SLEEPING NAKED IS GREEN

SLEEPING NAKED IS GREEN!

- Vanessa Farquharson -

NO! This book is not for adults only. It is in fact a very serious environmental book giving you wonderful tips on how to reduce that hideous environmental footprint you are leaving on the earth. Like not using toilet paper for one, and switching to environmentally friendly condoms (yes, there is such a thing).

Vanessa, the author, decides to take on a year long challenge, to be more green, and blog about it - Green as a Thistle. Yes, this blog/challenge idea has been overdone lately, but, I still love it. It's like reality TV. They are both easy to relate to and attempt on your own. She starts out by eliminating paper towel, changing the lightbulbs, eating a few organic things - the easy stuff. However, she quickly finds herself getting caught up in green thinking and starts to make bigger changes; unplugging her fridge, getting rid of her car, building a worm composter and storing it in her tiny apartment.

She ends up making 366 changes (on account of the leap year) and most of them were pretty small and unoriginal. The book filters out most of the boring stuff and leaves in the more interesting blog posts and her extended commentary. Some of the more memorable ones included, as above mentioned, the no toilet paper. After extensive research she modifies this to something along the lines of no toilet paper for 'number one'. I'm sure you are wondering about the earth friendly condoms I mentioned in the opening as well? The book does go off on small tangents dealing with the impact of certain changes on Vanessa's personal life. Being a young single gal she does have a love life, a self described small and uneventful one...which is more chic lit than fifty shades. The title is one of the comments she often makes through the book, mostly that she wants to have a reason to sleep naked (other than the environmental one) haha.

Personally, I did not find the green aspect all that informative. I just mean there was nothing that I haven't heard of before (including reusable menstrual pads) or incorporated into my life already. What I did find interesting was her experiences; how some changes were easy, how some changes were hard, how she managed to find a green accountant, etc. It was interesting to see her change from an enviro-cynic to an enviro-mentalist. Near the end you could really tell that every decision she was making dealt with the environmental impact first, then cost or looks or whatever. Which is why it was surprising that she admitted after the challenge she went back to many of her old behaviours. :(

Having said that, I would recommend this book to anyone with a green interest and especially those without...so, pretty much everyone.

RATING: READ

This was my 600s selection for my dewey decimal challenge. I'm headed into the 500s, which is "science"...the pickins at the library under 500 are pretty scarce. You've got books on owls, books on kangaroos, big books on ice, or Science by Asimov. Yikes!

WYRD SISTERS

WYRD SISTERS

- Terry Pratchett -

Another tale full of magic and humour in that wonderful land of Discworld.

The magic is supplied by three witches, who gripe, groan, insult, cast spells, talk jibberish, and eventually save a kingdon. They eat apples and fly 'beater' broomsticks that would not pass any sort of environmental emission control test nowadays. They even manage to fast forward time for fifteen years...which from my previous 'research' into Star Trek books completely bypasses any logic with regard to space time continuum...anyway, nerd cap off...there is even garden gnome jokes. What more could you ask for? It was another wonderful read in the Discworld series.

For a light hearted humorous book I have to admit I was surprised that I had to go and find a dictionary. We all know this Pratchett fellow can turn a phrase, and now I'm coming to realize find the absolute perfect word to describe something...even words I don't quite know the meaning of. So not only did I have a few laughs but I expanded my vocabulary. Here is the list of words I looked up; what I thought they meant and the real meanings...

Gregarious - does not mean flamboyant or gaudy dress as I thought. It means a group or being social.

Moorland - is not a place in spain. It is just a general term for hard scrubland.

Heather - is not just a name for a girl. It refers to bushes found on the moorland (see above).

Impetuous - does not mean being rude. It means vehement...which sent me on another trip through the dictionary. It ends up meaning violent or intense.

RATING: READ

THE GAME

THE GAME

- Ken Dryden -

You want to get more than a general feel for hockey? Want to dig into every aspect with a microscope, but, in an easy to read way? This is the book.

