The books and authors that inspire actor and Canada Reads panellist Malia Baker
Scarborough is being championed by actor and activist Malia Baker on Canada Reads 2022
Canadian actor and activist Malia Baker starred in the much-loved Netflix show The Baby-Sitters Club, an adaptation of the bestselling book series. She played Mary Anne Spiers, perhaps the most relatable character of the group of girls who start their own baby-sitting business.
Baker also played the lead role in the Lifetime film Caught in His Web, produced by veteran actor and TV host Whoopi Goldberg, and stars alongside Paul Bettany and Candice Bergan in the dramedy Harvest Moon.
When she's not filming, Baker focuses on her passion for advocacy, using her platform to inspire and empower girls to raise their voices for change and equality.
Baker is championing Scarborough by Catherine Hernadez on Canada Reads 2022.
Canada Reads will take place March 28-31. The debates will be hosted by Ali Hassan and will be broadcast on CBC Radio One, CBC TV, CBC Gem and on CBC Books.
Baker told CBC Books about growing up with a deep love of reading, and some of the books and authors that have inspired her along the way.
The classics
"My book journey started when I was really young. One of the first books that I got from my mom, who got it from her mom, was handed down to us and had a little description on the front page from our parents — it was The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. And to this day, I love that book.
"Then that kind of turned into, 'Oh, I really like the prose poetry used, and I want more things like that.' And so I got into the works of Oscar Wilde at that point — the first one that I read was the Importance of Being Earnest, and from there, I was hooked.
"And to this day, one of my favourites is The Baby-Sitters Club books, [in particular] Mary Anne Saves the Day — that is my favourite for obvious reasons. It's just a huge chunk of my life, and I can't imagine where I'd be without it."
The thinkers
"The Darkroom by Marguerite Duras – that's one I picked up when I was in New York last year and I just fell in love with it. It dived into prose poetry so well, and I was just fangirling over every sentence.
"Another book I picked up this year was one by Michel de Montaigne. I got it while I was filming in South Carolina, and it was a very unexpected find. It was this kind of beat-down bookstore with records on the wall, and everyone was just so welcoming. Books were piled up on the floor and you could just tell that it was full of love. And I picked up this book there — it's just a bunch of his selected essays, and they're really advanced thoughts. I'm a very big fan of philosophy, and so having that there has always been my favourite."
The Canadians
"The Skin We're In by Desmond Cole was a Canadian favourite for me. I read it last year and it just spoke to me on so many levels.
I read [The Skin We're In] last year and it just spoke to me on so many levels.
"One Canadian author that I grew up with was Ashley Spires — thank you to Binky the Space Cat and The Most Magnificent Thing. I could talk about those books forever. I love them so much. She lived in my town [in B.C.], where it's just a very tight-knit community here. So just having her kind of be the representative of where I'm from and what I grew up with, it's really special."
A love of books
"I grew up in a reading town, the kind that would go to the book fairs 24/7. And if you got a spot to volunteer at one of the book fairs, you were like the coolest kid in town. And of course, we all tried to be that cool kid and no one ever was — I really wasn't. [laughs] But I feel like books just being there and having that escape from reality, you're able to close it whenever you want. And with real life, you can't just close it that easily.
I'll always be a fan of the paperback book — it's just something to rely on and something that almost feels like home.
"Books are timeless — they're always going to be there. I can imagine when it's not — maybe with technology advancing, but I really hope not — that's going to be a day to remember for sure. I'll always be a fan of the paperback book — it's just something to rely on and something that almost feels like home."
The Canada Reads 2022 contenders
- Christian Allaire champions Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
- Malia Baker champions Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez
- Tareq Hadhad champions What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad
- Suzanne Simard champions Life In the City of Dirty Water by Clayton Thomas-Müller
- Mark Tewksbury champions Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
