A.O. Scott and David Carr talk on the Sweet Spot on books vs. ebooks

I'm a fan of the New York Times' Sweet Spot conversations/ video clips, and I'd like to recommend on last week's episode including a  great conversation between A.O. Scott and David Carr about the differences between paper books and ebooks. In addition you can learn what the good people working in the New York Times are reading these days!

You can check it out at http://nyti.ms/15Rmcyh

For more comparisons (this time green ones..) between ebooks and paper books visit our website at http://www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp 

Enjoy!
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Digital Publishing: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas?

This is a guest post by Tony Viardo, the CEO of the publisher, Astor + Blue Editions. [Astor +Blue Editions has put its entire first season’s list of e-book titles on a holiday promotional sale for $0.99 or $1.99 until Jan. 7, 2013]

So how many articles have we read about E-books and Digital Publishing this year? For anyone who generally follows the book world (rabid booklover, book-blogger, industry pro or casual reader), we’re literally inundated with the amazing numbers—“E-book sales up 125% (again) over the 175% they were up from last year’s 225% increase!”—and equally amazing technological announcements—“Next Fall, the new ZimWittyZoomDitty tablet not only updates your Facebook and Goodreads friends whenever you snort in disgust … it cooks dinner for you at the same time!” 

This leads many to take at least casual stock of what’s going on/going to happen to the “Publishing World” as we know it. And if your friends are like my friends (hardcore print book consumers), that stock is usually pretty morbid (sharp Greenwich Village angst not included): “Print books are doomed, so are brick-and-mortar stores. Goodbye literary quality. Oh and some pajama-wearing techie living in a basement with a laptop is going to be the new Sulzburger; we’ll all have to bow down!” 

If you (or that good friend of yours) fall into the mortified category, my take (for what it’s worth) may come as positive news: E-books are not, and will not be, the Grinch Who Stole Christmas; in this case, the “Print World’s” bacon. Now, as the owner of a “Digital First” publishing house (Astor + Blue Editions, www.astorandblue.com) my opinions may easily be written off as self-serving and invalid. But bear with me for a minute… these are fact-based observations and I might just make sense (Someone tell my mom and dad). 

As someone who earns a living from publishing, I have to follow numbers and industry trends as closely as possible. And while some see doom and gloom for Print, I see exciting developments for both Print and E-book formats. What do the numbers show? Digital book revenue is skyrocketing, print revenue is declining. Natural conclusion? E-books are killing print books. But not so fast. Historically, Print revenue has always seemed to be declining (even before E-books were invented), but that doesn’t mean the book market is dying or shrinking. 

We have to remember that in fact the book market is growing. Readership always grows because population always grows. Every year, new readers enter the vast pool of the club that is “adult readership,” (despite Dancing with the Stars). And every year more readers are being born and theoretically being inspired by Ms. Crabtree’s elementary reading class. **So why the decline? Readership grows gradually, but the sheer number of books and book vendors grow exponentially, showing an investment loss almost every year. (Basic statistics: the widening universe makes it look like a shrinking pie when it isn’t). 

So what does this mean? If you look at the numbers (historically), revenue for print books may have declined, yes, but not more than “normal,” and not significantly more than it did when there were no E-books around. (This is arguable of course, but the long term numbers do not show a precipitous drop-off). The yearly revenue decline, if there is one, can just as easily be written off to economic conditions as to E-book competition. Bottom line: Any drop in print revenue that may be caused by E-books are not significantly sharp enough to declare that E-books are destroying print book sales. (Hence no Grinch). 

What may be happening, and what I believe is happening is that a whole new market for E-books is developing, while the print book market growth, like Publishing as a whole, is still growing at a historically gradual pace. (Boringly flat). Come up with your pet anecdote here, but I believe that more new readers are entering the market (who otherwise wouldn’t have) because of E-readers; existing readers are consuming more books (both print and e-book) than they did before; and while it would seem that a certain print title is losing a sale whenever readers buy it in E-book format, this is offset, at least somewhat, by the fact that more print titles are being bought (that otherwise wouldn’t) because of the extra marketing buzz and added awareness produced by the E-book’s cyber presence. All of it evens out in the end, and I believe, ultimately fosters growth industry-wide. 

So take heart Print fans, E-books are not the dark villain you think they are. And here, I should correct my earlier analogy—that E-books are not the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. They may actually be the Grinch…in as much as, at the end of the story, the pear-shaped green guy ended up not only giving all the presents back to the singing Who-villers, he created a flash mob and started a big party as well.

