We have a winner on our "Living Green: The Missing Manual" giveaway

We had a giveaway of "Living Green: The Missing Manual", which we reviewed here on September 12, and we have a winner!

We asked you to share with u how your green journey begin and what was the first green step you took. We got replies with great stories and the winner is Danika, who wrote us the following:

I can't say exactly when I started becoming green. It was a process for me. It started in Marin County, CA seeing small ponds with signs that warned people not to swim because the water was toxic while birds stood in the water. Then, watching the local rock quarry grow and grow and realizing what a violent thing it is to rip the earth apart like that.

The final step was a friend's wife having breast cancer at about the same time as the first Green Festival was held in SF. I became militant about keeping myself and my family away from toxins and the Green Festival inspired me with so many ways to do so. Now I have an ecofriendly business and am producing a local ecofestival.

Congrats, Danika! You won a copy of "Living Green: The Missing Manual". We will also plant a tree for it with our planting partners and add to the book our "One tree planted for this book" sticker.

Thank you also to all the other participants in the giveaway! We enjoyed reading your stories and invite you to keep checking our blog, as we have some more great giveaways coming up.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting sustainable reading!

Green book review (and giveaway): Living Green: The Missing Manual

Did you ever feel like you could use a good manual that will guide you on how to live green? If you do, today this missing manual is right here on our weekly series of green books reviews.

Our book this week is:

Living Green: The Missing Manual

Author: Nancy Conner

Nancy Conner holds a Ph.D. from Brown University and is the author of numerous books, including QuickBase: The Missing Manual and Google Apps: The Missing Manual. She lives in Ithaca, NY, recently named one of the greenest U.S. cities, where she shops for organic produce at the local farmers market and browses second-hand stores. Each day, she commutes up the stairs to her home office, where she works as an author, editor, and distance educator. Read Nancy's Living Green blog at www.missingmanuals.com. You can also find her on twitter.

Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Published on: August 2009

What this book is about? (from the publisher's website)
Taking care of the earth is more important than ever, but the problems we're facing can seem overwhelming. Living Green: The Missing Manual helps make earth-friendly decisions more manageable by narrowing them down to a few simple choices. This all-in-one resource is packed with practical advice on ways you can help the environment by making simple changes in your home routine, work habits, and the way you shop and get around town. You don't have to embark on a radical new lifestyle to make a difference. Living Green: The Missing Manual shows you how small changes can have a big impact. With this book, you will:

• Learn how to make your home energy efficient and free of toxic chemicals
• Discover how to reduce waste, repurpose and recycle, and do more with less
• Build and remodel earth-friendly homes with new techniques and materials
• Learn tips for buying organic food and what it takes to grow your own
• Get helpful information on fuel-efficient cars, including hybrid and electric models
• Make your workplace greener and more cost-effective -- from changes at your desk to suggestions for company-wide policies
• Explore how to choose renewable energies, such as wind and solar power

The book also provides you with ways to connect with like-minded people and offers a survey of exciting new green technologies. Learn how you can help the planet with Living Green: The Missing Manual.

What we think about it?

At the beginning of the book the author explains what you can expect to find in it and how it fits in your green reality:

Ever since Rachel Carson's 1962 book Silent Spring sounded the alarm about the effects of pesticides on the environment, countless books have been published that show how human behavior is taking a toll on the planet. Taken together, they present a convincing argument. But even if you want to start living a healthier, more environmentally responsible lifestyle, where do you begin?

That's where Living Green: The Missing Manual comes in. Although this book gives you plenty of reasons to think about your impact on the planet, its real focus is practical suggestions for making your impact a positive one. These pages are packed with tips, ideas, and instructions for greening in all areas of your life: at home, on the road, at work, at the grocery store, and beyond.

This description is very correct. The book, like a manual, is very practical, covering many green issues, but unlike manuals it also takes the time to explain you the "why" and not only the "how".

The book is filled with tips, some of them may look a bit more obvious like "Label your recycling bins so there's no confusion about what goes there", but many are very valuable - for example: "if you ship a lot of items, don't buy foam packing peanuts. Instead , try Puffy Stuff (http://pufftystufftn.com), an all-natural, plant-based packaging material that's 100% biodegradable".

