Canada Reads, CBC's battle of the books, reveals titles and champions

Acclaimed books about teenage sexuality, the immigrant experience, and the treatment of aboriginal people in this country are among the selections for CBC's Canada Reads competition.

• CBC BOOKS | Canada Reads 2015

The novel is inspired by the true story of Lawrence (Larry) Fobes King, an openly gay 15-year-old who was shot to death by an eighth grade classmate inside a school in Oxnard, Calif., in 2008. The incident happened after he'd asked the teen who was convicted in his murder to be his valentine.

Defending the book will be Elaine Lui, a famed gossip blogger and co-host on the CTV daytime talk show The Social.

Canada Reads 2015: Elaine "Lainey" Lui defends When Everything Feels like the Movies

10 years ago

Duration 3:04

Broadcaster Elaine "Lainey" Lui is championing When Everything Feels like the Movies for Canada Reads 2015. She tells CBC's Jelena Adzic what reading means to her.

• On mobile? Watch Lui defend her book here

Also part of the competition is the Governor General's Award-winning Ru by Montreal-based Kim Thúy, about a Vietnamese family adjusting to a new life in Quebec.

It will be championed by Cameron Bailey, artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival.

Canada Reads 2015: Cameron Bailey defends Ru

10 years ago

Duration 1:52

TIFF's artistic director, Cameron Bailey, describes his strategy for defending Kim Thúy's Ru, as translated by Sheila Fischman, to CBC's Jelena Adzic.

• On mobile? Watch Bailey defend Ru here

Meanwhile, children's rights activist Craig Kielburger will be on the panel with The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King of Guelph, Ont., which has won a British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction and an RBC Taylor Prize.

• Thomas King wins 2014 Governor General's Literary Award

The short list is rounded out by And the Birds Rained Down by Jocelyne Saucier, which will be championed by singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright, and Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes by Kamal Al-Solaylee, which will be defended by actress Kristin Kreuk.

Canada Reads 2015: Kristin Kreuk defends Intolerable

10 years ago

Duration 2:40

Actress Kristin Kreuk tells CBC's Jelena Adzic why she's defending Kamal Al-Solaylee's memoir Intolerable in CBC's annual battle of the books.

• On mobile? Watch Kreuk defend Intolerable here

Wab Kinew will host this year's instalment of Canada Reads, replacing fired CBC Radio personality Jian Ghomeshi.

• VIDEO | 'I'm not one to ignore the elephant in the room,' says Kinew

The week-long contest sees Canadian personalities defending a homegrown book — either fiction or non-fiction — in a series of debates that air on the public broadcaster's radio, TV and online platforms. The books are eliminated one by one until a winner is declared.