The best books to read during Hurricane Sandy

If you're somewhere on the East Coast where Hurricane Sandy has been or still is "visiting" you might be looking for another day inside the house with or without electricity. In any event, you might be looking for ways to entertain yourself and/or your kids until you can finally get outside, and what is better than a good book to help you forget about Sandy? 

Even Gov. Cuomo knows it, asking fellow New Yorkers to "stay home. Be prepared. Enjoy the family. Read a book"

So what are the best books to read during an Hurricane? As Victoria Bekiempis of DNAInfo.com New York noted the best answers came from twitter, where  hashtags like #sandyreads, #hurricanereads, #booksforthestorm, and #stormreads featured a wide variety of printed and electronic picks ranging from Joseph Conrad's "Lord Jim" to E.L. James' "50 Shades" series.

Here are 10 of the latest recommendations:

SchoolLibraryJournal(‏@sljournal)

Need something to read during the storm? How about Hereville Bk 2? http://ow.ly/eRnbR  Good Comics 4 Kids #sandyreads

Harvard Book Store ‏(@HarvardBooks)

For your #hurricanereads. "Jim Shepard's short stories deal expertly with disaster." http://ow.ly/eRCBx  in @slate

One Teen Story(‏@oneteenstory)

Alternatively, a comfort book while the storm ravages: Stargirl, Jerry Spinelli http://bit.ly/9xLha2  #hurricanereads #yalit

Northshire Bookstore ‏(@NorthshireBooks)

Gentleman with a baseball cap bearing the Armenian flag. Michael Connolly's The Reversal. #booksforthestorm

BOOKCOURT ‏(@BookCourt)

man in green jacket. no dog. 100 years of solitude #booksforthestorm

Ruth Franklin ‏(@ruth_franklin)

@tnrbooks the new annotated Grimms fairy tales. For the kids & for me! #StormReads

N. Wellie ‏(@MzWellie)

Something Wonderful by Judith McNaught • RT @Bookophilia: What are u reading during #hurricanesandy? Tweet us with hashtag

Wellesley Books ‏(@WellesleyBooks)

Lisa is reading COLIN FISCHER by Ashley Edward Miller & Zach Stentz #stormyreads #sandy @colin_fischer @PenguinTeen

Daniel Roberts ‏(@readDanwrite)

switching back n forth btwn "The Collective" and "By Blood." both fabulous. (plus a book for work) #stormyreads #sundayreads #sandy

auRAAAWRav ‏@sonicboomgaurav

@The_Millions Zeitoun by Dave Eggers should also be required reading. #STORMYREADS

So read a good book or two and most importantly stay safe!

If you're looking for recommendations on green books and ebooks please visit our website at http://www.ecolibris.net/greenebooks.asp


Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

image credit: doxella, Flickr Creative Commons

How E-books Helped Environmentalists Spread Awareness To People Worldwide

This is a guest post written by Kathleen Hubert

E-books are becoming more and more popular as time progresses. They have been able to raise awareness about issues that were previously unknown. The environmentalist movement is one beneficiary of the growth in popularity of e-books.

Increased Exposure
Before E-books, in order to learn more about something, you had to get a book out about it from a library or buy one from a book store. That created a couple of problems relating to exposure. There are some places where people don’t have easy access to a library or a bookstore. In those places it was difficult to learn more about the environmentalist movement. Sometimes, even if they did have access to a book store or library, but they felt it wasn’t worth the trouble of looking for. Regardless of the reason the rising popularity of e-book helps both of those issues.

The internet is very prominent all of over the world today, which e-books makes information much more accessible. Since e-books are downloaded from any computer with internet access you no longer need to go to a library or a bookstore to get a book. You can just download one from the internet.

Increased Portability
Another large problem that people face with books is that over a long enough period of time they take up a lot of space. Once you develop a big collection of books you need to actually start buying additional furniture to house the books and keep them in order. E-books help to cut down on the storage requirements for reading material, which is another way that e-books help the environmentalist movement. You can keep an e-book on an iPod, iPhone, Android, or other mobile device and read them there. You don’t have to worry about carrying around a book everywhere since many of the devices you can read an e-book with you can fit in your pocket.

It’s Cheaper
One of the largest problem that faced groups who wanted to get information out there about a movement or a problem that the world faced is that it’s expensive. No matter what the information is about, getting it to large amounts of people costs a lot of money. If you want to put an article in a magazine, you have to pay the magazine publisher money. If you want to publish an entire book about a cause you have to pay a book publisher to get everything all setup and in motion. That takes both a large amount of time and money.

E-books cost significantly less to produce and distribute. You don’t have to deal with a book publisher and there are a number of places that allow you to distribute e-books for free. The environmentalist movement has benefitted greatly from the increased popularity of e-books, due to it being cheap, easily accessible, and very portable.

