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

A look back at the books reviewed in rabble's book lounge this past year reveals that it has been a diverse year for progressive books. Topics covered included poetry by and for activists, radical economics, environmental activism and foodscapes to community resistance in New Orleans, Gaza and the media. Here is a month by month look at rabble's top reviews from 2010. Click the book titles to view the full review.

January

The Making of an Elder Culture: Reflections on the Future of America's Most Audacious Generation by Theodore Roszak

Reviewed by Frank Preyde

Books are meant to be taken off the shelf and looked back on. So as we head into the last weeks of 2009 it’s time to take a look at all the progressive books released this year. The Book Lounge held a diverse array of literary works this year. Books this year explored foods leading to our demise, Canadians who have built our progressive movement, and reasons you may not want to take that cruise vacation. Take a look, there may be a book to enjoy some tea by this holiday season.

January :Christina McCall:'Feminist in arms'

Reviewed by Jessica Rose

In time for the relaunch of rabble.ca's website comes The Best of rabble.ca, 2.0, the second collection of the most notable original news, analysis, commentary, reviews and interviews over the past year.

Content ranging from Dawn Moore's critique of Robert Dziekanski's taser-related death to Matt Silburn's interview with Native leader Shawn Brant to Gavin Fridell's report on free-trade fueled "banana wars" fill the 120-page volume.

From the introduction: