Click on the thumbnails to find out which non-fiction titles mattered the most in 2012.
-
- 95305
- In a year bloated with musician biographies, leave it to Neil Young to upend the usual approach to the sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll memoir. Written with little heed to chronology or fans' desires for dirt on his musical past, Young “ a.k.a. Shakey, a.k.a. the Godfather of Grunge “ enthusiastically shares his (occasionally sketchy) memories of performing with Buffalo Springfield and CSNY, his enthusiasm for model trains, and his recent sobriety. <br /> <p> As Emily Donaldson writes in her review, This charming, poignant volume is much like Young's oeuvre: sustained periods of pure delight punctuated by sudden, unexpected turns. The stream in Young's stream-of-consciousness is more like a river that's burst its banks. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0399159460/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=15121&creative=330641&creativeASIN=0399159460&linkCode=as2&tag=quillquire-20">Buy this book</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.ca/e/ir?t=quillquire-20&l=as2&o=15&a=0399159460" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important;margin:0px !important" /></p>
- <A HREF="http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=7829">Waging Heavy Peace by Neil Young (Blue Rider Press/Penguin)</A>
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/waging-90x90.jpg
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/waging.jpg
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/waging.jpg
- 333
- 500
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/books-year/2012/11/27/books-of-the-year-2012-non-fiction/slide/waging/
- waging
- 0
- 0
-
- 95304
- Jan Wong's latest memoir has two distinguishing features. As a first-person account of workplace depression, it addresses a topic too often swept under the rug. And it happens to be self-published.<br /> <p> <i>Out of the Blue</i> details the unravelling of Wong's career as a top-ranking journalist following her controversial coverage of the 2006 Dawson College shooting in Montreal. After losing her job at <i> The Globe and Mail</i>, Wong applies skills honed as a long-time reporter and columnist to examine her resulting spiral into depression, debilitating writers' block, and drawn-out legal battle with her former employer. <br /> </p><p> What could easily have become a mere settling of scores has clearly struck a nerve: <i>Out of the Blue</i> is a national bestseller, with 10,000 copies in print. The book's success is even more surprising considering it almost did not see the light of day after its original publisher, Doubleday Canada, dropped the project in the months leading up to publication. Wong may have travelled a long road, but <i> Out of the Blue</i> signals her courageous return.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0987868500/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=15121&creative=330641&creativeASIN=0987868500&linkCode=as2&tag=quillquire-20">Buy this book</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.ca/e/ir?t=quillquire-20&l=as2&o=15&a=0987868500" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important;margin:0px !important" /><br /> <br /> </p>
- <A HREF="http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=7641">Out of the Blue: A Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption and, Yes, Happiness by Jan Wong (self-published)</A>
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/OutOfTheBlue-90x90.jpg
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/OutOfTheBlue.jpg
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/OutOfTheBlue.jpg
- 327
- 500
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/books-year/2012/11/27/books-of-the-year-2012-non-fiction/slide/outoftheblue/
- outoftheblue
- 0
- 0
-
- 95303
- Health care is a subject of perennial interest to Canadians, and it is a subject Julie Devaney knows from the inside out. Literally. <br /> <p> Initially diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, Devaney spent five years being poked and prodded, undergoing degrading treatments and submitting to all manner of invasive tests and procedures, all the while suffering debilitating pain. After a prolonged ordeal, she was told her initial diagnosis was incorrect: she actually suffered from Crohn's Disease.<br /> </p><p> <i>My Leaky Body</i> is not a typical illness memoir. It is rather a first-person account of negotiating the Canadian health-care system as a patient, and a passionate call for reform in the way the system treats the vulnerable. But this is by no means a dour read: Devaney's story is told with self-deprecation and large dollops of humour.<br /> </p><p> In a starred review, Shawn Syms writes, The author portrays herself as neither martyr nor saint¦. As she learns the various ways she can exercise greater self-determination, her desire and capacity to empower others is heightened. The result is moving and genuinely inspirational. It just might effect some positive change, to boot.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0864926766/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=15121&creative=330641&creativeASIN=0864926766&linkCode=as2&tag=quillquire-20">Buy this book</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.ca/e/ir?t=quillquire-20&l=as2&o=15&a=0864926766" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important;margin:0px !important" /><br /> </p>
