Green book review (and a giveaway!): Closer to the Ground by Dylan Tomine

I'm sure you've heard of outdoor clothing company Patagonia. For 40 years, they have outfitted hardcore climbers to casual day hikers. But puffy jackets and fleece-wear aside: did you know that Patagonia is also in the book business?

We are excited to share with you today one of Patagonia Books' brand new eBook offerings, and we're even more excited to have a giveaway of one digital copy of the book we're reviewing today! See details below.

So today we have the pleasure to review a great book from Patagonia Books: Closer to the Ground by Dylan Tomine.

What this book is about?
Closer to the Ground is the deeply personal story of a father learning to share his love of nature with his children, not through the indoor lens of words or pictures, but directly, palpably, by exploring the natural world as they forage, cook and eat from the woods and sea.

This compelling, masterfully written tale follows Dylan Tomine and his family through four seasons as they hunt chanterelles, fish for salmon, dig clams and gather at the kitchen table, mouths watering, to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Closer to the Ground captures the beauty and surprise of the natural world—and the ways it teaches us how to live—with humor, gratitude and a nose for adventure as keen as a child’s.

It is a book filled with weather, natural history and many delicious meals. A compelling story of raising children to know the natural world. Captures the adventure of foraging, cooking and eating close to home. Finely crafted narrative of outdoor life through the seasons. Originally published 2012; eBook published 2012.

Our review:
I live a fine line between city and country. I work in the city, but live very differently, within my rural property. It’s one of those fine lines in life. The book, Closer to the Ground , by Dylan Tomine, is a book on how he and his wife and two children don’t live that fine line. They instead live the life of nature as best they can.

I’m a bit jealous to be honest. In this book we get to spend a year of this life as a fly on the wall watching and learning and wondering if we could do it ourselves and do it even half as well as they do. The life stories of crabbing and clamming and digging for oysters; the constant worry and year round back breaking work of putting up wood for heat; the mushroom and yes, deer hunting; fishing for salmon and anything and everything else in season; gardening and “gathering”, the good, the bad, the tearful. We follow along to see and feel both the wins and the losses of each of these events.

As the reader, we get to meet fun and interesting people, both in passing and through memories. There is a chapter / inner debate on the benefits and detriments in our world footprint featuring a Prius and an old beat up Montero. The issues are there. The worries of the world are there. They are more palatable because they are not shoved down you throat with demands. This author shows you all the sides of the issues he faces every day, whether its over deforestation or burning wood for heat instead of using electric energy; or growing your own food instead of getting the hybrids and grocery store selections; or going out and fighting to catch fresh fish and dig fresh clams instead of worrying about hormone laced store bought meats.

Again, the issues are apparent, but they are there within the story. Not just facts thrown at you and expected to take root. His life looks hard and wet and cold and backbreaking, but it also looks wonderful from the outside looking in. This book is such a fantastic read. I absolutely loved it. High praise coming from me, but true all the same. I say again, I loved it.

You can purchase here (both in paper and electronic formats).

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away one digital copy of this book, courtesy of the publisher, Patagonia Books!

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to add a comment to this post with a reply to the following question: What is your favorite outdoor activity? (and why..). We will have a raffle on Friday, Dec 21, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will reply by then. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Audiobook recommendations for the summer: Skinnydipping by Bethenny Frankel (and a giveaway!)

Today we start a new summer series of audiobook recommendations, and we have a great pleasure to open it with the perfect audiobook for the summer - it's funny, witty, interesting and can keep you entertained (and fully awake) for a whole road trip or couple of shorter trips to the beach.

Our audiobook is: Skinnydipping by Bethenny Frankel, read by January LaVoy. The audiobook is published by Simon & Schuster Audio.

This is a great audiobook and it helped me to actually hope a trip I took from NY to Delaware won't end as I haven't finished listening to the audiobook.. I had to patiently wait until my next trip to finish it. I enjoyed Frankel's wit and ability to build a complicated story and yet keep it light and funny. LaVoy's narrating is also very impressive, providing a real added value to the story. Bottom line - Skinnydipping is highly recommended, especially now, in the hot summer days!

What's Skinnydipping about? Here's the audiobook description:

Two-time New York Times bestselling author and one of TV’s biggest reality stars, Bethenny Frankel presents a sexy, hilarious, and romantic novel about a struggling actress and aspiring businesswoman’s pursuit of the female trifecta: a wildly successful career, the perfect man, and an amazing body.

Bestselling author, successful businesswoman, popular reality TV star, natural foods chef, and devoted mom Bethenny Frankel pens the perfect guilty pleasure novel—the sexy, hilarious, and romantic misadventures of a struggling actress and aspiring businesswoman burning through Hollywood and New York in determined pursuit of the female trifecta: the perfect man, job, and body. This outrageously entertaining and bawdy roman à clef follows a business-savvy, would-be actress as she burns through men like she burns through calories—our sexy, loud-mouthed heroine grasps at any opportunity that might take her to the top.

Listeners will jump at the chance to hear about the thrilling highs and cringe-worthy lows of Bethenny’s first shaky steps into adulthood, told here in a fictional format. Fans know Bethenny won’t shy away from the nitty gritty details of her career failures, romantic faux pas, and wild stories of “only needing a Tic Tac and a coochie” to have a good time on the town—and she will deliver them all with the biting wit her fans have come to love through her TV shows and bestselling nonfiction. While it may be a novel, there is no doubt that this is Bethenny, spilling her funniest stories and juiciest secrets over a few cocktails, with, as always, her trademark honesty: straight from the hip.

In this video clip author Susan Orlean talks about the audiobook and why she chose to narrate her book:

Skinnydipping is available on Amazon - http://amzn.to/M134UP.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away one copy of this audiobook, courtesy of the publisher, Simon & Simon audio!

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to add a comment to this post with a reply to the following question: In which reality show you would like to be on? (and why..). We will have a raffle on Monday, July 9, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will reply by then. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Winners of the Angel Esmeralda audiobook giveaway

We have winners on our giveaway of The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories by Don Delillo, a great audiobook with a collection of 9 short stories of Delillo.

We asked you to tell us who your favorite short stories author is and got great replies. And our winners are Heather (her favorite author - Charles de Lint) and JenBreesmom (her favorite author - O. Henry).

Thank you to all the participants and to Simon & Schuster Audio who provides the copies for the winners!

The audiobook is available on Amazon: http://amzn.to/nvNYNe and on iTunes: http://bit.ly/rLYYoA

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Audiobook for the holidays - part 2: Our Choice by Al Gore (and a giveaway!)

Today we continue our series 'Audiobook for the holidays', where we review, recommend and give away 4 great audiobooks. Last week we introduced you to Boomerang by Michael Lewis. Today we're excited to introduce you to an audiobook that is maybe not very new, but given the news from Durban is more relevant than ever.

Our second audiobook on this series is OUR CHOICE: A Plan To Solve the Climate Crisis by Al Gore, read by John Slattery (aka Roger Sterling) and Cynthia Nixon (aka Miranda of Sex and the City).

The audiobook is published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Here's an excerpt from the audiobook narrated by Sex & the City's Cynthia Nixon, Mad Men's John Slattery, and Al Gore:



Here's more about "OUR CHOICE" from Al Gore's introduction to the book:

It is now abundantly clear that we have at our fingertips all of the tools we need to solve the climate crisis. The only missing ingredient is collective will.

Properly understood, the climate crisis is an unparalleled opportunity to finally and effectively address many persistent causes of suffering and misery that have long been neglected, and to transform the prospects of future generations, giving them a chance to live healthier, more prosperous lives as they continue their pursuit of happiness.

Our Choice gathers in one place all of the most effective solutions that are available now and that, together, will solve this crisis. It is meant to depoliticize the issue as much as possible and inspire readers to take action -- not only on an individual basis, but as participants in the political processes by which every country, and the world as a whole, makes the choice that now confronts us.

There is an old African proverb that says, "If you want to go quickly, go alone; if you want to go far, go together." We have to go far, quickly.

We can solve the climate crisis. It will be hard, to be sure, but if we can make the choice to solve it, I have no doubt whatsoever that we can and will succeed.

It sounds like a great book and I warmly recommend to get the audiobook - not only that you'll be saving paper, but you'll have it read by John Slattery and Cynthia Nixon, which is a great added value to the interesting content the book has to offer.

"An Inconvenient Truth" made a difference in the way the world is understanding and dealing with global warming and contributed greatly to the progress we have seen in the last couple of years. We can only wonder what impact this book will have.

The audiobook is available on Amazon: http://amzn.to/rI8RoI and on iTunes: http://bit.ly/uulO2Z

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away two copies of this audiobook, one of them signed by Al Gore, courtesy of the publisher, Simon & Simon audio!

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to retweet this post on twitter with the hashtag #ourchoice at the end of your tweet. We will have a raffle on Wednesday, December 21, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will retweet by then. The winners will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Audiobook for the holidays - part 1: Boomerang by Michael Lewis (and a giveaway!)

Today we start a 4-week series for the holidays, where we will be reviewing, recommending and giving away four great audiobooks.

We believe these audiobooks are great to listen to all year round, but we know this is the time of the year when people look for unique and meaningful gifts, so this is certainly the right time to introduce you with these audiobooks, all published by Simon and Simon Audio.

Our first audiobook on this series is Boomerang by Michael Lewis, read by Dylan Baker.

Just like his last book, the Big Short, Michael Lewis takes the role here of a tour guide. This time he's leading a guided tour through some of the disparate places hard hit by the financial tsunami of 2008, like Greece, Iceland and Ireland. His role is almost Sisyphean as this is incredibly difficult to understand these events, not to mention putting them in some sort of coherent and clear context and even making you laugh once in a while when listening to it. Yet, Michael Lewis succeed to do it. Just like he did in the Big Short, he takes big global events and present them through small personal stories that helps us to understand how the hell these countries got to this situation.

What amazes me every time I listen to his audiobooks is how easily misconceptions are becoming common due to the belief that the people that are making the decisions are reasonable people and know what they do. Even though we get to learn time after time this is not the case we keep believe in it. This is why I won't be surprised if one of the next audiobooks of Michael Lewis will be on another crisis that follows the same patterns of the financial crisis he describes in the Big Short and Boomerang, this time environmental one. Actually, it might be that he's working on it as we speak..

Bottom line: If you want to understand the news coming from Europe and what's really going on there, listen to Boomerang!

Here are more details on Boomerang (From its Amazon page):

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Big Short, Liar’s Poker and The Blind Side!

The tsunami of cheap credit that rolled across the planet between 2002 and 2008 was more than a simple financial phenomenon: it was temptation, offering entire societies the chance to reveal aspects of their characters they could not normally afford to indulge.

The Greeks wanted to turn their country into a piÑata stuffed with cash and allow as many citizens as possible to take a whack at it. The Germans wanted to be even more German; the Irish wanted to stop being Irish.

The trademark of Michael Lewis's bestsellers is to tell an important and complex story through characters so outsized and outrageously weird that you'd think they have to be invented. (You'd be wrong.) In Boomerang, we meet a brilliant monk who has figured out how to game Greek capitalism to save his failing monastery; a cod fisherman who, with three days' training, becomes a currency trader for an Icelandic bank; and an Irish real estate developer so outraged by the collapse of his business that he drives across the country to attack the Irish Parliament with his earth-moving equipment.

Lewis's investigation of bubbles beyond our shores is so brilliantly, sadly hilarious that it leads the American listener to a comfortable complacency: Oh, those foolish foreigners. But when Lewis turns a merciless eye on California and Washington DC, we see that the narrative is a trap baited with humor, and we understand the reckoning that awaits the greatest and greediest of debtor nations.

"No one writes with more narrative panache about money and finance than Lewis."

--Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

Disclosure: We received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher (Simon and Simon Audio).

Here's an excerpt from the audiobook:

on Amazon: http://amzn.to/qj7fyn

on iTunes: http://bit.ly/tRZwhq

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away two copies of this audiobook, courtesy of the publisher, Simon & Simon audio!

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to retweet this post on twitter with the hashtag #boomerang at the end of your tweet. We will have a raffle on Friday, December 14, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will retweet by then. The winners will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

We have a winner on "The Healthy Home" giveaway!

Last week we had a giveaway of The Healthy Home by Dr. Myron Wentz and Dave Wentz with Donna K. Wallace. We asked you to share with us how you make your home healthier, and we have a winner!

The winner of a copy of "The Healthy Home" is Dmarie, who wrote us:

I use half vinegar/half water in a spray bottle for quick clean-ups, as opposed to some chemical-laden, artificial fragranced commercial cleaning product.

Congrats Dmarie! You have won a copy of this great book and we hope you'll enjoy it. Thanks to all the other readers who also contributed great tips!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading

We have a winner in the giveaway of Barney Stinson and Matt Kuhn's audiobook 'The Playbook'

We had a giveaway of Barney Stinson and Matt Kuhn's audiobook 'The Playbook' following the review of this funny audiobook. We asked you to share with us the best way become a ladies’ man just like Barney Stinson and we have a winner!

The winner is Cassie who wrote: "Hmm...I'd say be every girl's best guy friend, and be too confident!" Congrats Cassie! You won a copy of the audiobook 'The Playbook'! This prize is courtesy of of the publisher, Simon & Simon audio. Thanks also to all the other participants. Please keep checking our green reviews and giveaways.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Reminder: We giveaway a copy of the audiobook 'The Playbook', narrated by Neil Patrick Harris

You can still win a copy of Barney Stinson and Matt Kuhn's audiobook 'The Playbook'. As we wrote here last Wednesday we're giving away a copy of this audiobook, courtesy of the publisher, Simon & Simon audio.

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to add a comment to Wednesday's post with your tip on the best way become a ladies’ man just like Barney Stinson. We will have a raffle on Wednesday, January 19, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will leave a comment by then. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

We have a winner on our giveaway of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting"

We have a winner on our giveaway of the "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting"!

Following our review of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting" by Chris McLaughlin, we asked you to share with us what you like most about composting and if you don't compost yet, what you think you'll like about it once you start.

We got interesting replies and we have a winner! Our winner is Julie Kieras who wrote:

What I like most about composting is that my husband does all the work! haha kidding - I like that when we compost we reduce our garbage, return energy to the earth, and improve our gardens! My hubby would love to read this book!

Congrats Julie! You won a copy of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting" and we'll also plant a tree for this book! Thank you also for all the rest of the participants!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading

We have a winner on our giveaway of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping"

We have a winner on our giveaway of the " The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping"!

Following our review of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping" by Dean Stiglitz and Laurie Herboldsheimer, we asked you to share with us if you would consider beekeeping.

We got interesting replies and we have a winner! Our winner is nfmgirl who wrote:

Absolutely I'd consider it! I actually know a beekeeper who has a small honey business. I live in South Florida surrounded by orange groves and bee hives!

Congrats nfmgirl! You won a copy of " The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping" and we'll also plant a tree for this book! Thank you also for all the rest of the participants!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading

We have a winner on our giveaway of "The Real Man's Guide to Fixin' Stuff"

We have a winner on our giveaway of the "The Real Man's Guide to Fixin' Stuff"!

Following our review of "The Real Man's Guide to Fixin' Stuff: How to Repair Anything You Need (or Just Want) to Know How to Fix" by Nick Harper. We asked you to share with us what was the last thing that you have fixed.

We got many interesting replies and we have a winner! Our winner is Danielle a.k.a Yellie who wrote:

I fixed my vacuum. My son ran over a guitar string that had broke on his guitar and he had just thrown on the floor and ended up running over with the vacuum. He knew it was bad when he heard the crazy noise it made. Fortunately it sounded worse than it really was and after I unwound it from the brush, it was all good. He's lucky because it was our Dyson that we seriously splurged to have.

Congrats Danielle! You won a copy of "The Real Man's Guide to Fixin' Stuff" and we'll also plant a tree for this book. Thank you also for all the rest of the participants!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading

Green book of the week: The Real Man's Guide to Fixin' Stuff (and a giveaway!)

Today we have a book that wants to help us keeping our stuff working. Real men according to this book don't throw broken stuff to the trash or even recycle them. They fix them.

Our book is:

The Real Man's Guide to Fixin' Stuff: How to Repair Anything You Need (or Just Want) to Know How to Fix

Author: Nick Harper

Nick Harper is the author of Man Skills, and is the features editor for FourFourTwo, Britain's biggest-selling soccer magazine, and writes for Men's Health, The Guardian, Q, and FHM. He lives in England.

