Launch party of 'The White Road' this Saturday in Jerusalem

Last month we updated you on the launch of Tania Hershman's first book, The White Road and other Stories, which is published by UK's renowned Salt Publishing. This great collection of short stories is going green with us and we're planting a tree for every copy printed.

And no book launch is completed without a launch party, so we're happy to update you that Tania is having a launch party this Saturday in Jerusalem!

Here are the details of the party:

Date: Saturday, October 11, 2008
Time: 7:30pm - 10:30pm
Location: Jerusalem, Israel. For the address details please write Tania at tania@thewhiteroadandotherstories.com

Tania will be doing short readings from the book at around 8.pm and at 9pm, and copies of the book will be available to buy.

Here are some more details about the book:

What links a café in Antarctica, a factory for producing electronic tracking tags and a casino where gamblers can wager their shoes? They're among the multiple venues where Tania Hershman sets her unique tales in this spellbinding debut collection.

Fleeing from tragedy, a bereaved mother opens a cafe on the road to the South Pole. A town which has always suffered extreme cold enjoys sudden warmth. A stranger starts plaiting a young woman's hair. A rabbi comes face to face with an angel in a car park. An elderly woman explains to her young carer what pregnancy used to mean before science took over. A middle-aged housewife overcomes a fear of technology to save her best friend. A desperate childless woman resorts to extreme measures to adopt. A young man's potential is instantly snuffed out by Nature's whims. A lonely widow bakes cakes in the shape of test tubes and DNA.

A number of these stories are inspired by articles from science magazines, taking fact as their starting points and wondering what might happen if . . .? In these surreal, lyrical stories, many of which are only a few pages long, Tania Hershman allows her imagination free rein, as her characters navigate through love, death, friendship, spirituality, mental illness and the havoc wreaked by the weather.

More on 'The White Road and Other Stories':

The book's website

The White Road and Other Stories - A Short Stories Collection is Going Green

Tania Hershman's website

Enjoy the party!
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Eco-Libris blog is on the list of the top 100 environmentalist blogs

We just got an update that Eco-Libris blog that was included in "The Top 100 Environmentalist Blogs" list of the blog X-Ray Vision-aries Blog.

This is very exciting news and we thank X-Ray Vision-aries Blog for having us on this list, together with so many blogs that we admire and follow.

You can find the list on this link: http://www.x-raytechnicianschools.org/ekg-technician/the-top-100-environmentalist-blogs/.

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Monday's green books series: 'Bottlemania' by Elizabeth Royte

Think about water for a second. You probably drank some already today. Was it from the tap or from a bottled water? does it matter? it certainly is as we can learn from our book today on our blog's green books series, and not just from a financial point of view, but also from environmental and social perspectives.

Our book for today is:

Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It

Author: Elizabeth Royte

Elizabeth Royte is the author of Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash and The Tapir's Morning Bath: Solving the Mysteries of the Tropical Rain Forest - both New York Times Notable Books. Her writing on science and the environment has appeared in Harper's, National Geographic, Outside, The New York Times Magazine, and other national publications.

Royte is a frequent contributor to the New York Times Book Review, a contributing editor for OnEarth, and a correspondent for Outside magazine. A former Alicia Patterson Foundation fellow and recipient of Bard College's John Dewey Award for Distinguished Public Service, she lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their daughter.

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (1st U.S. Ed edition)

Published on: May 13, 2008

What it is about (from Bottlemania's website):

In the follow-up to Garbage Land, her influential investigation into our modern trash crisis, Elizabeth Royte ventures to Fryeburg, Maine, to look deep into the source—of Poland Spring water. In this tiny town, and in others like it across the country, she finds the people, machines, economies, and cultural trends that have made bottled water a $60-billion-a-year phenomenon even as it threatens local control of a natural resource and litters the landscape with plastic waste.

Moving beyond the environmental consequences of making, filling, transporting and landfilling those billions of bottles, Royte examines the state of tap water today (you may be surprised), and the social impact of water-hungry multinationals sinking ever more pumps into tiny rural towns. Ultimately, Bottlemania makes a case for protecting public water supplies, for improving our water infrastructure and—in a world of increasing drought and pollution—better allocating the precious drinkable water that remains.

Why you should get it:

I read some time ago that bottled water will become the cigarettes of the 21st century. Well, it ain't happening yet and you don't see bottled water drinkers get pressured by regulation and society as smokers are. You also don't see companies like Nestle (owner of Poland Spring) treated the same way Phillip Morris is treated for example. But if there's any chance you will see eventually people drinking from bottled water at the corner of the streets and outside of bars, feeling a bit uncomfortable to do what they do it's because of books like Bottlemania.

There are so many environmental and social issues associated with the use of bottled water that you can't really know where to begin. What I do know is that a) water is a scarce resource b) there's hardly ever a real discussion about the real need in bottled water and on their footprint and c) there's a lot of money involved here (it's a $10 billion industry) so it's very hard to reveal the truth. Because of all of these three factors I'm very happy that we have a book like Bottlemania, which provides us with a serious discussion on an issue. We definitely need it for the sake of our future.

