The books Olympic Games Primetime host Craig McMorris loved reading
The Olympic Games Paris 2024 take place July 26-Aug. 11, 2024
The 2024 Paris Olympics are coming up on July 26-Aug. 11 and the Paralympic Games are taking place Aug. 28-Sept. 8.
Craig McMorris is one of the CBC broadcast hosts covering the events this year.
A Regina-born veteran of the Canadian snowboard scene (and the older brother of Olympian Mark McMorris), the former national team member is co-hosting Olympic Games Primetime.
You can see a complete schedule of events here.
Back in 2018, he caught up with CBC Books to share the books that started his love of reading.
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, illustrated by William Nicholson
"This book was a huge part of my childhood," said McMorris. "It's the story of a velveteen rabbit that was given to a boy. It thought it could turn into a real rabbit but never did. It got closer to the boy, but over time it got old and raggedy. The boy got sick and the rabbit had to be discarded, but it had spent so much time with the child that it did become real.
It definitely was a favourite for me when I was a kid.
"My mother read this book to me a lot when I was a child. It definitely was a favourite for me when I was a kid."
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
"J.K. Rowling is an incredible writer and storyteller. When I was in elementary school, I struggled with reading and writing and was in remedial classes. But then I got the first Harry Potter book and I read the whole thing. I then read the next one and the one after that. I got so good at reading that, as a result, I went from remedial classes to advanced classes.
The books really helped me grow as a person.
"Within the entire series, the books get bigger and more detailed. So I was growing as a reader as the series progressed. My parents still say that J.K. Rowling is the reason I can read and write! The books really helped me grow as a person."
Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden
Three Day Road follows the lives of Niska, a Oji-Cree woman who's had a lifetime of hardship, and her nephew Xavier, who joins the Canadian army in the First World War, becomes a sniper and has to grapple with the effects of war his conscience.
This is such a well-written story. It's absolutely unreal the way he intertwines the two storylines and characters.
"This is a fantastic book that I read in high school. This is such a well-written story. It's absolutely unreal the way he intertwines the two storylines and characters.
"It was extremely interesting, I couldn't put it down."
