Conscious Consumers June Challenge: The Summer Reading List!
Ahh, summer is upon us, bringing longer and warmer days, trips to the pool or beach, and that all-time favorite, the Summer Reading List! As you and/or your children contemplate what books you’d like to read this summer, we here at Conscious Consumers would like to suggest a few good consumer-conscious reads you might add to the mix.
Your June Challenge is to pick at least one book from the following list – we have sections for both adults and children – and tuck it into your bag as you head out to the backyard, the porch, or your favorite reading spot. Let the book inspire you to be more conscious about your everyday consuming habits and your relationship to the earth and its many diverse creatures. This list is a very small sampling of the many great books out there that address consumer and environmental issues, so feel free to explore and substitute another book of your choosing. And if you really loved a particular book and would like to recommend it to others, please send a brief review to Earthministry@uuprinceton.org for possible publication in a future issue of Skylights.
Another part of the June Challenge is to consider moseying down to your local independent bookstore or library for your reading material this summer. Supporting them is an important act of sustainability and helps the local economy. Resist the temptation to order from a much less eco-friendly option like Amazon.
Fiction for Adults
The Ministry for the Future: A Novel by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Overstory: A Novel by Richard Powers
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
The Botanist’s Daughter by Kayte Nunn
Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel by Shelby Van Pelt
Watership Down by Richard Adams
A Beautiful Truth by Colin McAdam
NonFiction for Adults
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Minimalist Vegan: A Simple Manifesto on Why to Live with Less Stuff and More Compassion by Maša and Michael Ofei
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben
The Sacred Balance (25th Anniversary Edition): Rediscovering Our Place in Nature by David Suzuki
The Joyful Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows by Melanie Joy
Hungry Beautiful Animals: The Joyful Case for Going Vegan by Matthew Halteman
Books for Children and Teens
Something from Nothing by Phoebe Gilman (8-12 yrs)
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom (3-7 yrs)
Team Trash: A Time Traveler’s Guide to Sustainability by Kate Wheeler (8-14 yrs)
Hello Earth!: Poems to Our Planet by Joyce Sidman (5-9 yrs)
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (14+ yrs)
Does Earth Feel?: 14 Questions for Humans by Marc Majewski (4-8 yrs)
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul (5-9 yrs)
Happy Reading!
Conscious Consumers mission: to raise awareness among UU Princeton members of all ages how everyday consumption habits may affect the interconnected web of existence, and to encourage members, through monthly and annual challenges and calls to action, to adopt habits that can positively impact the following areas: climate change, conservation, human and animal welfare, and health.