What others say about the book:

“An easy-to-swallow survey…. after you read it you will sip warily from your water bottle (whether purchased or tap, plastic or not), as freaked out by your own role in today’s insidious water wars as by Royte’s recommended ecologically responsible drink: “Toilet to tap.”” —Lisa Margonelli, New York Times Book Review

"Bottlemania makes the case that it's not in our interests to let private multinational corporations float their boats on our nation's water. That's not democracy, it's dam-ocracy, and it could damn us all if we let their unquenchable thirst for profit take precedence over our right to clean, safe, free drinking water." —Kerry Trueman, Huffingtonpost.com

“Bottlemania is eye-opening and informative; you will never look at water – either "designer" or tap – in quite the same way. Royte demonstrates how everything is, in the end, truly connected.” —Elizabeth Kolbert

More resources:

Bottlemania's website

First chapter of Bottlemania (from the New York Times)

An interview with Elizabeth Royte on Grist

Elizabeth Royte on NPR's Marketplace (audio)

The author's water links

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

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

Sign up to Eco-Libris newsletter and you can win a copy of the new book 'Of Parrots and People'

Last month we initiated our newsletter and we invite you to sign up for it. We also have a special offer: sign up this month to our newsletter and you can win a copy of Mira Tweti's new book 'Of Parrots and People'.

Eco-Libris newsletter is planned right now to be a monthly newsletter, so you can expect to hear from us only once a month. On the newsletter we will offer you updates about our work and our latest collaborations in the book industry. We will also include articles on the book and paper industry from our unique green perspective, as well as special offers and discounts!

And as mentioned above, if you sign up until October 31, you will have the chance of winning a copy of "Of Parrots and People: The Sometimes Funny, Always Fascinating, and Often Catastrophic Collision of Two Intelligent Species" by Mira Tweti.

All you have to do is just to sign up, using the box on the right side of the page saying 'Join Our Email List' and that's it. We will have a raffle between the new subscribers on November 1st and will post here the name of the winner. And of course, a tree will be planted for this copy as well!

Thank you to the author Mira Tweti for the copy. Our collaboration with her started in her last book "Here, There and Everywhere", and continues in this book as well. The book endorses Eco-Libris - there is an entire page (page 304) devoted to Eco-Libris and how readers can balance out their copy of the book on Eco-Libris website.

You can find more about the book on this link: http://ecolibris.blogspot.com/2008/08/of-parrots-and-people-new-book-of.html

So what are you waiting for? the next newsletter will be sent in about one week, so don't miss it!

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

How about a unique and affordable green birthday gift?

What's the connection between the actrees Susan Srandon, author Anne Rice, actor Buster Keaton and Singer and songwriter Jon Secada?

They were all born on October 4! If you're also celebrating your birthday today - happy birthday to you too!

We love birthdays and therefore we're happy to remind you of the option to celebrate a birthday of friends, family members, colleagues and anyone you care about with Eco-Libris!

Eco-Libris is offering you now to plant trees to balance out the books of your loved ones who celebrate their birthday. Not only that new trees will be planted to balance out their books, but they will also receive our stickers with a beautiful birthday card made of recycled paper. And we also try to keep it affordable - the added charge for the birthday card is only $1.5.

All you need to do is to choose how many of the birthday person's books you want to balance out on our special birthday gift page, change the shipping address on the payment page to the address of the gift receiver and we will take care of the rest!

This is also a great green add-on if you're buying a book as a gift for the birthday person, especially if you're buying her or him a green book.

The birthday cards we send are made by Doodle Greetings (see picture above of one of their cards). Not only these cards come with a beautiful design, but they are also eco-friendly - printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper and are made chlorine-free and acid free. Sounds like a good fit with Eco-Libris stickers!

And of course, if it's your birthday and you want to give yourself a green present - get yourself a nice green book and plant a tree for it with us!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

A new book is celebrating green (and Eco-Libris takes part as well)!

A great new green book is out there and it's one big green celebration! I'm referring of course to "Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations & Traditions for the Whole Family" by Corey Colwell-Lipson & Lynn Colwell.

And the authors are also collaborating with Eco-Libris: Although Celebrate Green! is already printed on 30% recycled and 70% FSC certified paper, the authors have teamed up with Eco-Libris to make a even a greater positive impact on the environment. Buyers of the book on the Celebrate Green! website are offered to purchase an Eco-Libris sticker along with each Celebrate Green! book they buy, to plant one tree for it in a developing country. It's simple, spend a dollar, plant a tree and when your book arrives, look for the Eco-Libris sticker on the back.

Also, a portion of the proceeds from Celebrate Green! benefit Treeswing and Healthy Child, Healthy World.

