Written by contributor Nicole Bennett of Gidget Goes Home.
For many of us seeking a greener lifestyle, we can find a lot of great information in all the wonderful, inspiring books out there. If you’re looking for gift ideas for a green bookworm, here are some of my favorites!
All-Around Inspiration
- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
by Barbara Kingsolver
- Tending to Eden: Environmental Stewardship for God’s People
by Scott Sabin
- This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader
by Joan Dye Gussow
Real Food
- Real Food: What to Eat and Why
by Nina Planck
- In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto
by Michael Pollan
- Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats
by Sally Fallon
- The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution
by Alice Waters
Pregnancy & Motherhood
- Real Food for Mother and Baby: The Fertility Diet, Eating for Two, and Baby’s First Foods
by Nina Planck
- Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care
by Dr. Alan Greene
- The Complete Organic Pregnancy
by Deirdre Dolan and Alexandra Zissu
I know there are so many other great books out there. What are your favorites that inspire you towards a greener lifestyle?
About Nicole
“Better Basics for the Home” by Annie Berthold-Bond – it’s about cleaning your home naturally. I also enjoyed “Farewell my Subaru” which was quite funny at points as a city person decided to make his own NM homestead. Thank you for the great list! There are many volumes that I have not check out yet and I look forward to reading them!
Those are great suggestions! I would add: “Better Off”, by Eric Brende, “The Good Life”, by Helen and Scott Nearing, and “Radical Homemakers”, by Shannon Hayes. Those three are about radical simplicity for sustainability and lower consumption.
“Wild Fermentation” by Sandor Ellix Katz and “Simple Food for the Good Life” by Helen Nearing are both about whole foods nutrition. And of course the perennial favorite “More With Less”, which I think is a little dated, but still has some good whole food recipes in it.
On how to your own food I recommend John Jeavon’s various books. On the philosophy of farming I love Gene Logsdon’s books.
annie´s latest post: A List of Methods for a Non-disposable- Low Waste Life Part 1- The Kitchen
For those who are new to, or just starting out with “going green” I would highly recommend Serve God, Save the Planet by Matthew Sleeth, as well as Go Green, Save Green by his wife, Nancy Sleeth. The first is a great book on why creation care is so important for those of us who call ourselves Christians, and the second has tons and tons of great practical tips for going green in all different areas of life.
In Defense of Food is a quicker read, but I think Omnivore’s Dilemma is much better and more in depth. I would read that one if you only read one Michael Pollan.
Betsy (Eco-novice)´s latest post: Save Money on Food while Going Green The Cost of Going Green- Part 2
I too would recommend any of the Nearing’s books, as well as Having Faith by Sandra Steingraber and Simple Living by Levering and Urbanska.