Green Books Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Nov 03, 2010 – On Wed., Nov. 10, at 1 p.m., 200 bloggers will simultaneously publish reviews of 200 books printed on environmentally-friendly paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using greener methods, Eco-Libris aims to raise consumer awareness about considering the environment when making book purchases. This year’s participation of both bloggers and books has doubled from the event’s inception last year.

The 200 books to be reviewed are in a variety of subjects including cooking, poetry, travel, green living, and history, and come from 56 publishers from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K. that are participating in the Green Books Campaign. This diversified group of publishers includes both small and large presses who all print books on recycled and/or FSC-certified paper.

Participating publishers include among others Penguin Group, Scholastic, Barefoot Books, McClelland & Stewart, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, Sterling Publishing, DK Publishing, Harvard Business Press, Island Press, North Atlantic Books, McGraw-Hill, ABRAMS and Picador.

“Although there’s so much hype around e-books, books printed on paper still dominate the book market, and we want them to be as environmentally sound as possible,” explains Raz Godelnik, co-founder and CEO of Eco-Libris. “Their share is still relatively small, but you can find a growing number of books printed responsibly and we hope this initiative will bring more exposure to such books. Through this campaign we want to encourage publishers to increase their green printing options and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.”

Doug Pepper, president and publisher of 100-year-old publishing house
McClelland & Stewart, says he is delighted to participate in a program that ties in with the company’s mission. “The Eco-Libris Green Books Campaign’s positive “take action” message perfectly reflects our consistent use of recycled papers and our commitment to sustainable publishing as a whole,” Pepper says.

Among the bloggers who will review the books there are many who participate in the campaign for the second time. One of them is Kim Allen-Niesen of the blog ‘Bookstore People‘. “Participating in the Green Books Campaign was such an education in green reading. I didn’t have any idea how many publishers and writers are committed to creating books with as small an impact on the environment as possible. I discovered unique books because they were printed on recycled paper and I learned that books I’ve read for years are printed in a low impact manner. I’m looking forward to more surprises during this year’s campaign, “Allen-Niesen says.

This year’s campaign is supported by Indigo Books & Music, the largest book retailer in Canada, as part of its efforts to draw attention to the need for more environmental paper in book publishing. This is a core goal of Indigo’s environmental program, reinforced by Indigo’s industry leading environmental paper policy.

Michelle White, Director, Sustainability at Indigo Books & Music said, “Indigo has a strong forest conservation mandate and we believe that physical books printed on environmental paper are a sustainable choice. We commend Eco- Libris for reinforcing this message and engaging and motivating readers to take this issue into consideration when purchasing books. In fact, Indigo provides information online and through in-store kiosk that allows consumers to make informed decisions about where the paper content of their book comes from”. Learn more at http://www.chapters.indigo.ca.

Learn more about the Green Books Campaign and find a list of all participants at http://www.ecolibris.net/greenbookscampaign2010.asp

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Founded in 2007, Eco-Libris (http://www.ecolibris.net) is a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices in the industry, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. To achieve these goals Eco-Libris is working with book readers, publishers, authors, bookstores, and others in the book industry worldwide. So far Eco-Libris has balanced out more than 150,000 books, resulting in more than 165,000 new trees planted with its planting partners in developing countries. To learn more visit http://www.ecolibris.net

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Eco Libris Green Books Campaign

From the EcoLibris website:

On Wednesday, November 10, 2010, at 1:00 PM Eastern Time 200 bloggers will take a stand to support books printed on environmental paper by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 such books.

Launched in 2009 by Eco-Libris, this campaign is aiming to promote “green” books by reviewing 200 books printed on recycled paper or FSC-certified paper. Our goal is to use the power of the internet and social media to promote “green” books and increase the awareness of both readers and publishers to the way books can be printed printed in an eco-friendly manner.

You can learn more about the campaign, or read the lists of books and bloggers, by following this link.

Otherwise, check back here on November 10th to read my review of Dave Thompson’s book Bayou Underground.

From time to time, I post the titles that are waiting to be read. Here are the next few books I’ll be reading.

• The Wedding Gift, by Kathleen McKenna
• Once Wicked, Always Dead, by T. Marie Benchley
• Key Lime Pie, by Josi S. Kilpatrick
• Apathy for the Devil: a 70s memoir, by Nick Kent
• Becoming Jimi Hendrix: the Untold Story of a Musical Genius, by Steven Roby and Brad Schreiber
• Kiss My Tiara: How to Rule the World as a Smartmouth Goddess, by Susan Jane Gilbert

There are actually other books on the TBR stack, but these are all the books I’ve agreed to review, so are moved to the top of the list by default. Well, the last one isn’t a review book – it’s actually a birthday gift, but I want to get to it sooner rather than later.

It’s a good thing I work from home, and have the ability to take a book to every room.

As is usual for me, books were in evidence…specifically four new additions to my TO BE READ stack.

