- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Greystone Books (July 28 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1553653203
- ISBN-13: 978-1553653202
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #369,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"As irreverent as it is deeply informative, the book traces Glave's misadventures and steep environmental learning curve...The focus of this endearing eco-memoir is primarily on getting the dream shed built, but Glave's sensible (and sometimes caustically comic) green consciousness has real universal appeal." (Publishers Weekly 20090304)
"An entertaining and enlightening perspective on the sometimes challenging effort toward sustainable living." (British Columbia Magazine 20090317)
"Even if you're not a yuppie, you will enjoy this book. Glave's a damn good writer... and even though he's not willing to leave mainstream culture and live in a bush, he still deserves some credit." (Outwords Magazine 20081114)
"James Glave goes beyond the baby steps and fully embraces going green in his hilarious book documenting the journey." (North Shore News 20280924)
"The sum is worth more than its parts, and Glave's memoir about building the shed serves as something of a call to arms for people, like himself, who are predisposed to care about their environmental footprint, but haven't yet made the transformational life changes that the gravity of our situation calls for." (The Tyee 20080919)
"Glave describes the trials and tribulations, sacrifices and successes he faced when trying to reduce his ecological footprint. This comical account of his enlightening journey out of the concrete jungle and into greener pastures is for anyone who is looking to shift into a more earth-friendly existence." (Granville Magazine 20080919)
"Almost Green is funny, enjoyable to read and actually hard to put down. The style of writing is easy, conversational and engaging. The text on the cover...gives away the plot line of the book, but it's the way Glave writes about his adventure that is entertaining." (Escarpment Views )
"An entertaining and enlightening perspective on the sometimes challenging effort toward sustainable living." (British Columbia Magazine 20090317)
"Even if you're not a yuppie, you will enjoy this book. Glave's a damn good writer... and even though he's not willing to leave mainstream culture and live in a bush, he still deserves some credit." (Outwords Magazine 20081114)
"James Glave goes beyond the baby steps and fully embraces going green in his hilarious book documenting the journey." (North Shore News 20280924)
"The sum is worth more than its parts, and Glave's memoir about building the shed serves as something of a call to arms for people, like himself, who are predisposed to care about their environmental footprint, but haven't yet made the transformational life changes that the gravity of our situation calls for." (The Tyee 20080919)
"Glave describes the trials and tribulations, sacrifices and successes he faced when trying to reduce his ecological footprint. This comical account of his enlightening journey out of the concrete jungle and into greener pastures is for anyone who is looking to shift into a more earth-friendly existence." (Granville Magazine 20080919)
"Almost Green is funny, enjoyable to read and actually hard to put down. The style of writing is easy, conversational and engaging. The text on the cover...gives away the plot line of the book, but it's the way Glave writes about his adventure that is entertaining." (Escarpment Views )
Product Description
One man's irreverent and hilarious chronicle of his ambitious but clumsy efforts to tread lightly on the planet.
In Almost Green, James Glave demonstrates that the journey along the path to a greener life is not always easy but is frequently hilarious and always enlightening. Glave -- a writer and stay-at-home dad -- describes his experiences building a green writing studio in the front yard of his home on Bowen Island, British Columbia, a not-so-green paradise where suvs still outnumber compost boxes. While coping with the many frustrations and small victories of this undertaking, Glave also dabbles in grassroots neighborhood activism. He visits a truly green family living in the concrete jungle of the city and decides he must divest himself of his hulking suv, so generously given to him by his father-in-law, without offending his benefactor.
