catalyst

No Impact Man
Colin Beavan, © 2009
eco-memoir; 224 pages

This is a memoir written by Colin Beavan, an inhabitant of NYC, about deciding to try and live a year with no environmental impact. No electricity, no trash, no carbon emissions, etc. While retelling how he changes his and his family's life (wife and daughter) he reflects on our society and what has lead us to our current state of wasteful consumption and manufacturing of products.

He doesn't blame our society or preach that everyone should drastically change their lifestyles, but instead, tries to influence by pointing out positive aspects of living a simpler life with less consumption and better care for our environment. Reading about these positive impacts have convinced me to change some of my own habits.

I wholeheartedly believe that our culture has to make changes in how we live and what we value in order for our planet to continue to support us. This book does a great job of starting the conversation of how we can make this change happen and showing that this change doesn't mean a lower quality of life.

Check out the link above to see his website and...

read it

espionagical

The Unlikely Spy
Daniel Silva, © 1995
WWII spy thriller; 530 pages

This book was passed down to me by my Dad, a lover of all mystery, thriller trash novels. Silva won the Edgar Award (best new-comer in the mystery genre) for this debut novel, and it was well deserved.

He pits the German spy network vs. the British. Silva paints a great picture of the deceit surrounding the Allies invasion of Normandy.

If you are in the mood for a good spy novel. This one is definitely worth a read, and I have a beat up copy if you'd like to borrow it.

consider it