The fact that the book is covering many green issues is its main strength and weakness at the same time. It's great to have so many issues covered in one book, including your home, energy, food, shopping, transportation, workplace and so on. It really covers almost every main activity that we can think of in green terms. It will provide you with the good information and tips, but at the same time it won't be as thorough as guides that are only focused on one issue like renewable energy at home or food.

Last but not least, kudos to publisher, O'Reilly Media, on printing the book on Rolland Enviro 100 Book, which contains 100% post consumer fibers and is manufactured in Canada by Cascades using biogas energy, and also for making it available online through the O'Reilly Network Safari Bookshelf. You can check it out there and although you might find it's less convenient to scroll the book online, it will be much easier to use all the great links the book includes.

Bottom line: Just like the book is saying - if you're looking for a manual that will help you to know where and how to begin your green journey, you will definitely find this book very useful.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away our review copy of the book, courtesy of the publisher, 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 did your green journey begin? What was the first green step you took? Submissions are accepted until Monday, September 21, 12PM EST. The winner will be announced the following day.

If you're looking for other interesting green-themed books, you are invited to check out our green books page on Eco-Libris website's green resources section.


Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

Monday's green books series (part 2): Earth Tales

This week we divided our Monday's green books series into two and today is the second part, with a very unique book that suits perfectly not only the upcoming Earth Day but also Passover, the Jewish holiday that we're celebrating this month.

Our book for today is:

The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales

As we mentioned yesterday, in celebration of Earth Day, Barefoot Books are working together with Eco-Libris this April to plant a tree for every copy sold of this book!

Author: Dawn Casey

Dawn Casey has always been passionate about traditional tales, believing that folklore can help answer some of the toughest questions about humankind. This is Dawn s second project with Barefoot Books, following The Great Race (2006). Dawn combines writing with a career as a primary school teacher. She and her family live in East Sussex, England.

Illustrator: Anne Wilson

Anne Wilson gains much of her inspiration and sense of color from her travels. She has an MA in illustration from St. Martin's College of Art, London, and has been illustrating children's books for several years. This is Anne's fourth project for Barefoot Books, following Storytime (2005), The Great Race (2006) and We're Sailing Down the Nile (2007). Anne live s in Reading, England, with her husband and daughters.

Publisher: Barefoot Books

Published on: April 1, 2009

Reading age: Reading together: 4-8, Read alone: 6-10

What it is about:
In this beautiful anthology of folktales, young readers learn how different cultures around the world live in harmony with the rhythms and patterns of nature. Discover how to tread lightly on our precious Earth by following the easy eco-tips and trying out some of the fun and creative activities that accompany each story.

Children will discover how the residents of the Kingdom of Benin keep within the Nigerian rainforest consume less and conserve more; how the Comanche Indians respect Mother Earth by giving more than they receive; among Bali's coral reefs and volcanic mountain peaks iis the lesson that everything in nature is connected.

Why you should get it:
The stories are really special and connect you to ancient cultures. Even more, these are not just folk tales, these are the cornerstones of human relationship with mother earth, which we need to be reminded of now more than ever.

I think the uniqueness and importance of these stories can be summarized in the words of Chief Seathl, which are brought at the introduction to the American Southwest story:
"Every shining pine needle, every clearing, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods and every humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people.

Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the Earth is our mother. The rivers are our brothers; they quench our thirst and feed our children. The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man - they all share the same teeth."

Add to these stories the special hands-on activities that append each story to help children put green ideals into practice and you get a great children's book that is truly unique, important and fun.

Maybe like with the Haggadah of Pesach, which passes the story about the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt from generation to generation, these stories should be told by parents to their kids every Earth Day to keep these ideas about man-mother earth relationship in our hearts and minds for good.

WANT TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK?

All you have to do is to join our Earth Day celebration on our Facebook group. We're celebrating there Earth Day with tree planting, giveaway of green books and an effort to increase our group to 1000 members! Every day, until the end of the month, where at least 14 new members will be added, we will have a raffle of a green book of authors and publishers we work with, including a copy of 'Earth Tales', gift of Barefoot Books!

So if you're already a member, bring along more Facebook friends to the group. If you're not a member, join in and bring other friends with you. Remember - every day with more than new 14 members we'll have a new raffle and we have great books to give (check out our post tomorrow for more details).Plant a tree for every book you read!

If you're looking for other interesting green-themed books, you are invited to check out our green books page on our website's green resources section.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net