Dryden takes what you might think is just a hockey story to a completely new level. To the level of literature, in my opinion.

The writing is amazing...it really is.

Dryden writes from his point of view, the strange view of a goalie. The player who is on the ice the entire game, but, only directly involved in the play for a few minutes. His view is of a much larger scale. He sees the entire game. He has time to think about things. Things outside of hockey too.

The book starts with the day Ken meets with the general manager to confirm he is going to retire at the end of the season. He questions if this is the right move. He wants to move onto something else - being a lawyer. He questions if this is what he really wants. He questions if he is at his peak. How long will this last? He questions his team. The Canadians of the mid 70's, winning three Stanly Cups in a row. Are they becoming to complacent? He questions the toll hockey is taking on his family life and his health. That feeling of uncertainly is not only limited to Ken, he comments on the politics of the time. The uprising of separatism in Quebec and the big question - should Quebec separate from Canada. He even manages to question Canada's place in the world, tieing in hockey with the Cold War.

This wide ranging view, all connecting, is wonderful to read. Educational too. Really, it should have won this years Canada Reads.
On that note, What made me pick up this book was Alan Thicke, you know from Growing Pains? Ya, he's Canadian eh? Well he was championing this book on Canada Reads 2012 and made it sound like a book all Canadians should read. I will back up Alan's arguments. This book gives us an inside look at 'our' national game from someone at the highest level while also providing a broader perspective on Canadian society at the time. There are many pages devoted to play by play hockey moments, but, for the most part Dryden talks about his teammates. The quirks and personalities of the other players are endless. From these descriptions he goes off on small tangents talking about a vast variety of topics; cities, family life, drinking, humour...again, seemingly endless, yet fascinating how easy it was to relate to these 'stars' and their celebrity life. There were also more serious forays into his criticisms of hockey that still seem to be going on thirty years later - the role of fighting, how hockey has been corrupted by big business, and the touchy subject of how Canada is losing it's domination of the sport internationally. On a personal note, I found his discussion on how children were being raised at the time still very very relevant.
He starts off describing Guy Lafleur's creative genius on the ice. How he spent hours just fiddling around with the puck, just like when he was a kid. This let him invent and master new moves to deke out defenseman and score. It brought something new and exciting to the game. But, Dryden comments, nowadays kids are so scheduled with activities such as piano lessons, hockey practice, soccer games, etc. that they do not have the hours of free time to just play outside, to not kick a ball at a tree five hundred ways in an afternoon. That was in the early 80's. I hear the same comments to this very day!
Another theme throughout the book that really came close to home was his work / family life balance. Which would not have been called that back then. He talks about being a ghostly figure in his house from October to June (Hockey season). He is either gone on the road, coming home late from games or traveling home from the road, or sleeping late to get ready for the nights game. He realizes he does not have any genuine interaction with his kids for months at a time. The summers are different, but, for the most part he just accepts it and tries not to feel too guilty.
His brief tangent into his childhood strikes me as being so Canadian, at least little boy Canadian. His backyard had a paved section to it, bordered by fence and gardens...making the ideal 'rink'. It was a little lopsided and on a bit of a hill, but, that didn't stop him and the neighborhood kids from spending every available spare minute playing road hockey with an old tennis ball. His life was school in the day, road hockey at night (and all day Saturday and Sunday). I'm sure there was a bit of hockey card trading thrown in there, but, he didn't mention it.
So, to wrap it up, this book should have won this years Canada Reads...since they were looking for the most Canadian non-fiction book.

RATING: READ

Getting back to my dewey decimal countdown challenge, this book was found in the 700 section of the library. 700's down, now onto 600. I have an environmental book on the go. Sounds exciting eh? It is one of those do-something-for-a-year-and-blog-about-it type of deals. Sleeping Naked is Green, that's the title. Sounding better?