- <A HREF="http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=7720">My Leaky Body: Tales from the Gurney by Julie Devaney (Goose Lane Editions)</A>
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/leaky-90x90.jpg
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/leaky.jpg
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/leaky.jpg
- 299
- 402
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/books-year/2012/11/27/books-of-the-year-2012-non-fiction/slide/leaky/
- leaky
- 0
- 0
-
- 95302
- Guy Delisle can be difficult to pin down. In his previous books, the Quebec City native reported from inside some of the world's most oppressive regimes (North Korea, Burma, China). But his work is concerned more with chronicling the mundane details of everyday life than staking out political ground. That he manages to do this in a genre he practically invented “ the long-form, comic-book-style travel memoir “ makes his accomplishments all the more impressive.<br /> <p> Delisle's mastery of wry observation and telling detail is on full display in his latest graphic memoir, in which he follows his wife “ a humanitarian activist “ to Jerusalem. What emerges is a revealing portrait of an extremely complex place, told through a series of vignettes recounting Delisle's efforts to care for his young son while exploring the divided city. <br /> </p><p> A star in the world of French bande dessinée, Delisle has emerged as one of Canada's foremost travel writers and memoirists in any genre. <i>Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City</i> is his best “ and most ambitious “ work to date.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1770460713/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=15121&creative=330641&creativeASIN=1770460713&linkCode=as2&tag=quillquire-20">Buy this book</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.ca/e/ir?t=quillquire-20&l=as2&o=15&a=1770460713" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important;margin:0px !important" /><br /> <br /> </p>
- Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City by Guy Delisle (Drawn & Quarterly)
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Delisle_Jerusalem-90x90.jpg
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Delisle_Jerusalem.jpg
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Delisle_Jerusalem.jpg
- 361
- 500
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/books-year/2012/11/27/books-of-the-year-2012-non-fiction/slide/delisle_jerusalem/
- delisle_jerusalem
- 0
- 0
-
- 95301
- In a publishing category dominated by TV chefs and trend-inspired tomes, Naomi Duguid has developed an avid following for her lavish, travel-based cookbooks. The secret to Duguid's success lies in her ability to render intimidating foreign cuisines and cultures accessible: the books are as beautiful as they are useful in the kitchen. Even non-cooks will be awed by the gorgeous photography and informative travelogue entries, which impart as much about the food as a region's history and its people.<br /> <p> Duguid's previous titles, including the James Beard Cookbook of the Year Award“winning <i>Flatbreads and Flavors: A Baker's Atlas</i> and <i>Hot Sour Salty Sweet</i>, were imposing coffee-table books co-authored by her ex-partner, Jeffrey Alford. In Burma: Rivers of Flavor, Duguid proves she's as capable of producing a stellar cookbook on her own, imbuing the text with insight, thorough research, and obvious affection for the country. The recipes are surprisingly simple, the ingredients increasingly easy to find. A smaller format and accessible price point should also attract new readers, who may have been afraid to sully the earlier books' glossy pages with a smear of chili sauce.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0307362167/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=15121&creative=330641&creativeASIN=0307362167&linkCode=as2&tag=quillquire-20">Buy this book</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.ca/e/ir?t=quillquire-20&l=as2&o=15&a=0307362167" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important;margin:0px !important" /><br /> </p>
- Burma Rivers of Flavor by Naomi Duguid; Richard Jung, photog. (Random House Canada)
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/burma-90x90.jpg
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/burma.jpg
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/burma.jpg
- 388
- 500
- https://stage.quillandquire.com/books-year/2012/11/27/books-of-the-year-2012-non-fiction/slide/burma/
- burma
- 0
- 0
Contact us via email
