Canada Reads - the 2006 edition

The daughter of two hard-working Chinese-Vietnamese refugees, Olympic wrestler Carol Huynh was born and raised in the small British Columbia town of Hazelton. Carol has won 11 Canadian championships and four world championship medals, and is a two-time Olympic medallist (2008 and 2012). She became a national hero after winning Canada's first gold medal at the Beijing Games in 2008, and she returned to Canada from the London Games with a bronze medal this past summer.

Carol's story is quintessentially Canadian. One of five children of Vietnamese refugees who found warmth and welcome in small-town Canada, Carol enjoyed athletics from a young age. She joined the wrestling team in high school, and has enjoyed and excelled at the sport ever since. She was recruited by Simon Fraser University in 1998, and made the World Junior team the following year. Carol lost her team spot on the Canadian national team in 2003 and 2004, leading up to the Athens Olympic Games — but that loss only fuelled her desire to make it to the Olympics.

In 2006, Carol moved from Vancouver to Calgary in order to pursue her Olympic dream and focus on training full time. That dedication paid off in 2008 and again in 2012 — Carol has never come home from the Olympics empty-handed.

Her discipline and hard work are evident in other areas of her life as well. In addition to her achievements as a world-class athlete, Carol has recently completed her master's degree in counselling psychology.

The comedian, actor and wrestler are the ones to watch/listen to.

What is the one book to break barriers? That's the question host Wab Kinew will be asking for the 14th edition of CBC's battle of the books.
Canada Reads 2015 is all about books that can change perspectives, challenge stereotypes and illuminate issues.

Shad and Alan Thicke both marvellously articulate.

Five Canadians - an actor, a musician, a comedian, a performer and a veteran - will battle it out to become the next Canada Reads champion beginning March 27, 2017.

Over four days, the five defenders will bring their diverse perspectives to answer the question: What is the one book Canadians need now?

The contenders and their chosen books are:

Chantal Kreviazuk defending The Right to Be Cold by Sheila Watt-Cloutier
Humble The Poet defending Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis
Tamara Taylor defending Company Town by Madeline Ashby
Candy Palmater defending The Break by Katherena Vermette
Jody Mitic defending Nostalgia by M.G. Vassanji
The Canada Reads debates, which take place from March 27 to 30, 2017, will be hosted by Ali Hassan from CBC's Laugh Out Loud.