Kathleen Hubert is a blogger who writes on a variety of different sites. Check out more of her work at Prefab Houses.

Book buzz: e-reader vs. print books (infographic)

I wanted to share with you a great infographic created by RetailMeNot.com about e-readers and their economic and environmental impact. With both the new Nook Tablet and the Kindle Fire that were released in the last couple of weeks, RetailMeNot thought it might be interesting to take a look at how e-readers are changing the book industry, for better or worse.

In the graphic, titled “Book Buzz”, you’ll find information about e-reader market share, sales figures, but more interestingly, how e-readers stack up to print books. For instance, and a little surprising, only 15% of e-reader owners actually stop purchasing print books.

Please note that in their comparison between the carbon footprint of e-readers and paper books, it looks like they use for the e-reader's footprint a figure taken from a 2009 research. As we wrote here in the past we believe that the results of this research are not reliable and should be addressed as more of a guestimation, which means they shouldn't be used for comparisons. Until Amazon and B&N will disclose the carbon footprint of their Kindles and Nooks, the only figures that should be used for such comparisons are the ones Apple disclosed fro the iPad and the iPad 2.

Other than that, this is a great presentation and I hope you'll find it interesting as well.

Due to the size of the infographic we couldn't upload it to our blog, but you can find it in full size right here.

More resources on the ebooks vs. paper books environmental debate can be found on our website at http://www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

How do we know that paper books and newspapers are losing market share to tablets?

Yesterday I read on Environmental Leader that "By 2015 paper use in North American magazines, newspapers and books is expected to fall between 12 and 20 percent from 2010 levels, as the use of tablet devices and e-readers rises, according to a report by paper industry information source RISI."

The report, "The Impact of Media Tablets on Publication Paper Markets" sounds very interesting but if you want to read it you'll need to pay $5,900. Now, if you a free of charge evidence, a bit less scientific maybe, but still very convincing that paper is loosing its hegemony to electronic formats, all you need to do is to check a new survey published by Staples.

The survey, as CNN reported, asked 200 tablet-using professionals about their preferences and habits. There were several interesting findings, but one of them sticks out:

"More than one-in-three respondents -35% - fessed up to using their iPad, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy or other tablets while in the bathroom."

That's it, ladies and gentlemen. Game over. If books, newspaper and magazines lost 35% market share at the bathroom, it's just a matter of time until paper reading will lose the rest of the battle, becoming eventually only a niche market for paper lovers and those who can't still go to the bathroom without a piece of paper or a good book.

Image credit: dalboz17, Flickr Creative Commons

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant trees for your books!

Have paper books become just an intellectual decoration in the age of ebooks?

Nick Bilton has an interesting piece on the New York Times' Bits, where he's presenting his dilemma - he's moving from NY to SF and not sure what to do with all the hundreds of books he have? Should he take them with him or not?

He's explaining:

"Although I love my print books, e-readers, in one form or another, have become my primary reading device over the last few years. I barely touch my print books, although they are still beautiful and important to me. But they sit on my bookshelf as a decorative and intellectual art form...

As I packed for the move, I questioned whether it made financial sense to ship my several hundred books across the country, and more important, if I went through the trouble of doing this, what was the point when they would only sit untouched in a different city, just as they have for so many years in New York?"

This is a dilemma I'm sure many readers who are became mostly e-readers share. I find it a very interesting as this is not just a question of space and technology - I believe it's a much broader question about our culture and identity because for so many of us, the paper books are still a significant part of who we are. So can we move on and leave this part behind us now that we can have these books in an electronic version within seconds? Tough question.

So what Bilton did eventually? He reports: "In the end, I decided to leave 80 percent of the books behind, donating them to bookstores and even throwing some old, tattered volumes in the garbage. I still feel guilty about it, but I also feel vindicated by the practicality of my actions."

I can understand Bilton, although I really wish he would put the old, tattered volumes in the recycling bin instead of throwing them to the garbage.

What do you think? What would you do or have done in similar situation? Please comment and share your thoughts with us!

Photo: Books on the floor, Flickr Creative Commons, Toni Girl

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant one tree for every book your read!

Best green books to give your your mom for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is going to be celebrated tomorrow in many countries and if you're one of those who still haven't bought your mom a gift and are asking themselves what I can bring my mom to make her happy, we might have an idea for you!

How about a book? And to be more specific - How about a green book? A book is always a great gift and we want to help you with recommendations on the best green book to give your mom for Mother's Day. So we chose ten books which we believe will be a great fit to ten different types of moms we detailed below. We hope you'll find the right book on this list for your mom!