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Published on: May 2010

What this book is about?
Real men know how to fix stuff…or at least, when something around the house breaks, it gets handed to the nearest guy to fix it. So if you don’t know a light socket from a socket wrench, this book will have you looking like Mr. Fix It in no time. No longer will you think that something isn’t worth fixing or that it would be cheaper to replace. You’ll be able to fix: Dead remote controls, leaking showers, car scratches, weak vacuum cleaners, your lady’s busted heel or purse, and much more

What we think about it?
Nick Harper writes in the introduction to this book:

"Back in the good old days, things were made properly, pieced together with pride. Now, however, everything's put together on conveyor belts by robots (probably) and you're lucky if it lasts six months before breaking down on you.

You don't complain tough, do you? No, you just throw it away and buy a new one. And when that breaks in six months' time, you throw that away and buy a new one. And when that breaks, the sorry cycle continues: The manufacturer gets richer, you get poorer, and the giant landfill gets ever higher; It's a terrible business."

Sounds very much like the Story of Stuff, right? But unlike Annie Leonard, Nick Harper is not here to explain us the big picture, he is here to help us fix every little detail in it.

I'm not handy, I admit it. But I always wanted to know more, not to mention the envy I have in people who can fix almost everything. I want to be like them! So I was very excited to see Harper's book with the promise of learning how to become a real mean who knows how to fix stuff (by the way - what about real women? I know many women who can do this stuff much better than men - do they have a different book?).

And the book definitely keeps its promise. Although today you can google any problem you have or look for the right YouTube that will guide you how to fix it, this book is definitely a valuable resource, with tons of how-to tips that are described in a simple language. You can find there electrical stuff (fix a broken key on a computer), Kitchen Conundrums (Sharpen a can opener), Furniture (fix squeaky stairs), Garden guidance (rescue rusting tools) and more.

I haven't had the chance to try any of these tips yet, but I looked into some issues I had recently like how to fix a toilet that won't flush and I find Harper's explanations very reliable. I like his systematic approach which I find a necessity especially for less-skilled people such as myself.

In all, we need to remember that keeping our stuff working is really a win-win offer, as it's better both for the environment and the wallet, not to mention the satisfaction you'll get from knowing that you don't need to depend on anyone but yourself to keep your stuff working.

Bottom Line: If you like your stuff and you want to keep them alive more than just six months or so, this book is for you (no matter if you want to be a real man or a real woman).

Disclosure: We received a copy of this book from the publisher.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away our review copy of this book, courtesy of the publisher.

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to add a comment with an answer to the following question: What was the last thing you fixed? We will have a raffle on Monday, July 5, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will add their reply. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

What's hot, flat and crowded?

The answer is simple: it's both our planet and the newest book we give for free on our green gift giveaway.

Yes, we're happy to add Hot, Flat, and Crowded 2.0 : Why We Need a Green Revolution - And How It Can Renew America by Thomas Friedman to our list of green books on our giveaway. So, now you can get a free copy of Hot, Flat and Crowded (release 2.0, paperback) by when you balance out 50 books by planting 50 trees with Eco-Libris.

And this is not the only book we offer as a free gift - we have some other great books you can choose from: Clean Body, Greening Your Small Business, Raw for Dessert, The Lazy Environmentalist and Sleeping Naked is Green.

All of these books are printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper and readers can choose from this list the book they would like to receive as a gift from us.

So what 'Hot, Flat and Crowded' is about?

In this brilliant, essential book, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas L. Friedman speaks to America's urgent need for national renewal and explains how a green revolution can bring about both a sustainable environment and a sustainable America.

Friedman explains how global warming, rapidly growing populations, and the expansion of the world’s middle class through globalization have produced a dangerously unstable planet--one that is "hot, flat, and crowded." In this Release 2.0 edition, he also shows how the very habits that led us to ravage the natural world led to the meltdown of the financial markets and the Great Recession. The challenge of a sustainable way of life presents the United States with an opportunity not only to rebuild its economy, but to lead the world in radically innovating toward cleaner energy. And it could inspire Americans to something we haven't seen in a long time--nation-building in America--by summoning the intelligence, creativity, and concern for the common good that are our greatest national resources.