So what's this book is about? maybe the best way to describe it is by presenting what others wrote on the book:

“Celebrate Green! is a wake up call — and it’s a fun, engaging read, jam-packed with hints, how-to’s and humor. Whether you’re an old hand at thinking green or a total neophyte, Lynn and Corey will help you understand why your choices are so important and energize you, too. You’ll discover simple steps to align your life with a healthy Earth, while deepening the meaning and the joy of your celebrations.” Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet and Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity and Courage in a World Gone Mad

"Corey and Lynn make creating eco-savvy celebrations a cinch. Packed with powerful information and practical strategies, Celebrate Green! maps out simple and straightforward ways to honor what’s good for people, the planet, and communities throughout the year. I love how the authors balance fascinating statistics and the “why” behind going green with some of the most creative and “do-able” ideas I’ve ever seen. They have proven that making memories and making a difference can blissfully coexist in our holidays and traditions. Celebrate Green! is an ideal guidebook to help you live—and celebrate—with intention.” Deanna Davis, PhD, Author of Living With Intention

“Wow, wow, WOW! The book Corey and Lynn have created is itself a glorious celebration--of imagination, innovation, and most important of all, beauty. With their savvy guidance we discover how to celebrate in loving ways that nourish our souls and enrich our relationships, while also tending to the health of our global future. What a wonderful way for a new generation to learn to celebrate “with small footprints” on our shared mother, planet Earth!” Marcy Axness, Ph.D., author of Raising Generation PAX

We are going to review the book in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned. For more information on the book, please check Celebrate Green! website - http://www.celebrategreen.net

If you want to meet the authors, Corey and Lynn will sign their book in two events that will take place in the next couple of days:

October 4-5, 2008 - Salmon Days Festival

October 7, 2008 - Green October event at Seattle City Hall

Enjoy the book,
Raz @ Eco-Libirs

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Green Options: Six Cookbooks For A Better-Eating Kitchen

As part of Eco-Libris' ongoing content partnership with Green Options Media, we feature a post that was originally published by Kelli Best-Oliver on September 23 on Eat.Drink.Better. Today's post includes recommendations on great cookbooks for everyone - vegan, vegetarian and even carnivores.

Word on the street is that as the economy worsens, cookbook sales rise. Isn’t that American? Wouldn’t one think that cookbook check-outs at the library might go up instead? Perhaps it has. Chosen method of procurement aside, I’m not begrudging you the investment in a superior culinary tome–I spent too much time looking at one yesterday, although I was able to walk away without a purchase. But I also already have a good library of cookbooks at my disposal that I’ve picked up over the years that allow me to cook great meals, from whole foods, in my own kitchen. If you’re a fledgling home cook, or just someone looking to eat at home more to save a little money, here’s a list of comprehensive cookbooks, vegan, vegetarian, and meat-eater, that have proved themselves to me time and time again.

1. Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything or How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Bittman champions the idea that anyone can cook and cook well, and these volumes are infamous for their ability to empower people to do so. Both of these must-haves contain over 1,500 recipes that build a basic repertoire of skills and dishes. If you can master Bittman (and he thinks you can!) you can easily move on to more difficult recipes.

2. Vegan With A Vengeance or Veganomicon. If you keep an animal-free kitchen, or are just looking for delicious vegan meals to prepare on occasion, these books by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (the latter co-authored by Terry Hope Romero) are a great start to cooking really, really tasty food that makes you forget about meat. The ladies behind Post Punk Kitchen focus on what you can eat, not what you’re missing, and the results are fantastic. They make vegan accessable and tasty.

3. Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Deborah Madison knows how to write clear and simple directions for really, really good food. I thumbed through VCfE this morning to find a tasty soup recipe (I went with summer tomato with shallot, by the way). The book is beautiful, packed full of tips, tricks, and skills, and will leave you knowing how to manipulate vegetables into any kind of dish you could want. She’s also my go-to for classic baking recipes, because of baking’s precise nature and her ability to write clear directions, I feel less inclined towards disaster.

4. Simply In Season. By Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert, this cookbook my mom picked up for me in Door County is organized by season, you’re always cooking with what’s fresh and available. With plenty of meatfree dishes (and suggestions for modification for meat-based ones), this is good for most kitchens. The reason why I love it the most is that Lind and Hockman-Wert don’t make me dread that stretch of winter where fresh, local produce is few and far between. We can still eat well and try to eat local.

5. The Moosewood Series has reputation for being on the…crunchier side, but Mollie Katzen and the Moosewood Collective always put forth a variety of recipes from their restaurant that people love, and I’m no different. My favorite is Moosewood Restaurant New Classics, which I cook from all the time for quick and simple veggie classic dishes.

6. The Silver Spoon. Known as the Italian cooking bible,this book is hefty–with over 2,000 recipes organized by ingredients. This is real Italian cooking, and although sometimes information is lost in translation (seriously, read through everything first to make sure it makes sense, because there are a few glaring typos) if you love the varied cuisine of Italy (as we do in our Italian-roots household), you will love this book. For me, The Silver Spoon represents moving away from American cuisine and moving towards cooking methods of the world.

Check out other cookbook reviews on Green Options below.

Readers: What cookbook would your kitchen be incomplete without?

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