Book Review: Sleeping Naked Is Green by Vanessa Farquharson

In an effort to bring more content to the blog I thought I'd branch out some and instead of talking mainly about Gaelic Polytheism and Gaelic culture, I'd also talk about other subjects which are close to my heart and help make up who I am: green living, permaculture, domesticity, homesteading, frugality, deep ecology and bioregionalism. I might even bring in some photography tips at some point but we'll see. So expect more varied topics from now on and kicking it off is a book review...

Sleeping Naked Is Green is a blog-turned-book much like Julie & Julia but instead of dealing with a woman's trials through cooking, this tackles an eco-cynic's journey into green living. It chronicles 366 consecutive days in the life of Canadian film critic, Vanessa Farquharson.

Reading as an anecdotal memoir meets handy tip guide, Sleeping Naked Is Green has the friendly conversational tone one expects from blogs. Each chapter is a month and each day features one green change the author made such as using a handkerchief instead of tissues (March 20th) or walking home from work twice a week (October 1st).

What is so great about this book, I think, is just how small some of these changes are. I know a lot of people make excuses when it comes to being more green, “oh, I'm too busy to completely mess up my routine with new habits” or “It's such a life overhaul” ad nauseam … but really, there is so much out there that hardly takes any time at all.

Of course, some are rather big like unplugging with her fridge and getting rid of her car. But on the other hand, the book did a wonderful job at making me feel way better about myself. After seeing some of Vanessa's changes I realized I already did them just had never thought of them as green (i.e., renting DVDs instead of buying them, using a towel instead of paper towels, or mending clothes). Some things I do already simply because they are frugal.

Overall, this was a very entertaining book chalked full of useful tips that should be thrust into the hand of excuse-ridden eco-cynics posthaste. Even if you don't read the book or perhaps don't want to buy it in order to save some trees, you can still check out all the changes Vanessa made on her dead-but-still-archived blog at www.greenasathistle.com.