Monday's green books series: Freezing Point (and there's a giveaway!)

Did you read a good environmental thriller lately? I guess the answer would probably be 'no' as there aren't too many environmental thrillers around. But it would definitely be 'Yes' if you have read the book we're reviewing today.

Our book for today is:

Freezing Point

Author: Karen Dionne

After dropping out of the University of Michigan in the 1970s, Detroit native Karen Dionne moved to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula wilderness with her husband and infant daughter as part of the back-to-the-land movement. During the next thirty winters, her indoor pursuits included stained glass, weaving, and constructing N-scale model train layouts.

Eventually, her creative interests shifted to writing. Karen’s short stories have appeared in Bathtub Gin, The Adirondack Review, Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine and Thought Magazine, where her entry won first place in their spring 2003 writing competition. She worked as Senior Fiction Editor for NFG, a print literary journal out of Toronto, Canada, before founding Backspace, an Internet-based writers organization with over 700 members in a dozen countries.

Karen is a member of Sisters in Crime, the Mystery Writers of America, and the International Thriller Writers, where she serves on the membership committee and the website staff. She and her husband live in Detroit’s northern suburbs. Freezing Point is her first novel.

Publisher: The Berkley Publishing Group

Published on: September 2008

What it is about (from the author's website):

As he faces the frozen behemoth of a giant iceberg, environmental activist Ben Maki sees Earth’s future. Clean drinking water for millions, waiting to be tapped from the polar ice. The Soldyne Corporation backs Ben’s grand philanthropic vision for a better today—while making its own plans for a very profitable tomorrow.

Rebecca Sweet lives for the cause—an eco-terrorist who will do whatever she must to protect the earth. And Ben Maki’s ideas have set her on the path to war…

All of them will be drawn into a battle between hope and helplessness, power and pride. But they are about to discover that deep within the ice waits an enemy more deadly than any could imagine—an apocalyptic horror mankind may not survive.

Why you should get it:
1. It's a great thriller! No matter if you're interested in global warming (and we hope you do..) or not, if you're looking for an exciting thriller with an original plot, this is your book right here. It's not a coincidence that Dionne was called "the new Michael Crichton".

2. Though the author lacks scientific background, she did a lot of research and integrated really nicely science into the story. And it's not boring at all. On the contrary - it really adds to the novel and makes it much more interesting and real, even for readers who needs some time to digest scientific data.

3. This is also a tale of corporate greed, which looks more relevant than ever these days With Wall Street bailouts, Jim Cramer and AIG bonuses. So forget Kramer, AIG and all the rest and escape into the shenanigans of the Soldyne Corporation. At least these ones are fictitious..

4. The story is fun and meant to entertain, but it is an environmental thriller that also carries strong messages about the world's water crisis and global warming, and hopefully it will help to raise the awareness of readers to these issues.

What others say about the book:
“Palpably exciting. A scientific thriller about a looming global crisis far more critical than oil. Karen Dionne is the new Michael Crichton.” David Morrell

" Freezing Point combines a strong narrative voice, sympathetic characters, and some eally coll science into a compelling read!" John Lescroart

"... the scientific and ethical themes are fascinating and timely and the remoteness of the Antarctic makes an ideal thriller setting ... surprisingly complex characters" Publishers Weekly

"Fascinating and action-packed, Freezing Point by Karen Dionne is a riveting tale of cutting-edge science, board-room greed, and the triumph of those who respect nature. Dionne's voice is authentic and fresh. Watch out, Michael Crichton!" Gayle Lynds

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!

We are giving away our review copy of the book, and of course a tree will be planted for the copy. It will also come with our sticker (made of recycled paper) saying "One tree planted for this book."

How you can win? please add a comment below with an answer the following question: what's the best thriller you have ever read? Submissions are accepted until Sunday, March 22, 12PM EST. The winner will be announced the following day.

Here's the book's trailer:

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

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Good news from Europe: Book sales are rising!

Good news from the old continent: the New York Times is reporting today that sales of books in Europe are rising in spite and maybe even because of the economic downturn.

According to the article ("Book Sales in Europe Are Gaining in Tough Times " by Eric Pfanner), "the number of books sold in France rose 2 percent in December from a year earlier and 2.4 percent in January, according to Livres Hebdo, a trade publication and the trend has been similar in Germany, where the number of books sold rose 2.3 percent in January, according to the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, a trade organization. Analysts say many other European markets have also shown gains."

Actually, even in the U.S. , where sales haven't gained in the last couple of months, the situation isn't that bad - sales in the U.S. were down about 1% in the first 10 weeks of this year. Of course it's not an ideal situation, but it's definitely much better than many other industries were demand fell sharply.

If you look for a connection to the downturn, you can easily find it. In two words: cheap escapism. Or, as Helen Fraser, managing director of Penguin Books in London, put it in the article "books are a very cheap treat. When you are reading all this dreadful news in the paper, a lovely 500-page novel by Marian Keyes or a classic by Charles Dickens takes you right away from all that." I couldn't agree more.

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

What would you cook on your next campfire? a new eBook has all the information and recipes you need!

Going to a campfire any time soon? how are your campfire cooking skills? no matter if you're struggling with campfire cooking or you're good at it and want to improve your skills, we got the perfect book (or actually eBook) for you.

Wyrdwood Publications, who are partnering with Eco-Libris to plant trees for their 'Green Leaves' eBooks, are releasing today a neew eBook:

Pagans on the Wildside: Campfire Cooking

This eBook, edited by Edain Duguay, is the first eBook of the 'Pagans on the Wildside' series. This informative and interesting eBook contains recipes for cooking breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and snacks with a campfire. Also included is a short campfire story by renowned Bard John David 'Hobbes' Hickey and a Campfire Handfasting, with a menu and recipes.

