New Releases
Books—and a board game—by Carleton’s grads and faculty for the word lover, the history buff and the commonly studious
Telling Tales
NounSense builds kids’ vocabulary through story building
Written by Fateema Sayani, BJ/01
Susan McArthur, BA/69, makes the most of kids’ irrepressible and endearing silliness with a board game called “NounSense.” The former elementary school teacher and corporate training manager spent a decade creating it. Aimed at children aged seven and older, the game uses short stories with fill-in-the-blank options to get kids talking and laughing.
Here’s how. The story “Oh, Beary Funny!” opens this way: “Faster! Faster!” Kyle yelled. He laughed, as he steered his car with one paw and waved a hairy ____ in the air.” The child reader chooses a silly noun word sticker for the blank spot.
So she could choose “finger” or something nonsensical like “noodle” for yuks. Depending on the word choice, the story becomes logical or laughable.
The list of silly nouns includes basic objects such as doorknob or pencil. Then there are giggle-inducing words that just sound funny, such as burp, blob and wiener. A point system is used to score the game—though the real gain is in the laughs and learning. Available from independent retailers and at nounsense.net. Children’s Corner Incorporated, $29.95.
The Kids Aren’t All Right
Field research in Canadian cities finds social class retrenchment on the rise. At issue? We need to invest in programs for low-income youth now—or risk paying later
Written by Nicole Findlay, BA/91
Despite the title of her book, “It’s not youth who are lost,” says Jacqueline Kennelly, assistant professor of sociology at Carleton. Instead, she thinks, “We, as citizens have lost our way in what a society does, who our societies are for and who is allowed to live and flourish in them.” She is co-author of Lost Youth in the Global City: Class, Culture and the Urban Imaginary with Jo-Anne Dillabough, a faculty member at the University of Cambridge, U.K.
They interviewed low-income, immigrant and working-class youth at two Canadian high schools. In Toronto, youth described themselves as ginos and thugs. In Vancouver, youth would reclaim derogatory terms such as “fresh off the boat” (fobs) to further classify their social circle. “Hongers” became a term for wealthy children from Hong Kong, though youth of Asian descent would be lumped into the same group. These youth identify themselves within subcultures as a way to make sense of their world, Kennelly says. Subcultures have always existed: think back to the greasers of the 1950s or the punks of the 1970s.
The difference between youth subcultures then and those of today, Kennelly contends, is that youth could formerly reject societal conventions but still had enough leeway to find a job within the legitimate economy. Earlier subcultures said, “Screw the system,” but got a factory job anyway—without finishing high school. Then the economy shifted from industry to knowledge-based jobs and factories migrated overseas, leaving today’s working-class youth up the creek. Kennelly says as society abandoned those at the bottom of the heap to the tender mercies of the market, youth started to blame themselves when they realized they were the losers.
She is not optimistic. Kennelly says youth living in poverty are marginalized because money that used to go to education, housing and welfare now goes to policing and the military. The shift to a more punitive society is a response to misconceptions that young immigrants and the poor are dangerous and immoral. “Low-income youth are increasingly at risk of being moved from public schools and into jails.” 240 pages, Routledge, $44.95.
Current Affairs
Security and Defence in the Terrorist Era, Second Edition
By Elinor C. Sloan, MA/89
The book highlights post-September 11 policies aimed at keeping North America safe while offering suggestions for improvement in what governments are doing now. 215 pages, McGill-Queen’s University Press, $27.95.
The Truth Shows Up: A Reporter’s Fifteen-Year Odyssey Tracking Down the Truth About Mulroney, Schreiber and the Airbus Scandal
By Harvey Cashore, BJ/87
This is a personal account by the CBC Fifth Estate reporter who doggedly researched the scandal and was routinely threatened, investigated and twice sued in an effort to stop him from uncovering the truth. Key Porter, $34.95.
Fiction
A Brush With Death
By Elizabeth J. Duncan, BA/74
In the second instalment of the Penny Brannigan series set in northern Wales, Penny sets out to solve the mystery of a decades-old hit-and-run accident that claimed the life of an up-and-coming Liverpool artist. 272 pages, St. Martin’s Press, $29.99.
