Refresh Your Reading List For Spring
If like us, lockdown gave you the opportunity to rediscover the joy of reading then this Spring reading list refresh guide is for you.
One of the positives of months spent in lockdown has been the renaissance of the book. How many of us have found solace in the printed pages of a new book? A good read is by far the best companion to have during a challenging time. Whether it’s enlightening or purely entertaining, you’ll find a healthy distraction from everyday worries. We’ve compiled a round-up of suggestions to inspire you. You’ll find everything from the most recent releases on sustainability, zero waste manuals, indigenous wisdom, climate change and sustainable minimalism. Whether you’re looking for practical ways to make your life more eco-conscious, or you want to immerse yourself in an eye-opening essay, there is something for all tastes!
Orsola de Castro is starting a care revolution and you’re invited! As founder of Fashion Revolution, Orsola knows a thing or two about the fashion industry. And in her own inimitable words, ‘ the most sustainable garment is the one already in your wardrobe.’ The book explores all the ways you can be a more conscious citizen. From properly washing and mending your clothes, to scrutinising your shopping habits and practical tips on where to shop instead. Key to this way of life is the phrase ‘buy less, buy better.’ Only by doing this, Orsola says, can we begin to have a more positive impact on our environment and change the fashion landscape for the better.
In Braiding Sweetgrass, the botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer brings the two paths of science and traditional wisdom together. Drawing on her life as an indigenous woman, scientist and mother, Kimmerer shows how other living beings from; strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass can offer us gifts and lessons. However we must learn how to hear their voices first. She points out that we need an awakening of a wider ecological consciousness. Only when we hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and with that learn to be a healthy part of our ecosystem.
This must read is on Greta Thunberg’s own list. The environmental activist stated that “Naomi Klein’s work has always moved and guided me. She is the great chronicler of our age of climate emergency, an inspirer of generations”. Naomi Klein’s books have defined our era for more than twenty years, chronicling the exploitation of people and the planet and demanding justice. ‘On Fire’ gathers for the first time more than a decade of her writing from the frontline of climate breakdown. Here Klein investigates the climate crisis not only as a profound political challenge but also as a spiritual and imaginative one. Topics range from the clash between ecological time and our culture of ‘perpetual now,’ to rising white supremacy and fortressed borders as a form of ‘climate barbarism,’. This book is a call to action for a planet on the brink.
On Fire, The Burning Case for a Green New Deal, by Naomi Klein, £10.99, at Foyles
According to Kate Arnell, we are in the midst of a worldwide waste epidemic. Did you know that an average person in the UK throws away their own body weight in rubbish every seven weeks? The UK alone produces more than 100 million tonnes of waste every year. Six Weeks to Zero Waste is an accessible programme to eliminate waste, with the principles of the 5 Rs (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot). Kate makes the somewhat daunting idea of ‘going green’ feel approachable and achievable.
Six Weeks to Zero Waste: A simple plan for life, Kate Arnell, £14.99 at Waterstones
The Fragile Earth is a collection of classics featuring The New Yorker’s most urgent and groundbreaking reporting from the front lines of the climate emergency. The Fragile Earth features some of the best writing on global warming from the last three decades, including Bill McKibben’s seminal essay ‘The End of Nature,’ the first piece to popularise both the science and politics of climate change for a general audience. You’ll also find the Pulitzer Prize-winning work of Elizabeth Kolbert, as well as Kathryn Schulz, Dexter Filkins, Jonathan Franzen, Ian Frazier, Eric Klinenberg, and many others. A recent release, but a future classic.
This guide to eco-minimalism is a realistic plan, designed to help you make a fuss free but drastic lifestyle change. Living a life with less could be key to saving our precious planet. Sometimes we consume too much then realise that we’re doing more harm than good to our wallets and our homes. Who wants their hard-earned money to go toward something that soon ends up in a landfill or lining a billionaires pocket? In this practical yet inspiring manual, you’ll learn how to gain greater mental clarity and increase your free time with fewer possessions. You’ll also look into environmentally friendly ways of decluttering and organising, as well as ways to improve your financial stability while going green at the same time!
Sustainable Minimalism, by Stephanie Marie Seferian, £16.95 at Waterstones
Encompassing the cultural, psychological, and physiological aspects of fashion, this recent release offers a comprehensive exploration of the hazards of a global industry. Drawing together an international team of leading textile and apparel experts, The Dangers of Fashion presents original perspectives on a wide range of topics from piracy and counterfeiting to human trafficking. As well as the effects of globalisation on local industry and the peer pressure that governs contemporary ideals of beauty. It discusses innovative solutions to fashion’s dangers and moral dilemmas from the viewpoint of individuals, companies, societies, and the global community.
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