To learn more about the book see this video:



More details about our green gift giveaway and the other gifts we give to readers who balance out 25 books or more (gift cards for Strand Bookstore and BookSwim!) can be found on the campaign's page at http://www.ecolibris.net/gifts.asp

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

The green (audio) book of the week: 'The Big Short' by Michael Lewis (and there's a giveaway!)

Some of you might wonder how "The Big Short", an audiobook about the downfall of the financial markets, as good as it is (and it is!) can be considered a green book. Well, the reason is very simple - there's a disturbing resemblance between the way the markets operated before the crash of 2007 and our present behavior from an environmental point of view. Al Gore and David Blood made this point back in 2009:

"Just as widespread assumptions about the value of bundled and securitised subprime mortgages collapsed when tested by reality (thereby detonating the first stage of the financial crisis), the current widespread assumption in markets that it is perfectly fine to dump 90m tons of global warming pollution into the thin shell of atmosphere surrounding our planet every 24 hours—as if it is an open sewer—is also now colliding with reality."

Gore and Blood explain that "the global financial crisis had its origins in short-term, unsustainable strategies and actions" and there is no better place to get a better understanding of these strategies and actions than Michael Lewis new audiobook "The Big Short" (or in it's full name:The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine).

This is not an easy one. It is full of financial terms and explanations and sometimes you might want to hear a part or two again to make sure you got it right. Still, Lewis does the best he can to simplify it as much as possible so everyone will get it eventually. The story itself, full of interesting characters, Wal-Street outsiders who try to figure out the subprime madness and how to make a buck or two out of it.

Their fascinating journey, narrated by Jesse Boggs, a veteran narrator of business titles, is eye-opening and keeps you wondering again and again how come only a handful of people could see what looks so obvious. I'm not sure I still get it, but with Michael Lewis' help the picture is much clearer.

"The Big Short" is full of lessons. Not just for Wal-Street, but also for everyone occupied with global warming, as unfortunately the days of subprime planet are not over as Thomas Friedman predicted in 2008. The mix of short-term thinking, greed, herd mentality and avoiding critical thinking can be catastrophic and of course the question we all ask is how to avoid it. This audiobook is a good place to begin the search for answers.

Here's a description of the new audiobook (from the publisher's website):

When the crash of the U.S. stock market became public knowledge in the fall of 2008, it was already old news. The real crash, the silent crash, had taken place over the previous year, in bizarre feeder markets where the sun doesn’t shine, and the SEC doesn’t dare, or bother, to tread: the bond and real estate derivative markets where geeks invent impenetrable securities to profit from the misery of lower and middle-class Americans who can’t pay their debts. The smart people who understood what was or might be happening were paralyzed by hope and fear; in any case, they weren’t talking. The crucial question is this: Who understood the risk inherent in the assumption of ever-rising real estate prices, a risk compounded daily by the creation of those arcane, artificial securities loosely based on piles of doubtful mortgages?

Michael Lewis turns the inquiry on its head to create a fresh, character-driven narrative brimming with indignation and dark humor, a fitting sequel to his #1 bestselling Liar’s Poker. Who got it right? he asks. Who saw the ever-rising real estate market for the black hole it would become, and eventually made billions of dollars from that perception? And what qualities of character made those few persist when their peers and colleagues dismissed them as Chicken Littles? Out of this handful of unlikely—really unlikely—heroes, Lewis fashions a story as compelling and unusual as any of his earlier bestsellers, proving yet again that he is the finest and funniest chronicler of our times. Hear an excerpt from the audiobook:

Disclosure: We received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher (Simon and Simon Audio).

Here's an excerpt from the audiobook:

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away a copy of this audiobook, courtesy of the publisher, Simon & Simon audio!

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to retweet this post on twitter with the hashtag #thebigshort at the end of your tweet. We will have a raffle on Friday, June 4, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will retweet by then. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Is sleeping naked green? Here's a good way to find out:

We're happy to update you that we're adding another great green book to our green gift giveaway:

Sleeping Naked Is Green: How an Eco-Cynic Unplugged Her Fridge, Sold Her Car, and Found Love in 366 Days

You can get a free copy of Sleeping Naked is Green by Vanessa Farquharson when you balance out 50 books by planting 50 trees with Eco-Libris. And this is not the only book we offer as a free gift - we have some other great books you can choose from: Clean Body, Greening Your Small Business, Raw for Dessert, The Lazy Environmentalist and Sustainable Sushi.

