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The debate is over: Graphic novels count as reading! And, Stratford's buzzy new rom-com
25 August 2026

The debate is over: Graphic novels count as reading! And, Stratford's buzzy new rom-com

Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud

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Everywhere you look, news stories and studies suggest people aren’t reading like they used to. At the same time, graphic novels have surged in popularity since the pandemic. Authors Jael Richardson and Arizona O’Neill join guest host Amil Niazi to discuss why people gravitate to graphic novels over text-only books.


Plus, there’s a new play out of Stratford from Canadian playwright Jovanni Sy, and it’s called The Tao of the World. It’s a riff on both the Restoration comedies of the 1700s and modern-day Asian rom-coms. Theatre critic Joshua Chong talks about how this new play updates a centuries-old genre with contemporary guile.