Also, if your mom read ebooks, go ahead and buy her your book of choice in an electronic format - we added links to the Kindle option whenever it is available.

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.

Big Green Purse is also available in an electronic format.


3. For the Jeff Garlin's fan mother -

My Footprint: Carrying the Weight of the World (audiobook) 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 -
The Food Matters Cookbook: 500 Revolutionary Recipes for Better Living by Mark Bittman

Does your mom know Mark Bittman? If the answer is Yes she'll love this book, if by any chance she doesn't know him yet, what are you waiting for??

"Bittman, New York Times columnist and bestselling author (How to Cook Everything) provides a rational approach to eating that not only improves health but also helps the environment." (Publishers Weekly)

From the award-winning champion of conscious eating and author of the bestselling Food Matters comes The Food Matters Cookbook, offering the most comprehensive and straightforward ideas yet for cooking easy, delicious foods that are as good for you as they are for the planet. The Food Matters Cookbook is the essential encyclopedia and guidebook to responsible eating, with more than 500 recipes that capture Bittman’s typically relaxed approach to everything in the kitchen.

The Food Matters Cookbook is also available in an electronic format.

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.

Farewell, My Subaru is also available in an electronic format.

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 resourcerce 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.

Greening Your Small Business is also available in an electronic format.

7. For the mom to be or the mother with little children -

Spit That Out!: The Overly Informed Parent's Guide to Raising Children in the Age of Environmental Guilt by Paige Wolf

Do you have a little brother or sister? Are you going to have another sibling? If you do, here's a great book for your mom!

"Thanks to Paige Wolf, all busy moms and moms-to-be on the verge of a "green mom nervous breakdown" have the answers they need!" -- SheKnows.com SheKnows.com SheKnows.com.

Have you ever stayed up all night scraping lead paint off the walls (and then realized you've actually made the problem worse)? Googled every toy in the house to make sure they didn't contain high levels of cadmium or lead? Searched every product in the cabinet for the mere mention of a paraben? As a new mother, Paige Wolf has been committed to living an eco-friendly and healthy lifestyle. But with the flood of constantly changing information, it's become an increasingly difficult task. In addition to the age-old daunting task of raising happy, healthy babies, mothers are constantly bombarded with new and contradictory research concerning environmental toxins, long-term product effects, and the far-reaching impact of every product we purchase and decision we make.

Spit That Out! answers the questions posed by mothers on the verge of a "green mom nervous breakdown" and turns to experts to present facts, debunk myths, and help parents stay on a reasonable and responsible course without losing their minds. Whether they are cloth-diapering, holistic mamas or moms who still can't give up their designer duds, all modern mothers can relate to the desperation of wanting to do the best for their children - and feeling hopelessly overwhelmed in the process. Spit That Out! feeds an audience of mothers hungry for commiseration, direction, and relief.

Spit That Out! is also available in an electronic format.

8. For the mother with a big carbon footprint -

101 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: Simple Things We All Can Do to Lessen Our Impact on the Environment by Andrea Bohmholdt

Is your mom interested in reducing her carbon footprint? Want to help her? Here's the guide she'll need.

Packed with 101 creative tips for conserving the environment, this guide helps burgeoning environmentalists gradually change their lifestyle to consume less energy. Easy to follow and understand, the succinct guide explains the environmental crisis and how individual ways of living contribute directly to the problem. It then focuses on offering simple solutions to help the environment, such as reducing heat by one or two degrees, unplugging mobile phones when they are finished charging, and completing weekly shopping goals in a single excursion. Additional resources are provided to help readers begin to make the changes that will ultimately make a global difference.

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.

Farm City is also available in an electronic format.

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."

Ecoholic is also available in an electronic format.

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!

Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason #3

We continue with our Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers to celebrate the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day.

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we will publish the 41 best answers we receive on the blog, one reply a day. All replies will be gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 3:

Planting a tree for my book is a good idea because this way my book can "give back" to Mother Nature by starting life again! - Shannon

Thank you Shannon for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Shannon, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including a $25 gift card for Strand Bookstore, audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, American Assassin by Vince Flynn and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, books from the Little Green Books series, Menu Dating by Tristan Coopersmith and The Healthy Home by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply, either by adding a comment here or sending it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason #2

Yesterday we started our Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers to celebrate the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day.

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we will publish the 41 best answers we receive on the blog, one reply a day. All replies will be gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 2:

Planting a tree for you book represents the circle that life is supposed to be. We give and take and that balance is what keeps everything working the way it is supposed to. It is when one end of the teeter-totter weighs heavier than the other that system doesn't work. Or when one side rows and the other doesn't, we go in circles instead of moving ahead. - Jen Forbus

Thank you Jen for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Jen, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including a $25 gift card for Strand Bookstore, audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, American Assassin by Vince Flynn and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, books from the Little Green Books series, Menu Dating by Tristan Coopersmith and The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply, either by adding a comment here or sending it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Our Earth Day campaign, 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, is beginning today!