History
Acts of Occupation: Canada and Arctic Sovereignty, 1918-25
By Janice Cavell, BA/97, PhD/03, and Jeff Noakes, PhD/05
The book pieces together the story of how the self-serving ambition of explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson ultimately led Canada to craft and defend a decisive policy on its claims to the Arctic. Cavell, a historian with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and Noakes, a historian at the Canadian War Museum, drew on the private papers of explorers Shackleton, Rasmussen and Stefansson. 320 pages, UBC Press, $90.
John Heney and Son: The Canadian Saga of an Ottawa Irish Family
By John J. Heney, BJ/79, MA/83
The author tells the story of his ancestor and namesake, heating-fuel magnate John Heney (1821-1909). 415 pages, General Store Publishing House, $29.95.
Law
Strictly Legal II: More Things You Absolutely Need to Know About Canadian Law
By Michael G. Cochrane, BA/75
The author, a partner with Ricketts, Harris LLP in Toronto, summarizes 10 things you should know if you venture into employment law, estates and intellectual property protection. 344 pages, Insomniac Press, $11.95.
Reference
Achieving Student Success: Effective Student Services in Canadian Higher Education
Edited by Donna Hardy Cox, MSW/85, and C. Carney Strange
Cox, an associate professor of social work at Memorial University in Atlantic Canada, began researching student services in higher education while at Carleton. This book compiles information on current practices at Canadian colleges and universities, along with a distillation of the principles that underlie effective student services. 272 pages, McGill-Queen’s University Press, $39.95.
Agency: Working With Uncertain Architectures
Edited by Florain Kossak, Doina Petrescu, Tatjana Schneider, Renata Tyszczuk and Stephen Walker.
This book explores how humanities research can contribute to current architectural needs. It’s broken down into three sections: Intervene, Sustain and Mediate and includes a chapter on “The Radical Potential of Architecture” written by Richard Lister, BA/98, MArch/07, and Thomas Nemeskeri, BArch/04, MArch/07. Lister works with Genivar in Ottawa, while Nemeskeri recently joined Hariri Pontarini Architects in Toronto. 192 pages, Routledge, $53.95.
Canadians Resident Abroad, 2011
By Garry R. Duncan, BCom/65
The book is aimed at Canadians who choose to relocate to another country for most of the year and answers questions regarding the tax consequences of leaving and returning from time to time. The author is a retired senior tax partner with BDO Dunwoody LLP. His publisher is a leading specialist in legal books. 400 pages, Carswell, $57.
Do We Need a Marriage Contract? Understanding How a Legal Agreement Can Strengthen Your Life Together
By Michael G. Cochrane, BA/75
The book is written in plain language and gives examples from Canadian cases. It includes a sample marriage contract and looks at the financial dimensions of blending families. As well, there are tips on having financial conversations without spoiling the romance. Those who are interested in shacking up can consult Cochrane’s other book, Do We Need a Cohabitation Agreement? 208 pages, Wiley, $26.95.
Social Studies
Blowing Up the Brand: Critical Perspectives on Promotional Culture
By Melissa Aronczyk and Devon Powers
CU communications professor Aronczyk co-edits this volume, which offers critical perspectives on how consumers use, absorb, navigate, confront and resist commercial influence. 348 pages, Peter Lang Publishing, $34.95.
Special Interest
New Perspectives on Horned Dinosaurs
Edited by Michael J. Ryan, BSc/80, Brenda J. Chinnery-Allgeier and David A. Eberth
The book uses modern science to answer paleo questions once considered out of reach. Ryan is vice-chair, curator and head of vertebrate paleontology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. 656 pages, Indiana University Press, $110.
The Nature and Uses of Eighteenth Century Book Subscription Lists
By Hugh Reid, BA/71, MA/76
The book, with a foreword by John Vance of the University of Georgia, examines the role of 18th-century book subscription lists and how the study of them may shed much light on that century’s book trade, book buyers and readers, and the culture of literacy. For example, the number of female subscribers increased as the century progressed. Reid teaches in the English department at Carleton University. 67 pages, Edwin Mellen Press, $65.
Theory of Nothing: Why Life Is Unexplainable
By Eric Scheuneman, BSc/65
The book proposes a theory to explain why Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking failed in what the author sees as their quest to explain the universe. The book surveys many facets of life: religion, mathematics, physics, biology and group behaviour among others and gives guidance on how to explain many things in life. 60 pages, Lulu.com, $12.95.
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