All of these books are printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper and readers can choose from this list the book they would like to receive as a gift from us.

So what Sleeping Naked is Green is about? (from the B&N's webpage of the book):

No one likes listening to smug hippies bragging about how they don't use toilet paper, or worse yet, lecturing about the evils of plastic bags and SUVs. But most of us do want to lessen our ecological footprint. With this in mind, Farquharson takes on the intense personal challenge of making one green change to her lifestyle every single day for a year to ultimately figure out what's doable and what's too hardcore.

Vanessa goes to the extremes of selling her car, unplugging the fridge, and washing her hair with vinegar, but she also does easy things like switching to an all-natural lip balm. All the while, she is forced to reflect on what it truly means to be green.

Whether confronting her environmental hypocrisy or figuring out the best place in her living room for a compost bin full of worms and rotting cabbage, Vanessa writes about her foray into the green world with self-deprecating, humorous, and accessible insight. This isn't a how-to book of tips, it's not about being eco-chic; it's an honest look at what happens when an average girl throws herself into the murkiest depths of the green movement.

You can read more about it on things mean a lot's review of this book, which was part of our green books campaign.

You are also welcome to check out Vanessa's blog, Green as a Thistle, this video, where Vanessa Farquharson talks about her book:



More details about our green gift giveaway and the other gifts we give to readers who balance out 25 books or more (gift cards for Strand Bookstore and BookSwim!) can be found on the campaign's page at http://www.ecolibris.net/gifts.asp

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Check out our giveaway: free green books and gift cards for Strand Bookstore and BookSwim!

Want a $10 gift card for Strand Bookstore, one of the best independent bookstores ever? How about a $25 gift card for the great book rental service BookSwim? How about a free copy of a great green book? Well, we've got them all for you!

Yes, as part of our green gift giveaway, we give readers who balance out 25 books or more by planting trees great gifts that promote green reading! And these are really great gifts - from free copies of books that are are printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper to gift cards for Strand Bookstore and BookSwim.

So how it works exactly? Here are the details:

Readers who will balance out 25 books by planting 25 trees will receive a $10 gift card for Strand Book Store of New York City, one of the world's best independent bookstores with over 18 miles of new, used, rare and art books. These cards are good for any in-store or online purchases and they never expire.

Readers who will balance out 50 books by planting 50 trees will receive a “green” book, printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. Readers will be offered to choose from a list of 5-6 books that will be changing occasionally. The books offered are books that participated on our green books campaign last November, which promoted responsibly printed books. You can see the list of books currently offered at http://www.ecolibris.net/gifts.asp

Readers who will balance out 100 books by planting 100 trees will receive a $25 gift card for BookSwim, a Netflix-style book rental .library service, lending you paperbacks, hardcovers and college textbooks.

For more details please visit http://www.ecolibris.net/gifts.asp

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

We have a winner in the "Green Tea Living" giveaway!

We have a winner on our giveaway of the "Green Tea Living"!

Following our review of "Green Tea Living: A Japan-Inspired Guide to Eco-friendly Habits, Health, and Happiness" by Toshimi A. Kayaki. We asked you to share with us what's your tip for better life and got some great response.

And we have a winner! Our winner is Tina Reynolds who wrote: "Live to help others and for health drink more water".

Congrats Tina! You won a copy of "Green Tea Living" and we'll also plant a tree for this book!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Want to go green easily and affordably?'The Lazy Environmentalist' is offered on our green giveaway!

We're happy to update you that we're adding another great green book to our green gift giveaway:

The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget: Save Money. Save Time. Save the Planet

You can get a free copy of The Lazy Environmentalist by Josh Dorfman when you balance out 50 books by planting 50 trees with Eco-Libris. And this is not the only book we offer as a free gift - we have some other great books you can choose from: Clean Body, Greening Your Small Business, Raw for Dessert, Sweet Utopia and Sustainable Sushi.

All of these books are printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper and readers can choose from this list the book they would like to receive as a gift from us.

