Good, Green Reads for the Summer

If you are thinking about dipping your toe in the green pool or want to bathe in the topic of eco friendly living this list may help. The summer months are always good to explore something you may have put on the back burner for awhile while trying to plow through the winter months!

Here are a few recommended reads, whether you’re interested in food, lifestyle, business, etc.

1. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson (book shown in the photo for this article) – According to Wikipedia s a 1998 book by travel writer Bill Bryson, describing his attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail with his friend “Stephen Katz”. The book is written in a humorous style, interspersed with more serious discussions of matters relating to the trail’s history, and the surrounding sociology, ecology, trees, plants, animals and people.

2. Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We make Things by William McDonugh – Part social history, part green business primer, part   design manual, the book makes plain that the re-invention of human industry is not only within our grasp, it is our best hope for a future of sustaining prosperity.

3. Creating a World Without Poverty: How Social Business Can Transform our Lives by Muhammad Yunus – “ Muhammad Yunus is a practical visionary who has improved the lives of millions of people in his native Bangladesh and elsewhere in the world.” ––Los Angeles Times

4. Easy Green Living by Renee Loux – The ultimate guide to simple, eco-friendly choices for you and your home – foreword by Mike Meyers.

5. Eco Housebook by Terrance Conran – A complete guide to home improvement the environmentally friendly way: whether you want to redecorate or redesign your home, this essential book provides all the information you need to reduce your home’s carbon footprint and improve the quality of your life.

6. Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter – A 2009 memoir by Novella Carpenter. The book describes her extensive garden in Ghost Town, a run down neighborhood a mile from downtown Oakland, California

7. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser – A no-holds-barred exploration of the fast food industry that ultimately reveals the dark side of the “All American Meal

8. Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People and a Better World by Joel Salatin – NY Times calls him the High Priest of the Pasture” e discusses how far removed we are from the simple, sustainable joy that comes from living close to the land and the people we love.

9. Fresh Living: The Essential Room-by Room Guide to a Greener, Healthier Family and Home by Sara Snow- Writer, speaker and Discovery Channel television host Snow sweeps through each room of the house (and the yard) in this overview of effective green living

10. Going Green Together-How to Align Employees with Green Strategies by Frank Roettgers – Going Green Together is an excellent scientific achievement and is leading the way in giving advice on how to green a business sustainably. –Dr. Aidan O’Driscoll, Editor Irish Marketing Review

11. Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond – In this “artful, informative, and delightful” (William H. McNeill, New York Review of Books) book, Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the modern world

12. How to Cook Everything Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman – This book has helped countless home cooks discover the rewards of simple cooking using fresh and natural ingredients.

13. My Father’s Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow – Paltrow shares her favorite family recipes along with personal stories of growing up with her father, Bruce Paltrow. She discusses how he has influenced her in the food she loves, how she involves her kids in cooking, and how she balances healthy food with homemade treats.

14. Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution by Paul Hawken – Describes a future on the verge of a new industrial revolution in which business and environmental interests increasingly overlap, and one where companies can improve their bottom lines, help solve environmental problems—and feel better about what they do—all at the same time.

15. No Impact Man by Colin Beavan – The adventures of a guilty liberal who attempts to save the planet, and the discoveries he makes about himself and our way oflLife in the process.

16. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan – Steven Shapin, The New Yorker?”Outstanding … a wide-ranging invitation to think through the moral ramifications of our current eating habits.”

17. The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard – At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth.

18. Upcycling: Create Beautiful Things with Stuff You Already Have by Danny Seo – Renowned environmental lifestyle expert and Today  Show regular Danny Seo shares 100 of his most inspiring projects for creative transformation.

Enjoy curling up with a good book this summer on the beach, in your backyard or at a BBQ. Can you curl up with a Kindle? In any case, you may want to recycle by taking the book or e-book out from the library, buying a used copy on amazon or at the fleamarket!

Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

“Catch! calls the Once-ler.

He lets something fall.

It’s a Truffula Seed.

It’s the last one of all!

You’re in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds.

And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs.

Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.

Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.

Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.

Then the Lorax

and all of his friends

may come back.”