(20080801)
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's not easy being green!,
By
This review is from: Almost Green (Paperback)
In an effort to make his life more eco-friendly, idealistic James Glave came up with the crazy notion of building an ecologically sound structure on his property, which he deemed the Eco-Shed. In "Almost Green", Glave explains how the idea, planning and building of this `green' haven came about. While the book primarily chronicles the construction of the Eco-Shed, it also details Glave's struggle to reduce his carbon footprint within the limitations of practicality. As Glave puts it, this book is about "our natural instinct to flatten the protruding nail of personal sacrifice with the always handy hammers of convenience and denial".As is evidenced by the long and financially burdensome process of producing the Eco-Shed, Glave knows firsthand that it's not easy being green. While reading the book it is clear how much time, energy and money was being poured into the Eco-Shed, notwithstanding all of the hope, heart and faith. Reading about all the times Glave's project came close to failing and draining all of his resources, he was the epitome of the underdog and had me rooting for him until the very end. I learned a lot about our environment from the book because it is packed with practical and interesting information. It is apparent that Glave did quite a bit of research to come up with the intermittent statistics and eco-friendly facts located throughout the book. There is also a great deal of information on each of each step in the construction of the Eco-Shed. While much of these details were necessary in recounting the story, I felt that at times there was simply too much detail to absorb. I wish there had been a few more anecdotes about Glave's wife and small children, because I found those parts of the book extremely touching and they showed just how much Glave cares for his family. Not only is this book educational, it is also extremely comical. After reading "Almost Green" I can safely conclude that Mr. Glave is a very funny man and I really appreciated his self-deprecating and sometimes sarcastic sense of humor. Another obstacle Glave had to overcome was his father-in-law, Padre, who is the kind of guy who forwards emails that joke about the existence of global warming. The pages dedicated to Padre were some of the funniest and most enjoyable parts of the book. There is even a hilarious `quote' by Padre on the book's back cover that reads: "Almost Green is a BOONDOGGLE from start to finish. Save your money; go out and get yourself a Costco membership instead" (Note: I have to disagree with this quote. Sorry Padre!) "Almost Green" is an inspirational story about a regular guy who sought to become a little more eco-friendly and in the process learned and passed on some very valuable lessons. (And true to his message, this book is even printed on forest-friendly paper!)
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Green Read!,
By
This review is from: Almost Green (Paperback)
For good green bedside reading, I can't recommend James Glave's new book high enough. James lives on Bowen Island, and decided that living a subrural life while being green at heart just wasn''t good enough. So he embarked on his Big Green Adventure, chiefly into eco-building, and we get to be beneficial insects on his oh-so-green wall, encouraged by the fact that he''s a natural when it comes to humorous writing.So indulge yourself, ' and I challenge you not get inspired while doing so!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's not easy being green!,
By Sheri S. - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Almost Green (Paperback)
In an effort to make his life more eco-friendly, idealistic James Glave came up with the crazy notion of building an ecologically sound structure on his property, which he deemed the Eco-Shed. In "Almost Green", Glave explains how the idea, planning and building of this `green' haven came about. While the book primarily chronicles the construction of the Eco-Shed, it also details Glave's struggle to reduce his carbon footprint within the limitations of practicality. As Glave puts it, this book is about "our natural instinct to flatten the protruding nail of personal sacrifice with the always handy hammers of convenience and denial".As is evidenced by the long and financially burdensome process of producing the Eco-Shed, Glave knows firsthand that it's not easy being green. While reading the book it is clear how much time, energy and money was being poured into the Eco-Shed, notwithstanding all of the hope, heart and faith. Reading about all the times Glave's project came close to failing and draining all of his resources, he was the epitome of the underdog and had me rooting for him until the very end. I learned a lot about our environment from the book because it is packed with practical and interesting information. It is apparent that Glave did quite a bit of research to come up with the intermittent statistics and eco-friendly facts located throughout the book. There is also a great deal of information on each of each step in the construction of the Eco-Shed. While much of these details were necessary in recounting the story, I felt that at times there was simply too much detail to absorb. I wish there had been a few more anecdotes about Glave's wife and small children, because I found those parts of the book extremely touching and they showed just how much Glave cares for his family. Not only is this book educational, it is also extremely comical. After reading "Almost Green" I can safely conclude that Mr. Glave is a very funny man and I really appreciated his self-deprecating and sometimes sarcastic sense of humor. Another obstacle Glave had to overcome was his father-in-law, Padre, who is the kind of guy who forwards emails that joke about the existence of global warming. The pages dedicated to Padre were some of the funniest and most enjoyable parts of the book. There is even a hilarious `quote' by Padre on the book's back cover that reads: "Almost Green is a BOONDOGGLE from start to finish. Save your money; go out and get yourself a Costco membership instead" (Note: I have to disagree with this quote. Sorry Padre!) "Almost Green" is an inspirational story about a regular guy who sought to become a little more eco-friendly and in the process learned and passed on some very valuable lessons. (And true to his message, this book is even printed on forest-friendly paper!) http://bookopolis.blogspot.com |
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