It’s been a busy year in the lounge! This year’s highlights include comedy for contrarians, vegan dieting, dissent deconstructed, revolutionary memoirs and books that undermine Harper’s omnibus crime bill.
Here is a month by month look at rabble’s top reviews from 2011. Click the book titles to view the full review.
January
Harper’s Team by Tom Flanagan
Harperland by Lawrence Martin
Reviewed by Am Johal
Am Johal dissects two books on Stephen Harper, Harper’s Team by Tom Flanagan and Harperland by Lawrence Martin, that tackle the rise of the Conservative Party in Canada and how our country can begin to envision and rebuild a social democratic vision that will inspire the country.
February
Other Tongues edited by Adebe De Rango-Adem and Andrea Thompson
Reviewed by May Lui
May Lui reflects on the personal essays, poetry and visual art in Other Tongues edited by Adebe De Rango-Adem and Andrea Thompson, a collection that brings to light the heartening and frustrating experiences and issues of women of mixed race identities.
March
Satiristas by Paul Provenza and Dan Dion
Reviewed by Charles Demers
Charles Demers delves into his own experiences and those of writer Dan Dion — along with Paul Provenza — of Comedians, Contrarians, Raconteurs & Vulgarians, and celebrates those comedians who choose to straddle the line between politically minded satire and wise-cracking blows and their engaging critiques.
April
The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman
Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World by Bob Torres and Jenna Torres
May of Mud Creek by Caitlin Black
Generation V: The Complete Guide to Going, Being, and Staying Vegan as a Teenager by Claire Askew
Reviewed by Jessica Rose
In part one of a two-part review Jessica Rose glimpses into the book lounge’s second instalment of rabble.ca’s vegan challenge with four books with different approaches on veganism. The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman provides easy and go-to solutions for vegan eaters looking to substitute old family recipes and learn fun facts about veganism.
Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World by Bob Torres and Jenna Torres provides an at times abrasive stance on local, organic, free-range and so-called ethical farming practices and useful information on life with a non-vegan partner, raising vegan children and how to deal with vegetarians and ex-vegans.
May of Mud Creek by Caitlin Black graphically illustrates the Canadian factory farming industry as told through the eyes of young protagonist Mary and provides useful notes about agribusiness and animal rights.
Generation V: The Complete Guide to Going, Being, and Staying Vegan as a Teenager by Claire Askew is part personal insight to the issues of being a vegan while young and still living at home and part well-researched facts on staying healthy, vegan activism and insight into factory farming.
Ripe from Around Here by jae steele
Reviewed by Jessica Rose
Rose again provides her insights into the world of veganism reviewing Ripe from Around Here by jae steele, a collection of recipes combining the vegan and local food movements and thought-provoking texts that encourage readers to savour food and value its characteristics and joys.
May
Stop Signs: Cars and Capitalism: On the Road To Economic, Social and Ecological Decay by Bianca Mugyenyi and Yves Engler
Reviewed by Stefan Christoff
Stefan Christoff travels the narrative of car culture and capitalism with Stop Signs: Cars and Capitalism: On the Road To Economic, Social and Ecological Decay by Bianca Mugyenyi and Yves Engler, a book that fuses hard facts and history of the car industry with North America’s dirty relationship with cars.
June
Black Bloc, White Riot: Anti-Globalization and the Genealogy of Dissent by AK Thompson
Reviewed by Dave Mitchell
David Mitchell adds personal colour to his review of Black Bloc, White Riot: Anti-Globalization and the Genealogy of Dissent by AK Thompson recounting the first day of demonstrations at the Summit of Americas protests in Quebec City, foreshadowing the uncrossed threshold that is the anti-globalization movement and the limitations and possibilities of street protests as critical to revolutionary transformation.
June
The Next Eco Warriors: 22 Young Women and Men Who are Saving the Planet edited by Emily Hunter
Reviewed by Derrick O’Keefe
Derrick O’Keefe passionately sides with Emily Hunter and the collection of short stories she has assembled in The Next Eco Warriors: 22 Young Women and Men Who are Saving the Planet, with the notion that hope is not a distant dream and this generation of environmental activists can create an opportunity for a stronger and more inclusive global environmental movement.
August
Come Hell or High Water: A Handbook on Collective Process Gone Awry by Delfina Vannucci and Richard Singer
Reviewed by Sonia Edworthy
Sonia Edworthy champions Come Hell or High Water: A Handbook on Collective Process Gone Awry by Delfina Vannucci and Richard Singer as a necessary critical analysis of the egalitarian collective process because it provides refreshing clarifications, critiques and deconstructions of this process for those already immersed in it.
September
Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter by Carmen Aguirre
Reviewed by Noreen Mae Ritsema
Noreen Ritsema relates the courage and bravery of Carmen Aguirre expressed in memoir Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter, a story of both Aguirre’s personal involvement in the Chilean resistance movement from the age of 11 and Chilean history, which Aguirre insists is an important part of Canadian history because of the Canadian involvement in the resistance.
October
The Antagonist by Lynn Coady
Reviewed by Nathaniel G. Moore
Nathaniel G. Moore imagines visions of Oscar Wilde and business executives luncheons during his review of The Antagonist by Lynn Coady, a revealing dissection of the male psyche nestled in cultural stereotypes and male entitlement.
November
What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girl’s Shame-Free Guide to Sex and Safety
Reviewed by Joanna Chiu
Joanna Chiu takes an honest look at Jaclyn Friedman’s What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girl’s Shame-Free Guide to Sex and Safety, revealing that the interactive guide’s dismantling of insidious ideas about sex and dating is not only possible, but fun and transformative.
December
Fearmonger: Stephen Harper’s Tough on Crime Agenda by Paula Mallea
Through the Glass by Shannon Moroney
Reviewed by Matthew Behrens
Matthew Behrens compares two drastically different books and their outlooks on the Harper government’s omnibus crime bill: Through the Glass by Shannon Moroney and Fearmonger: Stephen Harper’s Tough on Crime Agenda by Paula Mallea. Moroney’s account of her convicted husband’s journey through the court systems and now prison, advocates a need for support for those in the system to address the root causes of their crimes, but also for the families left behind by the court system. Mallea’s in-depth analysis dissects each of the crime agenda’s proposals based on her own extensive background in criminal law, expert voices and common sense arguments to conclude that punishment for punishment’s sake will only result in costly billions and a less safe society.
Kaitlin McNabb is a Vancouver-based writer and intern at rabble.ca.
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