Green book review week - part 1: The Green Year: 365 Small Things You Can Do to Make a Big Difference

We start our green book review week one day late due to technical issues, so today we'll have two reviews of green books. And we start with a book that is targeted at those who want to make a big difference but in small steps. From what we see and hear on the news about the G8 and from other examples all over the globe, it looks like the concept of this book is relevant more than ever.

Our book today is:

The Green Year: 365 Small Things You Can Do to Make a Big Difference

Author: Jodi Helmer

Jodi Helmer is a freelance writer who specializes in writing about eco-friendly topics. Her work has appeared in Plenty, Yoga Journal, Women’s Health, Woman’s Day, American Fitness, Women’s Health and Fitness, Oxygen, Hemispheres, Parents, US Airways Magazine, Modern Bride, Parenting, Christian Science Monitor, USA Weekend, Better Nutrition and the Portland Tribune. Helmer is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) and moderated the panel, Environmental Journalism: Writing Green at the 2008 ASJA conference in New York.

Publisher: Alpha Books/ Penguin Group (USA)

Published on: December 2008

What this book is about? (from the the publisher's website)
Most of us want to do the right thing for the environment, but making the commitment to change our fast-paced, convenience-oriented lifestyles can be more than a little daunting. What’s the answer? Take that giant commitment and cut it up into 365 little commitments that get met one day at a time. The Green Year does just that. More than a calendar, it offers simple, practical, affordable, and engaging activities that make going green a blessing rather than a burden.

In addition to these easy green suggestions, readers will find in The Green Year:
•The “why” behind each activity—what makes it good for the environment and the reader?
•A quick “how-to” for any activity that requires it
•Room for readers to write in their own creative Alternatives
•Helpful illustrations

What we think about it?
I am a great believer in the concept of small steps that make a difference. Some might see taking small steps as doing too little for solving big problems, and that's where 'The Green Year' can help.

The book provides a road map to a real change in people's lifestyle in small steps that eventually accumulate to a significant change. Of course not each and every tip of the 365 tips in the book can work for everyone and that's why like the fact the author left space at the bottom of each tip for adding 'An alternative to this idea that works better for me' - this is the kind of flexibility that encourages people to engage in.

The main strength of the book is its ability to refute two common myths: going green is complicated and expensive. The tips Helmer provides on her book are usually pretty easy and won't take more than a couple of minutes, like "Change the setting on your printer" (March 30), "Opt for a fountain drink instead of a bottle or can of soda" (September 18), or "Switch from a lighter to matches" (October 24). Many of the tips won't cost you anything, like "Take your own mug to the coffee shop" (April 24). Some of them can actually save you money such as "Check your car tires for wear and tear" (May 8).

The book is organized as calendar and many tips are related to their time of the year like tips on greening your garden in April. One thing I was missing was a table of contents that would make the search inside the book much more easier.

Bottom Line: It's a valuable guide and a great gift, especially for those who want to go green but don't know really where to start, or those who want to it one step at a time.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!

We're giving away one copy of the book, courtesy of the book's publicist, and of course a tree will be planted for the copy!

How you can win? please add a comment below with a tip of your own - one small step to go green that you successfully adopted. Submissions are accepted until Tuesday, July 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 our website's green resources section.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green printing

Barefoot Books launched their new website!

Barefoot Books is, a great publisher of children's books and our partner, is presenting a new website. Their website, which is beautifully designed is very inviting and you can spend there hours enjoying great content.

So what you can find there? how about recommendations for beach reads, connecting with the Barefoot community, check out Barefoot's bestsellers, download fun activities for your kids and of course read about our collaboration!

Check it out at http://www.barefootbooks.com/

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green reading

Another green book review week is coming!

After a successful green book review week we had last May, our bookshelf is full again with great green books waiting for their turn to be reviewed, so we'll do it again!

This upcoming we'll have a green book review not only on Monday, but on every day of the week!

And of course, more reviews mean more giveaways, so next week watch out for three giveaways in one week!

We have some really great books, which cover a wide range of green themes. Here's our plan for next week:

Monday:The Green Year: 365 Small Things You Can Do to Make a Big Difference by Jodi Helmer

Tuesday: The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle

Wednesday: A Conservationist Manifesto Scott Russell Sanders

Thursday: The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget: Save Money. Save Time. Save the Planet by Josh Dorfman

Friday: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Greening Your Business by Trish Riley and Heather Gadonniex

See you on Monday!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
Eco-Libris: promoting green reading!

"Beyond the Cold" by Michael Kleiner receives first place in Beach Book Festival

We're always happy to update you with prizes and awards that books we're working with are receiving.

This time it's "Beyond the Cold: An American’s Warm Portrait of Norway" by Michael Kleiner that received receive first prize in the autobiography/biography category of The Beach Book Festival.

Michael is a fellow SBN member and he plants a tree with every copy sold of his book, which chronicles Kleiner’s year living in Norway with his family at age 11, attending a Norwegian school, learning a different language, new sports and about Norwegian culture. He has returned five times as an adult, and he develops an affinity and passion for the country, its culture and people although he is not of Norwegian descent. Not only does he find a second home and family, but a country that is more than cold weather and that these intercultural experiences contributed to the person he has become.

You could read more about the prize here at http://www.beyondthecold.com/pressroom.htm

The book is available through his web site – http://www.beyondthecold.com – which also has blogcasts of his appearances; Infinity Publishing’s web site store – http://www.buybooksontheweb, as well as Amazon and barnesandnoble.com.

