Bringing Back the Wolves: How a Predator Restored an Ecosystem

Bringing Back the Wolves: How a Predator Restored an Ecosystem by Jude Isabella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A lovely picture book for older kids (or adults) about the effects of reintroducing wolves into Yellowstone National Park, an ecosystem devastated by the systematic killing of apex predators in the late 1800s. There were a few spots where I felt like a little additional content would have been helpful, or at least don’t leave me hanging and searching for where the story thread picks back up. But overall an excellent book for anyone who wants to know more about the critical and sometimes surprising effects keystone species like wolves have on their environments.

View all my reviews

 

Flight Behavior

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When Dellarobia was seventeen, she married Cub Turnbow because they had a baby on the way. She miscarried shortly afterward, but the damage was done, and her dreams of college and escaping the confines of impoverished Feathertown, Tennessee, died also. More than a decade later, Dellarobia's quiet despair leads her to hike up a hill for an adulterous rendezvous. Before she arrives, however, she sees the forest aflame with a soundless fire and returns home with the conviction that the miracle was meant to save her. She is no longer the same person; sparks of her original personality have reignited. When her father-in-law decides to cut down the forest to pay a large debt, she lobbies her husband to intervene, telling him they should at least look at what they are selling off before it's too late. Grudgingly, her in-laws and her husband agree to make the trip, so this time Dellarobia wears her glasses and discovers that the flames are actually butterflies. Millions--maybe billions--of monarch butterflies.

News of the butterflies spreads to news outlets, both local and national, and soon Dellarobia is in the uncomfortable media spotlight as the woman whose "vision" led to the discovery. When a stranger appears at her door, she impulsively invites him to dinner and changes the course of her life forever, for he is a lepidopterist--a butterfly scientist. The unearthly beauty of the butterflies is actually a natural disaster: they should have returned to the milder climate of the mountains of Mexico, and an Appalachian winter might mean their extinction.

Kingsolver is a master of character development. I didn't find much to admire in Dellarobia to begin with, given her her chain-smoking and her decision to throw her marriage away on a foolish obsession. But she grows and changes into a woman I could empathize with and respect. And Kingsolver doesn't skimp on the other characters, either. For example, Cub is a good, kind man who is simply a bad match for Dellarobia. Their children come to life, particularly five-year-old Preston, the budding scientist. Even Cub's mother, Hester, is depicted with depth. No one is simply a stereotype--not the preacher, nor the congregants, not the scientists, and not the townsfolk. Kingsolver grew up in Appalachia and treats it with respect, acknowledging both the poverty and limited choices but also the inherent thrift. Everyone--environmentalists and locals alike--acts with the best of intentions. I really appreciated that.

For readers' advisors: character and setting doorways, primarily, but also language and story (as is customary with Kingsolver's novels). No sex, aside from a pair of butterflies, nor violence, and only a little mild swearing. The pace of the book is generally relaxed, so I wouldn't suggest it to anyone who only reads "page-turners."

View all my reviews

Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living

Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living by Tsh Oxenreider

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Finally! A practical, step-by-step how-to book on clearing the clutter and organizing your house. Nothing earth-shattering or surprising, just a ten-day plan to go through your house and get it cleaned up and organized. Admittedly, I haven't actually tried the plan yet, but I think I could easily do it if I could get my husband on board and break up the 10 days over weekends or holidays (or use vacation time, I suppose). And I'm relieved that I kind of DID do many of the steps already as a side effect of moving last month.

What I especially loved was that she includes an appendix of simple recipes for homemade cleaners and personal care products, the ingredients of which can be purchased at grocery store in most areas of the country. They're both environmentally friendly and cheaper--win/win! I think I need to go purchase my own copy of the book just for the appendices (there are four in all). :)

The other thing I love is Oxenreider's attitude of decluttering as a process or a journey, wherein ANY progress is better than no progress. She didn't make me feel guilty for not having a magazine-worthy house; she just suggested ways I might improve the appearance and functionality of my home. And she made a case for why it was worth the effort--i.e. because you need time and space to do the things you want to do, be it crafting or cooking or curling up with a good book. Clutter causes chaos and makes it difficult to live your life.

Something else I appreciated about the book was the binding. It's spiral bound with a hard cover so it'll lay flat but not snag on anything. Love that!



View all my reviews

The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live

The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live by Sarah Susanka

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Until a friend loaned me this book, I'd never heard of Sarah Susanka or her Not So Big House movement. Now, it seems like I'm hearing and reading her name mentioned everywhere, and for good reason. She advocates home design that is functional and beautiful and human-sized, based on how we really live and what we really need our homes to provide for us. The opposite of the McMansion, in other words. And wow, do I ever wish I could live in a home she designed for me! The photos in this book make me long to dive right in, they are so welcoming and cozy.

The intended audience for this particular book is really those who are planning to build or substantially remodel homes, which I am not. But the great thing is that there are so many photos and such clear descriptions of the goals of the design and the ideals behind the floor plans and detail work, that I think I will be able to incorporate some of the philosophies into my already-built home. And I will definitely be checking out more of her books to see what else she has to say!

I also love that Susanka emphasizes good design going hand in hand with environmentally friendly design--as in the two are inextricably linked. Part of the philosophy of the Not So Big House is to put less of a burden on our planet, both in building and in ongoing expenses (i.e. energy efficiencies). I really appreciate that she sees eco-friendly choices not as luxuries but as necessities. And I am grateful that someone out there is fighting back against the scourge of soul-less "house farms" that have exploded on the scene in recent decades. People would be much happier and less stressed if their houses really did rise up to welcome them home every day instead of causing them unconscious psychological pain. So thanks, Sarah Susanka!!


View all my reviews

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??



View all my reviews

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.

View all my reviews >>

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.

View all my reviews >>
a>

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).


View all my reviews.