Friday, May 7, 2010

What green book you should give your mom on Mother's Day?

Mother's Day is going to be celebrated in many countries on Sunday and many people are already asking themselves - what can I bring my mom? what will make her happy?

My mom is a librarian and an avid reader and I always try to find an interesting book for her. This year it will be 'Sustainable Sushi' by Casson Trenor. In any event, a book is always a great gift and we want to help you with recommendations on the best green book to give your mom this Mother's Day.

We chose ten books from the ones we covered on our blog, which we believe will be a great fit to ten different types of moms we detailed below.

1. For the fashionable mother -

Green is the New Black: How to Change the World with Style by Tamsin Blanchard


Is your mother into fashion, but needs an introduction to eco-fashion? well, this is a great book to start the eco-fashion journey with.

Tamsin Blanchard, the Style Director of Telegraph Magazine and a longtime fashion journalist, wrote a guide on how to green up your lifestyle, without compromising on style, quality, being fashionable, etc. She is focusing on topics such as eco-fashion, eco-style, eco-friendly shoes and bags and getting the (green) look. In addition the book also presents the alternative way to be green and fashionable - DIY.

2. For the shopping mother -

Big Green Purse - Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World by Diane MacEachern

If your mother is in charge of shopping in the house, this is the perfect book for her. It will show her how she can change the world with a simple but deadly weapon: her purse.

This book is a call-to-action for women to use their power as buyers (women spend 85 percent of every dollar in the marketplace) to make a difference. MacEachern's message is simple but revolutionary: if women harness the "power of their purse" and intentionally shift their spending money to commodities that have the greatest environmental benefit, they can create a cleaner, greener world.

3. For the Jeff Garlin's fan mother -

My Footprint: Carrying the Weight of the World (audioboo
k) by Jeff Garlin

How do you know if your mother a fan of Jeff Garlin? Very simple. Does she watch ''Curb Your Enthusiasm', where he co-stars with "Seinfeld" creator Larry David? if your reply is Yes, then you can be positive your mother is a Garlin's fan!

Jeff Garlin
is a funny guy. Well, he's a comedian. But he's also a serious guy and in August 2008 he decided to set up an impressive goal: Reducing both his physical and carbon footprint. His journey is documented in a new and extremely funny audiobook released by Simon & Simon Audio. Read by the author, with a special guest appearance by Leonard Nimoy, My Footprint features exclusive audio material unavailable in any other format.

4. For the food (and cooking) loving mother -

100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon

This book can change your mom's kitchen for good. The 100-Mile Diet begins in a cottage in the Canadian wilderness with no light, fridge, car or hot water; After an inspired meal gathered only from the wild, Alisa and James launched a year-long diet of food only found within 100 miles of their home. They found themselves returning from their cottage not starving, but with armfuls more food than they arrived with.

It wouldn’t be easy. Stepping outside the industrial food system, Smith and MacKinnon found themselves relying on World War II-era cookbooks and maverick farmers who refuse to play by the rules of a global economy. They bargained for sacred squash at a suburban Buddhist temple, discovered the true sweetness of honey, and learned the lost history of dozens of varieties of local wheat. What began as a struggle slowly transformed into one of the deepest pleasures of their lives.

5. For the suburban mother -

Farewell My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living by Doug Fine

Here's a book about the experiences of a guy who exchanged the suburbs he grew up in into a farm life in New Mexico. Maybe it will convince your mother to follow suit..

Like many Americans, Doug Fine enjoys his creature comforts, but he also knows full well they keep him addicted to oil. So he wonders: Is it possible to keep his Netflix and his car, his Wi-Fi and his subwoofers, and still reduce his carbon footprint? In an attempt to find out, Fine up and moves to a remote ranch in New Mexico, where he brazenly vows to grow his own food, use sunlight to power his world, and drive on restaurant grease. Both a hilarious romp and an inspiring call to action, 'Farewell, My Subaru' makes a profound statement about trading today’s instant gratifications for a deeper, more enduring kind of satisfaction.

6. For the small business owner mother -

Greening Your Small Business: How to Improve Your Bottom Line, Grow Your Brand, Satisfy Your Customers - and Save the Planet by Jennifer Kaplan

Does your mother own (or work in) a small business? this book is the ultimate resource for small business owners who want to go green without going broke. With this great book in hand, not only your mom will thank you, but all of her small business!

Greening Your Small Business is the definitive resource
rce for those who want their small businesses to be cutting- edge, competitive, profitable, and eco-conscious. Filled with stories from small business owners of all stripes, Greening Your Small Business addresses every aspect of going green, from basics such as recycling, reducing waste, energy efficiency, and reducing the IT footprint, to more in-depth concerns such as green marketing and communications, green business travel, and green employee benefits.

7. For the busy mother -

The Armchair Environmentalist by Karen Christensen

Everyone are busy, especially moms. This is the book to show them how going green is not necessarily time consuming.

The Armchair Environmentalist is “a three minute-a-day action plan to save the world.” It focuses on what individuals can do to reduce their use of energy and water and create a healthier environment at home and at work. It is an easy read and chocked full of cute pictures and graphics. Printed on 100% recycled paper, this little book can fit easily into a briefcase or handbag, making it that much easier to take the info "to go".

8. For the mother with a big carbon footprint -

How to live a low-carbon life: the individual's guide to stopping climate change by Chris Goodball

How big is your mom's carbon footprint? don't know but wants to help her reduce it anyway? here's the guide she'll need.

A handbook for cutting your carbon footprint and bills, written by a former director at consumer champion Which?. It’s ideal for anyone at the early stage of greening up their life when you want the facts, and you want a cash-saving incentive to help you get motivated. Goodall’s book has a sufficient depth of detail to help your mom make decisions and shopping choices to cut her carbon emissions, instead of general and ultimately unhelpful advice like “drive less”, “use less energy” or “shop greener.”

9. For the mother who wants to be an urban farmer -

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter


Does your mom secretly dream on growing vegetables and maybe some animal farms, or in other words, on becoming an urban farmer? If she does, this book, who was described by Michael Pollan as 'edgy, moving and hilarious' is the one for her.

An unforgettably charming memoir, Farm City is full of hilarious moments, fascinating farmer's tips, and a great deal of heart. When Novella Carpenter-captivated by the idea of backyard self-sufficiency- moved to inner city Oakland and discovered a weed-choked, garbage- strewn abandoned lot next door to her house, she closed her eyes and pictured heirloom tomatoes and a chicken coop. The story of how her urban farm grew from a few chickens to one populated with turkeys, geese, rabbits, ducks, and two three-hundred-pound pigs will capture the imagination of anyone who has ever considered leaving the city behind for a more natural lifestyle.

10. For the mother who would like a good green guide -

Ecoholic: Your Guide to the Most Environmentally Friendly Information, Products, and Services by Adria Vasil

This book is for every mom who wants to go green and start living in an eco-friendly way and needs a good guide for this long journey. This excellent guide is the best green compass you can give her - it's thorough, useful and funny!

Ecoholic is an eye-opening guide to decoding the green from the greenwashed in the maze of products lining our shelves. Unlike other eco guidebooks, Ecoholic names names and gives you the dirt on what not to buy and why, as well as the dish on the most sustainable food, the greenest clothes, beauty products, home supplies, banking choices, sports gear, kids stuff and much much more. And yes, it will even take the toxins out of your love life. Ecoholic is a witty and indispensable guide to the small eco choices that make the biggest difference. No wonder reviewers have called this "sassy eco-bible" your " sacred text when it comes to making any life decisions."

If you choose to give your mother a book as a gift, you are more than welcome to balance it out with Eco-Libris, add our sticker to the book and make it the perfect green gift for Mother's Day.

Happy Mother's Day,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: plant a tree for every book your read!