One eRead Canada
Visitez la page Un livrel Canada
One eRead/Un livrel Canada is a digital book club connecting readers and libraries from across Canada.
This year's One eRead Canada pick is Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah, with the French version translated by Daniel Grenier. The ebook will be available in French and English and the audiobook in English from April 1–30.
Hotline will be available in April without waitlists or holds so that all Canadians can read along at the same time. Download a copy during the month and join the discussion in English or French – or both!
Borrow the book
Accessible versions of Hotline are available from the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) in audio and braille in both English and French. Learn more about using Accessible Collections.
Join the conversation
While reading the book, people are encouraged to join the online discussion happening with readers from across the country in the One eRead Canada Facebook page or on Instagram @unlivreloneereadcanada.
There will also be two online events scheduled during the month:
- April 23 @ 7pm with Dimitri Nasrallah and translator Daniel Grenier (in French)
- April 25 @ 7pm with Dimitri Nasrallah and CBC's Alan Neal (in English)
Hotline also makes a great pick for book clubs! Use the book club guide to help get the conversation started and learn about the background of the novel
Not in a book club? Tell your friends and family from across Canada to read the book and meet virtually to share your thoughts.
The book
A vivid love letter to the 1980s and one woman's struggle to overcome the challenges of immigration.
It's 1986, and Muna Heddad is in a bind. She and her son have moved to Montreal, leaving behind a civil war filled with bad memories in Lebanon. She had plans to find work as a French teacher, but no one in Quebec trusts her to teach the language. She needs to start making money, and fast. The only work Muna can find is at a weight-loss center as a hotline operator.
All day, she takes calls from people responding to ads seen in magazines or on TV. On the phone, she's Mona, and she's quite good at listening. These strangers all have so much to say once someone shows interest in their lives – marriages gone bad, parents dying, isolation, personal inadequacies. Even as her daily life in Canada is filled with invisible barriers at every turn, at the office Muna is privy to her clients' deepest secrets.
Following international acclaim for Niko (2011) and The Bleeds (2018), Dimitri Nasrallah has written a vivid elegy to the 1980s, the years he first moved to Canada, bringing the era's systemic challenges into the current moment through this deeply endearing portrait of struggle, perseverance, and bonding.
-Esplanade Books
More resources
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The Newcomer Experience - Fiction
“Newcomer” is a broad term that encompasses a range of experiences and settlement journeys. Explore these fiction titles for varying newcomer narratives.
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The Newcomer Experience - Nonfiction
Read real-life stories about different newcomer experiences from Canada and around the world
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Settlement services
TPL works with newcomer-serving agencies to host settlement workers in library branches. Settlement workers offer one-on-one help and group programs to assist newcomers with important topics such as searching for a job, getting a driver's license, learning English and much more. Contact settlement staff directly to learn more about the help they can provide, both in-person and remotely.
About One eRead Canada
Launched in 2019, One eRead Canada is an annual initiative by the Canadian Urban Libraries Council to promote digital reading through public libraries, while also raising awareness about issues that libraries face in providing access to ebooks and audiobooks.