In a world where just about everybody is keenly broadcasting their opinions, criticisms and bright ideas on the Internet, Margaret Wente occupies what she calls “the best soapbox in Canada.”

Forget BlogSpot, Livejournal, Facebook or Twitter. As a weekly columnist for the Globe and Mail, Wente makes a living out of what is for so many only a hobby. And because the job title comes with the salary, resources and connections to back it up, the result is some high-quality socio-political musing.

Behold, her latest book: You Can’t Say That in Canada.

It’s the same Wente you know and love (or love to hate) in this sophomore collection of articles, following her 2004 book An Accidental Canadian. A renowned master of making fact-sticklers groan and critics think twice, she peddles armchair expertise on some current Canadian issues in this fast-reading 13-chapter selection.

Covering topics from education reform to country homes, from condo sales to Conrad Black, Wente takes things up a notch from her weekly, space-restricted Globe and Mail column. With the word-count cap lifted, all bets are off as she delves deeply into some particularly interesting Canadian kitchen-table topics.

Wente provides a background on her topics (albeit in a no-nonsense, liberal-centre tone) so readers don’t have to be news buffs to appreciate her stories. For Wente fans, there are two chapters dedicated to her more incendiary articles in the past: Newfoundland’s economy and her run-ins with the neighbours at her country home. (I hadn’t read these articles but again, not necessary – she gets you up to speed.)

Wente does win points for being realistic. While tackling topics that affect all Canadians, hers is the voice of a very particular demographic – the affluent, childless urban women of Toronto. She doesn’t ever assume to be speaking for all Canadians, though. Without a doubt, the book is at its funniest when she turns the unforgiving critic’s gaze onto the subject she knows best: her own life.

Sure, not all readers will have sympathy for how tricky it is to navigate the sale of a condo you don’t need. Her feelings of futility about the thousands of dollars of inoperable hi-tech goodies accumulating annually in her basement is borderline pathetic.

But she is the first to make the connection between her own affluence and lack of competence. And there are even some nuggets of wisdom for a twenty-something like myself. Her essays on marriage, education and aging debunk some commonly accepted cultural myths, causing one to think twice about the validity of the pressures we can assume are on us sometimes.

By the end of the book, if you’re still reading, she’s presumably won you over. So it is here that she shares her most personal reflections. Here, she masterfully maintains the balance between the professional and the personal, a skill that sets her apart from the aforementioned bloggers of the world, drawing the line between amateur and pro. It’s no easy task for someone who makes a living by sharing her inner dialogue with the public.

While “getting personal” with confessions about Expo ‘67, watching her parents age and her worries for the future, the tone and focus remain relevant to the reader, with implications touching on how aging boomers everywhere can attempt to respond to these challenges. By the final pages, you can’t help but be touched and endeared. Ultimately, Wente balances personal insights with popular relevance by never failing to show that her voice is one among many. In this book, she wears the hat of baby boomer, woman, consumer and ultimately and most sincerely, concerned Canadian.

The book concludes with a warm piece about her own fuzzy feelings towards Canada. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum or how high Wente gets your blood pressures gone through the book, you can’t help but relate in the closing chapter “Coming Home.”

This book could act as a portable and more extensive alternative to your favorite blog, with Wente’s voice as that of your funniest know-it-all girlfriend. So take this book out for coffee instead if your girlfriend’s not around. Anyone who appreciates a good argument is sure to love - or at least love to hate - You Can’t Say That in Canada.