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

My Summer Reading with Kathleen Wilson, author of the new eco-fantasy "Rumer and Qix"

This week on our series My Summer Reading we have the pleasure to have with us Kathleen S. Wilson, the author of the new book 'Rumer & Qix: The Race to Terra Incognita'.

Kathleen consults with media companies on digital strategy and creative development and teaches in the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is the author of a new book, “Rumer & Qix: The Race to Terra Incognita” – a futuristic, eco-fantasy adventure for tweens and all those who are forever tweens at heart. To learn more about “Rumer & Qix”, visit http://www.rumerandqix.com.

Kathleen is collaborating with Eco-Libris and for every sold copy of 'Rmuer & Qix' a new tree will be planted with us. Buyers of the new book will also receive our "One tree planted for this book" sticker.

Hi Kathleen, what are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading “The Earthsea Trilogy” by the incredibly imaginative and original Ursula Le Guin. I became intrigued when I read that one of my favorite animators, Hayao Miyazaki, a pre-eminent Japanese anime writer/director, once approached Le Guin to make a film based on her Earthsea series, was rejected at first, then later granted the rights.

Any recommendation on a good summer reading?
It’s great to have a range of options available in the summer depending on things like your mood, the weather, where you are and who you’re with.

Some of the summer reads I’ve enjoyed over the years are “World of Wonders” the last book in a trilogy by Canadian writer Robertson Davies, the science fiction classic, “Enders Game” by Orson Scott Card, Neal Stephenson’s eco-thriller “Zodiac,” “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night,” a fascinating, first-person insight into Asperger’s Syndrome by Mark Haddon and, for readers of all ages, “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss.

What you are planning to read this summer?
As always, there are so many books I’d like to read that I don’t know where to begin. I’m into a fantasy streak at the moment and a few that keep bubbling up to the top of my list are “The Wind Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel” by Haruki Murakami because it’s been described as both surreal and amusing, “The Gone Away World” by Nick Harkaway, which is supposed to be a post-apocalyptic fantasy with funny moments, “The Dark is Rising” by Susan Cooper, a magical, mythical fantasy that has been adapted to film and, not a fantasy, but still intriguing, “The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World" by Michael Pollan.

What is your favorite place to read in the summer?
I live in NYC and, like everyone who lives in a big city, tend to spend too much time inside. When the warm weather arrives, I love to find a place outside to read. After a long winter, it feels like a dream to sit on the grass under a tree with a good book in any of the city’s fantastic parks, or at a table at one of the many restaurants with outside seating, or to escape the city altogether to find a spot to read by the ocean or in the mountains, either of which can be reached within a couple of hours from NewYork City.

Thanks Kathleen!

So far on My Summer Reading series:

Christian Valentiner of the Norwegian publisher Flux

Avrim Topel, co-author of 'My Green Beginnings'

Tania Hershman, author of 'The White Road and Other Stories'

Elisabeth Baines, author of the upcoming book 'Too Many Magpie'

Erica Caldwell of the bookstore Present Tense

Sue Schrader of the bookstore Sources of Hope

Jennifer Taylor of GreetQ

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green reading

An event at Bryant Park Reading Room on Wednesday with some great green authors and experts

If you're by any chance on New York next Wednesday (and why shouldn't you? it should be a nice day with 80 degrees), we got an offer you can't refuse: an event at the beautiful Bryant Park Reading Room with some of the most interesting green authors and experts around. And it's free!

The list of participants include a CEO of one of the most innovative green companies and the author of "Revolution in the Bottle", the editor of Edible Manhattan, a Canadian journalist who wrote a book on her 366-day journey to live a more environmentally conscious lifestyle, making one positive change each day and a food writer who chronicles in a new book her experiences as an urban farmer.

Sounds interesting? Here are more details on the event:

Greening Gotham

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Moderated by Maureen Hackett, Director of Horticulture Bryant Park

Participants: Novella Carpenter (Farm City), Gabrielle Langholtz (Editor of Edible Manhattan), Tom Szaky (Revolution in a Bottle: How TerraCycle Is Redefining Green Business) and Vanessa Farquharson (Sleeping Naked is Green).

Learn just what it takes to turn concrete into vegetables, skyscrapers into eco-buildings, and parks into havens, at a special author panel dedicated to creating a greener Gotham. At this event, Maureen Hackett (Director of Horticulture Bryant Park) talks with a panel of experts and authors with stories to tell about how they are helping the planet.

The event is FREE and open to the public. For updates and additional information, please visit the website at www.bryantpark.org. The Bryant Park Reading Room located on the 42nd Street side of the park - under the trees - between the back of the NYPL & 6th Avenue. Look for the burgundy and white umbrellas. Rain Venue: Library of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen 20 West 44th Street (between 5th & 6th Avenue). New York.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green reading

Green printing is going mainstream!

We were happy to read that green printing is now not only the quest of a small number of printers, but it's also on the agenda of the the world’s largest graphic arts trade association - Printing Industries of America.

Yes, Printing Industries of America is providing now its members with a new tool for who wants to go green: The Green Guide for Graphic Communications.

According to their website the guide will help printers to turn your green profile into a market position, make appropriate and credible green claims, issue periodic reports on your green progress, better understand third-party certification and eco-labels,communicate effectively with customers, prospects, and other stakeholders, and so on.

It sounds like a valuable “how-to” guide for printers, that shows them how going green can not only benefit the environment, but also their business, and I hope many of them will make a good use of it.

This guide is provided free of charge to members of Printing Industries of America. You can read more about the guide at http://www.printing.org/greenguide?id=PGAMA

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting green printing