So what The Lazy Environmentalist is about? (from the book Amazon's webpage)

In The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget, Josh Dorfman takes you inside the latest developments in green living to demonstrate how you can easily and affordably have your designer jeans and your planet too. From raising eco-conscious kids to greening your daily commute, Dorfman provides insights into the next wave of green innovation and the products and services that will lighten your planetary impact and lower your expenses.

Find bargain basement deals on stylish organic bedding and bamboo furnishings at the largest retailers in the world. Score instant rebates on everything from compact fluorescent light bulbs to energy-efficient air conditioners. And earn reward points for carpooling with friends.

In a time when many people are feeling financially restricted, The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget is your guide to effortlessly saving the planet while keeping some extra cash in your pocket.

You can read more about it on Jennifer Kaplan's review of this book, which was part of our green books campaign.

You are also welcome to check out this video, where Josh Dorfman shows us how to go green on a budget:



More details about our green gift giveaway and the other gifts we give to readers who balance out 25 books or more (gift cards for Strand Bookstore and BookSwim!) can be found on the campaign's page at http://www.ecolibris.net/gifts.asp

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Green Book of the week: Catch the Wind by Anne Johnson (and a giveaway!)

Today we review a green book that is presenting kids with the fascinating world of wind energy!

Our book is:

Catch the Wind (Discover Renewables)

Author: the folks at Mortenson Construction

Mortenson is a 54-year old family construction business that started building wind energy projects in 1995 and is now a leading builder and design-builder of wind power facilities in North America. This book is an effort to share our collective knowledge of this rapidly growing industry.

Illustrator: Shawn McCann

Publisher: Beaver Pond Press

Published on: October 2008

Ages: 4-8

What this book is about? (from publisher's website)

The notion of “green” has become a hot topic — and rightly so. Future generations deserve to live in a world that is in the same condition, if not better, than it is today. Wind farms are impacting our environment in an extraordinarily positive way. They produce clean, renewable energy that helps maintain air quality, preserves natural gas and reduces our dependency on traditional energy sources.

The creation of this book began with teacher requested wind energy materials for students. Educators are beginning to see science standards including content on renewable energy. There is a growing desire to learn about clean energy. So why not use our knowledge as a leading builder of wind farms to educate children about this growing industry?

Catch the Wind takes readers on a journey that will teach them about wind energy and the importance of making environmentally responsible choices. It was developed with input from educators and experts from within the wind industry. Children can follow Nels, an inquisitive boy, as he visits a wind farm with his father to discover the power of the wind. Diagrams of wind turbines and their components as well as key terms, defined in a glossary, make up the educational content of Catch the Wind. While exploring topics such as renewable energy, the history of wind power, and the steps to building a wind farm, Catch the Wind also raises awareness of wind power as a viable source of clean, renewable energy.

This book is a nonprofit effort courtesy of Mortenson Construction. Proceeds will be donated to nonprofit entities promoting the development and use of renewable energies.

What we think about it?

This book is a great resource for any kid who want to better understand wind energy. Actually, I believe many adults who will enjoy the story and learn from it as well.

We hear everyday news about renewable energy (here's an example from yesterday - U.S. Wind Capacity Grew by 10,000 MW), but how much do we really know about these new clean alternatives? and how much the new generation knows about them? With the growing use of clean energy, there's a greater need in effective educational tools that will provide basic information about clean energy. This book is definitely one them.

With its clear explanations, beautiful illustrations, photos, and of course a fun story, the book makes it very easy to understand wind energy, even for kids (and adults) who are not interested in "technical" stuff. Although this book is an imitative of a wind power company, it's far from being a commercial book and I think Mortenson deserve kudos for their initiative (it's also a nonprofit effort, where all the proceeds are donated to nonprofit entities). We can only hope to have similar books for kids on solar, geothermal, energy efficiency and other clean energy resources.

Bottom Line: If you're interested to teach your kids on wind energy, this is your book!

Disclosure: We received a copy of this book from the author.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away two copies of the book, courtesy of the author, and of course a tree will be planted for the copy!

How you can win? Please add a comment below with an answer the following question: How do you introduce kids to renewable energy? We'll be happy to hear your personal experiences. Submissions are accepted until next Thursday, April 16, 12PM EST. The two winners will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!