They are:

• A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style, by Tim Gunn with Kate Moloney
• The One Hundred: a Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own, by Nina Garcia
• The Little Black Book of Style, by Nina Garcia
• Kiss My Tiara: How to Rule the World as a SmartMouth Goddess, by Susan Jane Gilman
• The Wedding Gift, by Kathleen McKenna

The first three have been on my WANT list for a while, and are part of a project some friends and I are working on, the ‘Tiara’ book was on my wishlist of birthday inspirations, and the last is a new book by a woman who contacted me via this blog. She seems like a great person, the premise of her book seems right up my alley, and I’m looking forward both to reading it, and to getting to know her better – but all of these books made me grin, or laugh, or inspired me…

Isn’t reading just GRAND?

The Summer Kitchen, by Karen Weinreb – This novel is proof that choosing books is somewhat akin to employment screening, and I’m not always good at it. I mean, the premise of this novel is good, and the book itself isn’t badly written, or anything, but I’ve owned it for over a year, and haven’t managed to finish it. Maybe it’s because I have no deadline for reading it, but I seem to be unusually willing to set it aside for any other book that floats into my awareness.

Twelve Rooms with a View by Theresa Rebeck – I just received this yesterday, and it doesn’t go on sale til the first week of May. This is one I’ll be reviewing at All Things Girl, but I’m really intrigued by it, anyway, and can’t wait to crack it open later tonight.

Coming Soon

While the top two books are in my possession, those which follow are novels I’m eagerly anticipating:

• The God of the Hives, by Laurie R. King – this is the latest installment in the Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell series, and I’m eagerly waiting for it, since the last one ended with “to be continued.”
• Roast Mortem, by Cleo Coyle – more coffeehouse mysteries – yum! And it’s due out just a few weeks before my birthday, in August.
• Dead in the Family, by Charlaine Harris – yes, more Sookie Stackhouse is a good thing…due out next month.
• Changes, by Jim Butcher – because I haven’t caught up with Harry Dresden in a while. It’s out already; I just don’t have it yet.

Upcoming reviews here at Bibliotica will be Angela’s Ashes, Heat Wave and Whom God Would Destroy, which latter was sent to me by the author.

Upcoming reviews at All Things Girl include Cleo Coyle’s latest offering, Holiday Grind.

I look forward to sharing my impressions of all of these books, but I have to finish them all first, and I haven’t been feeling at all well.

Currently, one of my favorite shows is Castle, as much because Nathan Fillion is in it, as because the witty banter rocks my boat. Of course, the title character is a mystery author, so what did the folks who run the show do? They wrote and published the book that Castle is supposedly writing during all of season one.

My copy finally arrived today – Heat Wave but it’s going to have to wait until I finish other books, authored by Cleo Coyle and Commander Pants.

Still, I wanted to give a “coming soon” alert, because good shows are so often axed before they really get off the ground, and I’m hoping Castle is with us for a long while.

I mean, I have all but the first two Aurora Teagarden books left to read, but the problem here is that I’m leaving on Thursday, for vacation, and I can’t take someone else’s books with me. It’s just wrong.

I did find a Christopher Moore book I hadn’t read yet – it had somehow ended up beneath bed. So what book is it? The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove.

Now, normally I love Moore’s work. I mean, I want to BE Moore – well, with breasts – and finding one of his novels I hadn’t read lurking in my own house would be a boon.

Except…

Except I’m ready for crisp weather, and creepy stories. I want something like The Historian, but I’ll settle for something like Dracula or The Southern Vampire Mysteries. I want something long, mysterious, and satisfying. I want a novel I can sink into, that sets a tone so perfect that even if it happens to be sunny, I’ll feel like it’s not, and I’ll keep glancing behind me to see who’s there.

I want something as amazing as The Eight, or as chilling as Stephen King’s early work – although I prefer clown-free stories.

I want…shadows, and suspicion and surprises.

What do YOU want to read?

One of my favorite parts about my work with online magazine All Things Girl is that I often get to review books before they come out, so that I can interview the authors.

Recently, George Wendt, whom most people probably recognize as “Norm” from “Cheers,” wrote a book that was half memoir, half ode to beer. I was given a galley so I could prep for an interview, and spent all night last Tuesday reading it. The interview was Wednesday evening, and both the book and the man were delightful: funny, smart, and totally engaging.

Let’s face it: beer is as important to American culture as novocain is to a Plano dentist, but it’s not something we generally read about. In the case of Drinking with George, however, skipping the book would be a literary sin, not because it’s high art, but because it’s the real story of a real guy’s love of the brew.

The fact that the book is filled with interesting beer factoids doesn’t hurt, either.

Look for Mr. Wendt as the All Things Girl Man of the Moment in October, and look for my review of his book in the ATG blog sometime after the first of the month.

I’ve been hearing murmurs about the upcoming movie for a while, but kept forgetting to look for trailers. I just did, and found out that the trailer was released on April 29th, and the movie is coming on August 7th, just ten days before my birthday. I shall consider it an early birthday present, especially as it stars Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.

But don’t take my word for it, watch the trailer: