Those of us who didn’t ask anyone to vote for our books will not see our names here, suggesting that these may not be the essential books but rather the most self-confident authors….

Methinks family and friends have been gaming the longlist.

The problem is, few of these books are really in need of a boost in public recognition, and many have been Canada Reads candidates before. Can we have a “Little-known pieces of Canadian literary awesomeness”-themed Canada Reads some year soon, and really put some effort into it?

Alphabetized under “The”? You’re kidding, right?

With so much good writing in Canada, why oh why must there be these ridiculous competitions where only ONE is chosen? (And from so predictable a field?) It was idiotic when CBC had their iPod playlist competitioners because an iPod holds so much that there would never be a need to pick just 10 songs. Similarly, the average backpack, bookshelf or e-reader will hold more than one book.

Canada Reads is a great idea, but we need people running it who know the history. Lullabies won in 2007. What is this?

Also Lullabies was wonderful as read on air, but much less so read silently in print. Loved it, loved it on air, like Ondaatje’s Skin of a Lion, unforgettable. Something the CBC crews do really well.

Whatever happened to the wonderful program every afternoon where someone read a great novel, day after day. Used to walk my dog right afterwards. Reading, walk to river, reading, walk to river, what afternoons, when everything else was shit, like Op Medusa, lies lies lies.

Actually this was before Op Medusa and all the worst, before the second bombing of Baghdad too. Seems like yesterday.

Yes, competitions are messy, yes no single list satisfies all readers. This list includes some books I loved (Galore, Come Thou Tortoise, Three Day Road, Sweetness in the Belly, Life of Pi, The Englishman’s Boy, Clara Callan), some that left me cold, and some I haven’t read. If you care about great writing, I’d add Lori Lansen’s The Girls and Margaret Sweatman’s The Players, both of which–I think–are fine, fine novels.

(And, yes, I agree with the writer who lamented the absence of short story collections.)

Repetitive. I’ve seen 85% of these titles in past years. New and lesser known titles, please.

I love the list of 40 books. I’m busy reading the ones I haven’t read. I just hope that “Life of Pi” is not on the top 10. I couldn’t stand having to hear all about it again.
There are so many perfect reads on this list( with the exception of the “Life of……..”)
Adele Fontaine