Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe

Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Stop the Climate Crisis, Heal Our Planet, Feed the World and Keep Us Safe by Maria Rodale

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Maria Rodale is VERY passionate when it comes to organic food & farming. I wish everyone on this planet would read her book and change the status quo. I had no idea how complicated and detrimental the Farm Bill has become! I did know, however, how powerful and insidious the chemical companies are, but I didn't realize the full extent of their greed and control. YIKES. Thank goodness for "Part 3: The Age of Healing," or I might never sleep again.

I HIGHLY recommend this book. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that I can see how some people might be put off by Rodale's sometimes-strident tone, and once in a while it felt a little repetitive, but perhaps that's because not everything was news to me.

Not sure how to categorize it for Reader's Advisors. Story doorway??



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Sleeping Naked Is Green

Sleeping Naked is Green: How an Eco-Cynic Unplugged Her Fridge, Sold Her Car, and Found Love in 366 Days by Vanessa Farquharson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The title of this book is what originally caught my eye. It should really have dawned on me right then that if she calls herself an "eco-cynic" in the title, the book is probably going to include some snarky, disparaging comments about those of us who give a flying fig about this planet we're all on. Thankfully, the author does by and large grow in to becoming one of us over the course of her year of daily green changes.

My overall impression of this book is that the author is very very young. Not that I'm all that old, mind you, but she is SO young (early twenties??) and still in that phase where she's really out to prove herself...as young & hip, primarily. And she seems to be on the verge of alcoholism. But I very much admire her willingness to try things even I would balk at, like getting rid of her car, taking lukewarm showers, taking a butchering class, or using composting toilets. She broke her own rules more frequently than I would like, but at least she TRIED, which is more than most people do, and she raised a great deal of awareness about personal choices and options by sharing everything on her blog, in her book, and in her weekly newspaper column. And because of her, a lot more people are trying to make their own green changes, both small and large, and I am thankful for that.

For Reader's Advisors: character doorway because it's all about the author and her personal development over the course of the year. Be careful when recommending it to uber-conservative types, though, because Farquharson bed-hops (or tent-hops!) a bit, and there is some swearing.

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Do One Green Thing: Saving the Earth Through Simple, Everyday Choices

Do One Green Thing: Saving the Earth Through Simple, Everyday Choices by Mindy Pennybacker


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a great book for someone who wants to make better, healthier choices but doesn't know where to start and isn't ready to chuck it all and live in a tent in the woods with no running water or electricity for the rest of his or her life. It's easy to read--the information is broken down into chunks, with really helpful, practical tips and choose it/lose it recommendations, complete with some brand names. I'm actually thinking about buying a copy of the book to use as a reference when I shop. Beware, though: once I read the section on skin and hair care, I started reading labels and felt an urgent need to go to the grocery store to replace all my fiance's toxic products!

My one quibble with it is the inconsistency of the use of grey boxes. Much of the time, they indicate "lose it" lists or warnings. Other times grey is used merely as a section marker/background shade. My brain learned to assume "grey = bad choices," and I had to consciously shift my thinking every time this wasn't the case.

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Wake Up and Smell the Planet

Wake Up and Smell the Planet: The Non-pompous, Non-preachy Grist Guide to Greening Your Day by Grist Magazine

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

Who would have thought that reading about how to change your habits & save the planet could make you laugh out loud? The humor makes reality easier to digest, as do the short sections/chapters and grey "sidebars." (They're not really on the side.) Some of their suggestions will take some dedication to achieve, but others are so simple anyone could do them--and everyone should. Forgoing plastic water bottles is one example. Long live ceramic & stainless steel! The book also weighs the pros & cons of disposable & cloth diapers, microwave ovens, dishwashers, etc. I highly recommend this book as a companion to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver (which I think everyone in America should read).


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