Within this unique eBook there are also tips and personal experiences, which show the inventiveness and humour of their Pagan and Heathen contributors.

Not only that this is a great and valuable eBook, but as it's part of Wyrdwood Publications 'Green Leaves' eBooks, a tree will be planted with Eco-Libris for every copy sold. And did we mention it's only $4.99? so don't miss it!

More 'Green Leaves' eBooks of Wyrdwood Publications:

The Witches' Course Book

The Mouse in the Viking's Beard

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

Half Price Books is going green with full wind power!

More green news from booksellers: Environmental Leader reported that Half Price Books, a new and used bookstore chain, signed an agreement with Green Mountain Energy to power 30 stores and other facilities in Texas with 100% wind power for the next 3 years.

Half Price Books, the nation’s largest family-owned new and used bookstore chain, will be purchasing about 11.3 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of wind power annually from the renewable energy provider.

This move according to the Houston Business Journal, earned commendation from the EPA after Half Price Books’ purchase ranked fourth on the list of largest renewable energy retail power purchases in Texas, behind Whole Foods, FedEx Office and H-E-B Grocery Co. In addition to wind power, Green Mountain Energy Company also offers a choice of carbon offset products through its BeGreen division.

This is by all means a very bold move - by purchasing 11.3 million kWh of wind power, Half Price Books will offset estimated 15 million pounds of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of planting 901,000 trees or recycling 6 million pounds of newspaper.

“Half Price Books has long been a supporter of the environment, even going so far as to include ‘be kind to the environment’ in its official mission statement,” said Kathy Doyle Thomas, executive vice president of Half Price Books on the joint press release of Half Priced Books and Green Mountain Energy. “Making the switch to Green Mountain just made sense to us in order to continue to do what we can to help the environment.”

If you look at their Environment web page you can understand what Doyle Thomas is talking about. Just look at the first paragraph:

"Helping the environment by preserving and recycling resources is part of our daily business. At Half Price Books we feel that everyone can help preserve the environment. Trees recycle water, oxygen and carbon dioxide. This helps to reduce soil erosion, air pollution and flooding. Recycling paper also helps the environment by saving energy and water, as less energy and water is used by reprocessing already processed paper, rather than virgin pulp."

Kudos to Half Price Books. Now not only they will support the environment by selling reused books, maximizing the usage of printed books and saving resources, but they will also give a great example to the commitment to clean energy we wish many other retailers would do.

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

Reminder: you can still participate in "The Adventures of Nick the Ecologist and his Robot O-Zone" giveaway

You still have time to participate in our giveaway of one copy of "The Adventures of Nick the Ecologist and his Robot O-Zone: The Mystery of the Missing Trees", which we reviewed last Monday.

All you need to do is add a comment here or in the original post with an answer the following question: if you had a robot like O-zone and it could help you with one environmental issue you're having, what would it be?

Submissions are accepted until Sunday, March 15, 12PM EST. The winner will be announced the following day.

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

Signing event of "The Legend of Honey Hollow" tomorrow with Eco-Libris stickers!

What are you doing this Saturday? if you're anywhere around Stamford in Connecticut, we have a great recommendation for you:

Come meet children's book author Jeanne McNaney as she introduces her new book "The Legend of Honey Hollow" at Borders bookstore on 1041 High Road, Stamford CT between 2-4 in the afternoon.

It should be a great event that will include singing, book signing and you'll even meet some of the characters. Want more? well, you got it - Jeanne McNaney has partnered with Eco-Libris and will plant a tree for every book sold on this event! Buyers of here book will get not only her autograph on their copy, but also our sticker (made of recycled paper), saying: "One tree planted for this book".

Here are some more details on this fun and exciting adventure book:

Title: The Legend of Honey Hollow

Description: Honey Hollow is not a place known to humans, but it is well-known to the bears of the world. Bears travel to this beautiful forest sanctuary to escape habitat destruction and global warming. The magical paradise has now been discovered by man. When the trees are cut down by developers, can the bears and the children of the loggers join together to save Honey Hollow for the future?

Author: Jeanne McNaney

Jeanne McNaney lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, with her husband, Joseph, and their three children. In addition to her passion for raising awareness about the environment and the plight of endangered species, she is dedicated to causes that enhance the lives of children and their families throughout the world.

Ilustrator: David Cochard

David Cochard has been a freelance illustrator since 1996. He currently resides in Argentina with his wife, Sandrine, where he runs his own illustration company, Ilustra World, and pursues his other passions-traveling and studying science and ecology.

Publisher: Ovation Books/Joey Publishing

Published on: January 2009

Reading level: ages 4-8

Book's website: http://www.honeyhollowbears.com/

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

The Garden Gate Shop is celebrating the sale of the 1000th Eco-Libris sticker!

We reported couple of times in the past about the Garden Gate Shop in the Missouri Botanical Garden (check here and here), which is taking part in our bookstores program.

The store's wonderful staff has been extremely creative and effective in finding ways to promote our partnership. And now they're celebrating an important milestone: The sale of the 1000th Eco-Libris sticker!

The 1000th sticker was sold yesterday by Sheena (in the photo above), who is also holding the store's all time record - she sold 503 stickers!

We would like to thank Sheena and the rest of the Garden Gate Shop's great staff for their wonderful work, their dedication and commitment to supporting the environment!

And of course, we invite you all to visit this beautiful botanical garden (it's the nation's oldest botanical garden) and the shop. The Garden Gate Shop is a great place to find plants, garden accessories, home furnishings, merchandise... and books on related subjects.

The Missouri Botanical Garden is conveniently located off I-44, and is easily accessible from the major highways in the area.4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110. Automated events hotline: (314) 577-9400, 1-800-642-8842.

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