Life is a journey, so why not make it a sustainable one? From blogs and forums to magazines, newspapers and cable TV -tips and tricks on how to live green come at us from every possible angle these days. While it is a refreshing change from McDonald’s ads and fake diet claims, all the info can still be quite overwhelming. How do you keep track of it all?

If you are like me and have been ‘betrayed’ by computers a few times in your life, you’ll be interested in The Green Journal, compiled by Pittsburg’s infamous Phipps Conservatory and Garden Center. Filled with mini-essays and helpful reminders on eco-projects of all sizes, The Green Journal also has ample room for you to “enter your own discoveries and epiphanies as they unfold, marking where you’ve been and where you still want to go.”

Feel a bit strange about keeping track of your sustainable changes in a paper journal? Don’t fret - publisher St. Lynn’s Press printed the hardbound “book” on recycled paper with soy-based inks. Thanks to The Green Journal, you won’t have to sacrifice your eco-intentions to your busy schedule - keep track of it easily and soon, everyone will be calling you ‘Emerald.’

Despite all of the progress the environmental movement has made, being both chic and sustainable is still often seen as a frivolous combination. Apparently, growing your own food and wearing stylish, eco-friendly fashions are two separate worlds that we shouldn’t combine.

Not anymore!

Impressively experienced writer Christie Matheson just released her 5th book titled Green Chic: Saving The Earth In Style with Illinois-based Sourcebooks publishing company. Even with the ridiculous influx of eco-living books available in stores, it is safe to say that there is nothing like Green Chic on the shelves. Christie explains it best: “It’s not about buying your way to being green - or just appearing green - it’s about shifting your mindset, changing your attitude, and developing a personal style that is green.”

This is quite a statement to make in a country of citizens who hate to change their personal habits. But if anyone can get through to the superficial yet sustainably curious masses, it’s Christie and Green Chic. Always the thorough writer, Christie personally tried all of her own tips and openly explains the ins and outs of living sustainably and stylish at the same time. Not only is fashion and beauty covered their own chapters, but she also covers: dining, drinking, home, transportation, travel, parties, big and small changes.

It wouldn’t be much of a green book if it wasn’t printed on recycled paper, no? (more…)

I wouldn’t be much of a writer if I didn’t spend part of my time reading. Not the best in the social department, the idea of joining a book club has been both intriguing and frightening to me. On top of that, I’m so oddly picky when reading fiction books that I rarely make it past the first few chapters. Uber-popular design site Apartment Therapy has solved all of these problems with their new Green Home Book Club.

Feeling disconnected is a natural part of working and interacting online, but the folks at Apartment Therapy have that aspect covered as well, allowing readers to vote on which book is next and consistently encouraging discussion. Amped is the only work I can think to describe how I felt when I found out that Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle won the vote for the Green Home Book Club’s first tome.

Already popular among critics and eco-readers alike, I’ve been teetering on whether or not to read the book. Thanks to the Green Home Book Club, I’ll get the pleasure of enjoying a good green read and being able to discuss it with others. If you haven’t heard about the book yet, here is an overview:

Hang on for the ride: With characteristic poetry and pluck, Barbara Kingsolver and her family sweep readers along on their journey away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life in which they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Their good-humored search yields surprising discoveries about turkey sex life and overly zealous zucchini plants, en route to a food culture that’s better for the neighborhood and also better on the table. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet.

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