Reading and purchasing habits of Canadians based on Canada Reads

Her conversation-starting question received 96 comments from 51 individuals. These 51 commentators were fairly evenly split in their response to Susan’s question: 23 indicated they had read some of the books before they became finalists, while 25 said they had only read the books after they were shortlisted.* 

Commenters like Noreen Dwyer, Vicki Hartley Orange, and Sandar Dros—all of whom had only read the books after being shortlisted—noted that reading along with in Canada Reads exposed them to books they likely wouldn’t have otherwise chosen.

Likewise, Marnie Walker notes that she enjoys Canada Reads because she loves “being exposed to Canadian authors” she might not have found otherwise.

Some of the commenters indicate that they read the entire shortlist—sometimes far in advance of the broadcasts airing. Katherine McLeod Moffatt refers to herself as a “bit of an addict” who reads all the shortlisted books well before the debate. She similarly commented that one of the best parts of participating in Canada Reads is getting to read something she “would not normally pick up.” 

Interestingly, three individuals said they read not just the shortlist, but the longlist as well—or, at least, they attempt to read the longlist.

Kathi Fawthrop has made reading the longlist her reading goal for the past four years. Much like the examples above, she remarks that this goal has led her to “read many books and genres [she] wouldn’t have selected” otherwise.

Whether commenters read the books before or after they were shortlisted, and whether they read the shortlisted books or the longlist, a common benefit of participating in Canada Reads appears to be exposure to different books, genres, and Canadian authors. 

We can infer from these comments that Canada Reads has a strong influence on the reading practices of Canadians who read alongside the program—whether they have read the books before or after the shortlist is announced—and it can also influence readers’ purchasing habits. This is what’s referred to as the Canada Reads effect. 

The Canada Reads effect

The Canada Reads effect refers to the increase in sales of the books included on the show—an effect that’s reflected in some of the responses to Susan’s initial question (Fuller and Rak).

In her post, Andrea McDowell notes that the Canada Reads shortlist influences not only her reading habits, but also her purchases. Heather HK comments that she either purchases the books or borrows them from a library—library loan increases being another side effect of Canada Reads.

Likewise, Denise Flick notes that her husband uses the longlist every year to buy her Christmas gifts.

Denise’s comments not only indicate that the Canada Reads longlist influences her (and her husband’s) purchasing decisions, but they also reinforce the idea that Canada Reads exposes readers to new types of books. In particular, Denise notes that by participating in Canada Reads, she has read more literature from Indigenous authors than she might have otherwise. 

If the Canada Reads effect leads to “a spike in sales that turns the books on the show into bestsellers,” then having more Indigenous or marginalized authors could function to bring more attention to these authors and increase sales of their books (Fuller and Rak 26).

Canada Reads as an act of citizenship

In response to Justine Hughes, who commented on reading all the books on the shortlist, Anne Jardine commented that she has followed Canada Reads since its inception and has read all the books.

Perhaps most interestingly, Anne describes Canada Reads as “an act of citizenship, like voting, or going to the town meetings, or marching for important causes.” In her comment, participating in Canada Reads has much broader effects than simply influencing Canadians purchasing or reading habits. For Anne, participating in Canada Reads is directly tied to her conception of nation or nationalism—it is at the core of what it means to be Canadian. 

*Three commenters didn’t clearly identify if they had read the books before or after the shortlist was published.

Fuller, D., and J. Rak. “‘True Stories,’ Real Lives: Canada Reads 2012 and the Effects of Reading Memoir in Public”. Studies in Canadian Literature, vol. 40, no. 2, June 2015.