Eco-Libris celebrates the 41st Annual Earth Day with a new campaign, where we ask readers to tell us why planting a tree for their book is a good idea.

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days, starting today culminating with Earth Day on April 22, we will publish the 41 best answers we receive on the blog, one reply a day. All replies will be gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 1:

I would plant a tree for my book so that people have a nice shady spot where they can read my book and watch the wildlife that helped inspire my book! - Juliet

Thank you Juliet for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Juliet, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including a $25 gift card for Strand Bookstore, audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, American Assassin by Vince Flynn and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, books from the Little Green Books series, Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf and The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply, either by adding a comment here or sending it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Top Ten Books to Read in Your Garden

Believe it or not but it's almost spring and this is definitely the time to start thinking about what you want to plant this year in your garden, buy seeds and get ready to do some gardening work. To celebrate the return of the garden to our life (although it's always in our heart, even when it's covered in snow for weeks..), we have a guest post with recommendations on 10 great books to read in your garden.

Top Ten Books to Read in Your Garden

This guest post was contributed by Garden

Gardening is invigorating, dirty, tender, satisfying work and nothing quite compares to sinking your teeth into a sun-warmed, just-picked tomato, its juice dripping down your chin. One that you planted months prior, first indoors then transplanted out in your composted soil - preparing a plot being an art in itself. Then staking it and pinching its first flowers so seedings establish before fruit production, and finally weeding and mulching and watering and doing it all over again, and again.

Reading a book is a similar, delicious commitment, and one perhaps best enjoyed in your garden.

The following ten books all celebrate the outdoors, some in a grand way, others more quietly. May their contents inspire you to breathe your air more deeply, embrace your environs more fully.

THE BIG PICTURE

Planet Earth - Alastair Fothergill

Maybe you saw the Discovery Channel's program and are already familiar with the wondrous footage, shot over five years, of the world's wildlife and their habitats. Page turn at your leisure through these awe-inspiring images and accompanying text. A particularly enthralling section is a feature on the otherworldly Lechuguilla Cave, it's top-secret entrance and then strenuous subterranean descent.

HOW PLANT PASSION CAN TURN CRIMINAL

The Orchid Thief - Susan Orlean

New Yorker writer Orlean decides to explore the world of John Laroche, awaiting trial for stealing endangered orchids from Florida's Fakahatchee Swamp, after reading about him in a local newspaper. What follows is an eccentric, funny, and revealing story about an orchid-infatuated subculture.


LIVING OFF YOUR LAND

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver, with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver

A family's good-humoured and enlightening story about eating food only grown by them or from their local area for a whole year. It also includes recipes and sidebars on industrial agriculture.


AN OVERSEAS GARDEN

French Dirt - Richard Goodman

An enchanting account of Goodman's move from New York City to a French village, and what he discovers from gardening there - about the village's inhabitants and himself.

DREAM BIGGER

The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love - Kristin Kimball

City girl moves upstate to start a cooperative farm with the man who will become her husband. The memoir, while initially idealistic, is refreshingly honest about the hard work necessary to build and maintain a farm.


NO DIRT, JUST BUGS

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders - Lorus and Margery Milne

A wonderfully authoritative visual guide - includes 702 photographs - with detailed descriptions of habitats, ranges, food and life cycles of North American insects and spiders.

YUM

Eat Your Yard - Nan K. Chase

Chase details the 35 different trees, shrubs, vines, herbs and flowers that you can grow on your property then enjoy at your next meal!





PERHAPS INSPIRING YOU TO FARM

The Seasons on Henry’s Farm - Terra Brockman

Brockman expertly - and with tremendous heart - writes about the cycle of a year on her Illinois sustainable farm.





MARTHA THEY AREN'T

The Bucolic Plague - Josh Kilmer-Purcell

A hilarious read - and true story - about a gay couple who make a go of the rural life before they became Planet Green's Fabulous Beekman Boys.




THOUGHTFULLY EARTH-MOVING

In the Company of Stone - Dan Snow

Waller Dan Snow builds, yes, walls, but also dams, grottos, pathways, spheres, staircases, terraces, even softball field bleachers, all with found stone and without mortar or nails. Called dry-stone construction and completely hand built, Snow's art is celebrated in Peter Mauss's gorgeous photographs while Snow's prose - equally practical and poetic - are as engaging as his works.