Tip of the Week: READ ALL THE THINGS!

The wintry weather coupled with my bizarre work schedule means that I have been reading quite a bit these days! I absolutely love to read and when I found two of these books, I could not put them down. Here's what I've been reading:

source: http://us.macmillan.com/noimpactman/ColinBeavan

A few months ago, I was researching sustainability blogs in order to begin work on my own blog and I found this one. Colin Beavan is an inspiration to me because he attempted something really radical and shared it with others because he felt so strongly about how our society needs to change. The book itself is very though provoking and discusses some of the tricky parts about global warming, including how playing the blame game isn't helpful. I watched the documentary as well and am following his blog. I have definitely got some ideas about how I can lighten my impact on the planet from his book. Plus, it's pretty funny!

source: http://www.buyolympia.com/q/Item=the-urban-homestead-expanded

Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen is basically a manual of how I want to live my life. It's all about how to create a homestead while living in an environment that doesn't have 100 acres, cows, farm equipment or a nearby fresh water source. It's got tons of tutorials about how to can food, make your own cheese, sourdough bread, how to compost and set up a worm compost bin (I'm seriously considering trying this even though we have a compost pile already!), how to fix a bike, and tons more. I haven't read the whole book yet but I will probably be using this one for years and years to come! 

These are the only two books I'm reading right now but I have a long book list that contains similar titles. Being informed is so important if you want to make any kind of difference. The first step towards being more sustainable isn't using reusable bags, isn't changing your light bulbs, isn't feeling guilty about all the things that you aren't doing or can't do. The first step is knowing what is happening, what other people are doing to help fix the health of the planet, and then decide what changes and additions you can make to your lifestyle in order to do some good. Every little bit helps :) What are you reading?