I found this book too extreme. I have been a vegetarian for over 3 years and I love animals, but I do believe in balance and not forcing my own political and social views on others. I think we need to respect people and accept them where they are or just walk away.

This is a great and helpful book. For those already vegan, it will help reaffirm your reasons for staying one. For those thinking about going vegan, it might just be a nudge you need to take that important step.

I've read some reviews that said this book was preachy and condescending; I did not find it so.* Granted, I already am vegan for ethical reasons. And I also know that some truths are hard and upsetting to hear. But if you truly are in this for animal welfare reasons, then vegan all the way is the only way to go.

*Also, I've read the 2nd (revised, expanded, and updated) edition, so maybe some of what people were complaining about pertains for the 1st one and was changed since.

59/#52książki2018

Książka bardzo amerykańska (kto by się spodziewał po dwójce Amerykanów?). Autorzy mają spoko poczucie humoru, ale generalnie mnie rozczarowała.
Po marketingu, spodziewałam się zupełnie innego produktu - czegoś co z humorem opisze jak weganin może sobie radzić z trudnościami funkcjonowania w niewegańskim świecie (jak głosi podtytuł), z jakimi problemami może się borykać.
Tymczasem 3/4 książki to mówienie o tym, że należy przejść na weganizm, dlaczego należy przejść na weganizm, etc. I to jeszcze okraszoną pełną powtórzeń retoryką i radykalizmem.
Chociaż zgadzam się pod wieloma względami z poglądami autorów, ciężko mi było to czytać.
Na pewno nie należy podsuwać tej książki nie-wegańskim znajomym zainteresowanym tematem, bo, IMHO, tylko ich zniechęci do weganizmu. Mnie by zniechęciła.

Apparently I'm doing veganism wrong. Not bitter and twisted enough. Not like what Jenna and Bob are.

Hmm.

Would've been fine if the authors didn't come off as such snobs

I wish I could say I liked this book, but I just didn't. Perhaps because according to their standards I'm not an 'ethical' vegan, I'm an 'enviro' vegan. I also live in Paris... I know this city like my back pocket, and still find eating out difficult. I can tell you, you will most likely succumb to Peter Singer's "Paris exception" knowingly or unknowingly. Here, there is mayo, cheese, milk and butter in strange places, lentilles are usually boiled in beef stock, etc. As far as "accommodating restaurants" in Paris, hmmmm, they are few and far in between. And I speak French. One waiter told me, "This is not Burger King 'have it your way'" which I found extra odd since we don't even have Burger King here (?).

Then came the chapter on 'Enviro-veganism', which the authors call a "fundamental misunderstanding of what veganism is", and, "we'd be swimming against a strong tide to suggest that anything done for environmental reasons is somehow not something done for a good reason." Indeed. Very strong tide. Where will we all live, humans and non-humans, if we ruin the planet? What will we eat? What about clean water? This, in my mind, discredited the entire book, hence the one star (and only because that one star means "I didn't like it", otherwise it would be zero stars).

Also, I did not like the sentence "that hot little black 'fuck me' dress'" as that has some very foul implications to it. I live in Paris : I have an entire closet full of LBDs (little black dresses). None of them with the aim for that sort of attention.

Informative, casual style. Was a touch repetitive. Inspirational for aspiring vegans. Was unique in that it included a section on vegan sex toys, seriously.

This book is not really for those curious about veganism or the philosophy behind it. Although it gives a rundown of animal rights and why they're important, it's not as in-depth a resource you would want for someone who's undecided. It is however a good resource for those who are already on the same page ethically speaking and who are strongly considering it or are already vegan. The strongest point of the book is the chapter that gives advice about how to deal with hostility towards veganism and non-vegan friends and family members. There are a lot of vegan cookbooks out there but to my knowledge this is the only book about veganism that exists primarily for support and encouragement. It strikes the right balance of non-preachy but non-apologetic, and it's pretty entertaining as well. I finished it in a couple of days. I would recommend it to anyone who's on the cusp of veganism already and needs an extra push as well as any vegan who wants advice on how to deal with a non-vegan world.

Do you ever feel like a total freak? I think most vegans have felt that way at one time or another. Whether it is in the company of family who still believe you are going through a phase or friends who tease you about being a plant killer, going vegan can make you feel like the only compassionate person in a world full of ignorance.
That is why reading Vegan Freak by Bob and Jenna Torres was refreshing. Reading it, I felt like I was in good company and not the only one who has to deal with meat-pushing family and friends. In fact there were many moments in the book when I found myself thinking, “Yes! I have felt that way!” The book is written in a conversational style and despite dealing with serious subject matter the authors have the talent of injecting a healthy dose of humour into their writing. Some parts of the book had me laughing out loud.
Vegan Freak appealed to me because it is aimed at people who are vegan, or who want to become vegan for ethical reasons. Many books on veganism are about health, weight loss and spiritual benefits. I’m not knocking those things, but it was nice to read a book by people who are vegan for the same reasons I am – for the animals.
An important point that was drummed home throughout Vegan Freak was that “meek vegans suffer”. As a natural people pleaser I sometimes find it hard to tell people I am vegan. It’s not that I’m ashamed (quite the contrary), but I hate putting them out or making them feel bad. Vegan Freak showed me that I can be polite and still let people know about my dietary requirements. In ‘Chapter 2 – In Which We Get All AR On You’ the authors discuss the basics of why people become vegan and I surprised myself by learning something new about gross hidden animal ingredients that I wasn’t aware of before. I guess I will be checking ingredients even more carefully in the future.
If you have a sense of humour and you aren’t afraid of laughing at yourself you will love this book, but if you take yourself too seriously perhaps it won’t be for you. I noticed amongst the positive reviews on Amazon a few negative ones that didn’t seem to get the joke. It is important to remember that one book cannot cover everything on veganism and animal rights. Vegan Freak is not an in depth analysis of animal rights. However, it does have a wonderful resource section, which has given me loads of new ideas for my book wish list.
So for vegans present and future who want to gain some skills for living in a non-vegan world I recommend you add this book to your vegan and animal rights collection and embrace your inner Vegan Freak.

This book makes no bones about why and when you should be vegan. I felt it is very well written with good facts to back it up. Still not sure if I can give up my eggs but the Torres make a good argument on why I should.

This book seems mainly to be aimed at vegetarians that are considering going vegan, so any established vegans are going to find it a bit preaching-to-the-converted. As I've been vegan for a few months, I did feel it helped affirm the decision I'd made (not that I particularly needed the affirmation). There is some useful, kind of common-sense, advice about dealing with non-vegans who are either curious or hostile towards the vegan lifestyle. The authors employ a very relaxed tone which, after a while, just starts to come across as overly and insincerely chummy and the swearing increases as you progress through the book. While I have absolutely no problem with swearing - indeed, I have a mouth like a fucking docker - it just seems inappropriate after a while. It's almost as if the book is aimed exclusively at people in their late teens/early twenties. All that said, it's a quick and useful read and I would recommend any new vegans or people considering veganism, or even just vegetarianism, to race through it.

i read this for a school assignment. i'm vegan, and i get what is trying to be said here, but this was.......... overdramatic. the first two thirds of the book were especially so while the last part of it actually had a lot of good tips for eating out and being vegan on a day-to-day basis. the whole thing felt preachy and wasn't sympathetic at all, which again, i understand why, but it was just a LOT

would i give/recommend this to someone non-vegan? definitely not lmao