Breaking down genre prejudice with the first romance book on Canada Reads
On Day One of Canada Reads 2024, Mirian Njoh and Heather O'Neill share their appreciation of the romance genre
Championed by fashion influencer Mirian Njoh, Meet Me at the Lake is Canada Reads' first ever romance book.
A charming story where a first encounter, a magical day spent together in Toronto, doesn't live up to its initial promise, Meet Me at the Lake gives the star-crossed couple a chance to finish what they started 10 years later. But naturally, things get complicated — and it's these complications that shed light into the human experience.
While sometimes overlooked for its happy endings and at times unrealistic plots, romance is a top performer when it comes to book sales in Canada. But it's not all about the sales — Njoh argued that romance novels are all about human connection, helping them appeal to a wide audience.
"The only thing you need to do to get into it is to just relinquish and release any kind of unfounded biases or judgments that you may have about the genre and you can find that you will connect to it because these are human experiences."
Citing the genre's popularity, Njoh sees it as a gateway to reading in general, which is part of the reason why she wanted to champion a romance book on Canada Reads 2024.
If we're talking about opening up people to reading, romance is the way to go.- Mirian Njoh
"If we're talking about opening up people to reading, romance is the way to go and I think that [Meet Me at the Lake is] a beautiful story and and it's very gripping."
A writer best-known for her literary fiction, Heather O'Neill admitted that while she had preconceptions about the genre going into the debates, she's opened herself back up to it.
To get herself into the romance mindset, she thought back to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, what some might call the prototype for the genre.
"That novel was so revolutionary when she wrote it. All the men were up in arms," O'Neill said. "But it was the idea that you could write about women's issues and you didn't need a big plot or some adventure or wars, but what a woman was thinking and considering about her day was enough for the greatest fiction."
When reading Meet Me at the Lake, O'Neill picked up on how the conventions of romance have changed with time to uplift women and allow them to discuss their sexuality and desires.
"It's not trying to find the most wealthy man. It's not about finding Mr. Big. It has become about a woman finding her equal, someone who will support her and will be her match."
It has become about a woman finding her equal, someone who will support her and will be her match.-Heather O'Neill
The 2024 Canada Reads contenders are:
- Athlete and CBC Sports contributor Dallas Soonias champions Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
- Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi champions Denison Avenue by Christina Wong & Daniel Innes
- Fashion influencer Mirian Njoh champions Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
- Actor Kudakwashe Rutendo champions Shut Up You're Pretty by Téa Mutonji
- Author Heather O'Neill champions The Future by Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou
Here's how to tune into Canada Reads 2024:
ONLINE: CBC Books will livestream the debates at 10:05 a.m. ET on CBCBooks.ca, YouTube and CBC Gem.
The debates will be available to replay online each day. The livestream on YouTube will be available to watch outside Canada.
If you'd rather listen to the debates online, they will air live on CBC Listen. A replay will be available later each day.
ON RADIO: Canada Reads will air on CBC Radio at 10:05 a.m. in the Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones.
It will air at 11:05 a.m. in Nunavut, the Maritimes, 1:05 p.m. in Labrador and at 1:35 p.m. in Newfoundland.
The debates will replay at 9 p.m. local time in all time zones, except in Newfoundland, where it will replay at 9:30 p.m.
ON TV: CBC TV will broadcast Canada Reads at 1 p.m. in the Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones. It will air at 2 p.m. in the Atlantic time zone and at 2:30 p.m in the Newfoundland time zone.
PODCAST: The episode will be posted each day after the live airing. You can download the episodes on the podcast app of your choice.
