The County Reads

County readers make their pitch

The County Reads Authors Festival took place last week with a series of online book discussions and the return of the in-person County Reads debate to St. Mary Magdalene Church. The Festival is presented by the County of Prince Edward Public Library and Archives. The online discussions started on Thursday afternoon with Judith Burfoot interviewing Shelia Murray about her book Finding Edward. On Friday, Shelagh Mathers spoke with Helen Humphreys about her book And a Dog Called Fig: Solitude, Connection, the Writing Life, and Peter Blendell interviewed David A. Robertson about his book The Theory of Crows. The online events continued on Saturday with Ken Murray interviewing Iain Reid about his book We Spread, and later Tom Harrison interviewed Mark Bourrie about his book Big Men Fear Me.

The most anticipated component of the Authors Festival has been the County Reads debate, where a number of local readers champion a book that they think everyone in the County should read. After an on-line only presence for the past three years, the County Reads debate returned to an in-person format, with four County residents extolling the virtues of their chosen book. The event at St. Mary Magdalene Church was moderated by novelist and County FM host Ken Murray. Each reader was given six minutes to describe their chosen book. This was followed by a question and answer session and then each was given an additional minute to convince the audience of about 70 people why their book should be the one chosen. Audience ballots were then tabulated by library staff to determine the debate winner.

The County Reads debaters (L-R): Holly Kent, Andrew Janikowski, MaryAnn Farrell and Dominque Jones, with moderator Ken Murray.

Library CEO Barbara Sweet welcomed the audience to St. Mary Magdalene Church on Thursday evening. “It is an evening of entertainment for us in the audience. We are introduced to a new author or a new subject or a new perspective,” she said before turning the microphone over to moderator Ken Murray. He then asked each of the participants to make their six-minute pitch as to why their book should be chosen. First up was Holly Kent, executive director of the Ontario Book Publishers Organization. She was defending the book why birds sing by Nina Berkhout.

“This is a book that’s a light read in tone, but not in content. It’s exceptionally written with so much empathy and beauty. It’s not heavy or difficult and it’s never arduous,” she said. She called the book a love story, of sorts, with a secret main character in the form of Tulip, a grey African parrot. “It’s written with a tenderness and compassion that I wasn’t expecting. Why do birds sing? They sing to sing. Birds sing because they can.”

Next to champion their chosen book was Mary Ann Farrell, who had a career in arts marketing and is now a part-time host of Arts Scene on County FM. Her book was Greenwood by Michael Christie. She said the book is a non-linear story that extends from the year 1908 and goes to 2038, when the forests of the world have been ravaged by disease and insect infestation, known as the Great Withering. “The themes in this book include hope, family and inheritance. Hope is the continual root that travels and supports all of the characters in this book. The story is accessible yet complex and shows the sense of hope in its characters’ connection to the trees. I really love this book. The complexity of the characters, the travel across the country, the courage, anger, pity, and the love that manages to find its way,” she said. Retired physician Andrew Janikowski was up next in his defense of Operation Angus by Terry Fallis. This is the third in a series of books featuring the character of Angus McLintock, a dour Scottish engineer who has somehow found himself elected to Parliament in Ottawa. “These books are so awesome, especially the one I am championing. It is full of great characters, not only the dour Scotsman in the political arena, but there’s a host of wonderful people who populate the book— egotistical American politicians, international spies and loveable denizens of the local nursing home. It’s a cloak and dagger thriller that keeps you at the edge of your seat. This book makes a first-class read, with a description of the bureaucratic nonsense that takes place in Ottawa, two adorable seniors with keen minds and a plot twist. It will leave you really happy that you read this book,” he said.

The final presenter was Dominique Jones, executive director of The County Foundation. Her book was No More Nice Girls by Lauren McKeon. She said this is a book about intersectional feminism and the systems that keep women and certain other minorities at a disadvantage. “What makes a good book? What makes a book impactful? Literature can be more than just stories, more than entertainment. What we choose to read can impact our lives and how we approach things moving forward., and that’s why I chose No More Nice Girls. This book should be read by everyone in the County on our collective journey to equity,” she said. Moderator Ken Murray then asked a few questions of the presenters, including asking about the first book that really affected them. For those with a very long reading history, it was a walk down memory lane. Following the questions, each presenter was then given one minute to pitch their book. For Holly Kent, it was the cast of characters that made her book stand out. Mary Ann Farrell also praised the description of the characters as well as the themes of anguish, regret, passion and forgiveness in everyday life. Andrew Janikowski appealed to the notion of escapism, of getting away from the worries of daily life that a good book can afford you. He also had a good read on the audience with his reference to “really smart seniors” in the book. Dominique Jones gave an impassioned appraisal of the barriers that women face when ascending the corporate ladder, which she likened to “a maze with traps and dead-ends” rather than a linear progression. Then it was time to count the audience ballots. In the end, escapism and a shrewd nod to the audience gave the advantage to Andrew Janikowski’s choice of Operation Angus. The four books in this year’s County Reads are available at the library, as well as at Books & Company.