27 a.m.

The referee blows the whistle: game ended. Japan 1 - Sweden 2.

Canada Reads, Day One: Mexican Gothic Horror

On the first day of the 2023 season of the book competition Canada Reads, a panel of Canadian celebrities voted out a bestselling horror novel by Canadian-Mexican writer Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

Photograph by Martin Dee
via Silviamoreno-garcia.com
Licensed for editorial purposes

Mexican Gothic was a runaway success when it appeared in 2020. It tells the story of a rich young woman, Noémi, who is trying to rescue her cousin Catalina, who fears for her life in the mysterious family into which she has married. Instead of an American seaside home or a British estate like Manderley in the classic Daphne Du Maurier novel Rebecca, Moreno-Garcia's novel is set in an uncanny countryside house in 1950s Mexico.

Favourably reviewed by critics in the Guardian, the New Yorker, National Public Radio, and the Washington Post, it has had a wide appeal across borders and has been translated into languages from Arabic to Thai.

Noemí is [...] an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough, smart, and has an indomitable will, and she is not afraid — Synopsis from the author's website

Tasnim Geedi, the TikTok star who entertains over 100,000 followers who enjoy her thirty-second book reviews, paid tribute to the immersive quality of the novel as she championed the book on Canada Reads. She described Mexican Gothic as a fantasy setting where the problems of colonialism can be explored in a distanced way that may appeal to readers who are not ready yet to confront directly Canadian history.

Her fellow panelists and rivals, amongst them Jeopardy! champion Mattea Roach and actor Michael Greyeyes, paid tribute to the author's rich imagination and style.

The Great British Bake Off's Loss of Spice

In the fall of 2014, the television audience Britain was shocked to behold a frustrated amateur baker throw a melted Baked Alaska into a garbage bin, and leave the show he was on in the wake of that incident.

"Raspberry cheesecake" — raspberry cake being an
emblem of the Great British Bake Off
Image by Arria Belli; May 27, 2008
Wikimedia Commons.
Copyright License: (CC BY 2.0)

But in the tranquil realm of The Great British Bake Off, the latest stir is that the show will be moved from BBC 1 to Channel Four in 2017.

Its new host channel, Channel Four, stated, "Channel 4 will become the new home of The Great British Bake Off after signing a new three-year agreement with the producers of the hit show, Love Productions."It also promised that the show would remain "free-to-air."

Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, the comediennes who have spoken the prefaces to each episode and accompanied the bakers, have stated that they are leaving the Great British Bake Off when it is no longer with the BBC. Someone else will have to commiserate with the unfortunate competitors over many an 'underbaked' dumpling and derelict gingerbread house, like Jennifer Saunders or Jo Brand. (The Guardian notes that bets are already being taken.)

Money was at the root of the trouble, since the production company wanted the BBC to quadruple its present payments to keep hosting the show. BBC News reported that Love Productions had asked for £25m per year, whereas the BBC only agreed to £15m per year.

It is an exorbitantly well-enjoyed weekly event. On the first Wednesday of its 7th season — it has run each summer since mid-August 2010 — 10.4 million Britons, between a seventh and a sixth of the population of the United Kingdom, are estimated to have watched it.

***

"Channel 4 to become home of The Great British Bake Off" [Channel Four], September 12, 2016 (Retrieved September 13, 2016)
"Great British Bake Off: BBC loses rights to Channel 4" [BBC News], September 13, 2016 (Retrieved September 13, 2016)
"Great British Bake Off: 10.4 million people tune into most-watched launch episode in show's history," by Patrick Foster [Daily Telegraph] August 25, 2016 (Retrieved September 13, 2016)
"Mel and Sue leaving Bake Off: how social media reacted," by Guardian staff [Guardian] (Retrieved September 14, 2016) (c) Guardian News & Media Ltd
"Great British Bake Off moves to Channel 4 as BBC negotiations collapse over fee," by Hannah Ellis-Petersen, Tara Conlan and Jane Martinson [Guardian]  September 13, 2016 (Retrieved September 14, 2016) (c) Guardian News & Media Ltd

"United Kingdom" [Wikipedia] (Retrieved September 13, 2016)
"The Great British Bake Off" [Wikipedia] (Retrieved September 13, 2016)