Bothered by My Green Conscience: How an SUV-driving, imported-strawberry-eating urban dweller can go green [Paperback]

Franke James (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

"I just picked up Bothered by my Green Conscience by Franke James and read it cover to cover in one 20-minute sitting. It is a funny, moving, and inspiring read even though it deals with a topic that usually depresses the hell out of me; climate change. This might be just the ticket for those of us who have read so much about the science, the dire predictions, and the politics of climate change that we just can't stomach any more. Time for a little hope and humor on this issue. - Michelle Lalonde, Montreal Gazette

"With her delightfully quirky style, Franke James has been chronicling her personal journey in going green through a series of illustrated online essays for some time now, and her latest book, Bothered By My Green Conscience, finally brings five essays together in one edition. In nurturing her green conscience, James artfully demonstrates that the process can be far from perfect, but her colourfully illustrated enthusiasm and verve is an infectious page-turner." - Kimberley D. Mok, Treehugger

"Franke's visual essays have been spreading virally over the past few years on major blog sites like Kottke and Treehugger. Now they are gathered together in a book, Bothered by My Green Conscience, and I think it gives us a very good reason to still value having a bound and printed object we can share without peering into a screen. Franke's essays are illustrated guides to her process of changing internally and externally. The essays must be seen to be appreciated. Combining text, illustration and collage, they express the messiness of creativity and the beauty of action. This really is a book to give to your friends and family." - Martin Edic, Renaissance Magazine 

You've changed all your light bulbs and switched to cloth bags at the grocery store.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Franke James is an artist, photographer and writer focused on the environment and social change. She is the co-founder of The James Gang Advertising Inc., editor and founder of OfficePolitics,com and inventor or The Office-Politics Game. She lives in Toronto.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: New Society Publishers; First edition (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865716463
• ISBN-13: 978-0865716469
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #364,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Franke James is the author of two award-winning books, both published in 2009. "Bothered By My Green Conscience" and "Dear Office-Politics: the game everyone plays."

"Dear Office-Politics" won a 2010 Axiom Business Book Award in HR/Training. The Axiom Business Book Awards are dedicated to identifying the best business books published each year for the North American market. They are the only U.S.-based award contest focused solely on business books.

"James's splashy sense of humor and style catapults this book from the field of humdrum human resources exercises to an entertaining discussion of the pantheon of office types... Winner of an Axiom Business Book Award for 2010, Dear Office-Politics is recommended for team-building meetings, as well as for pleasure reading." ForeWord Reviews

"Bothered by My Green Conscience" won the 2010 Green Book Festival Award for Graphic Novels. Bruce Haring at the Green Book Festival said, "Franke's book is a sheer delight and the judges are proud to honor it with this award."

Author and artist, Franke James commented, "I'm absolutely thrilled it won the Green Book Festival Award for Graphic Novels! Book awards catch the attention of the media -- and are therefore a great way to get the core message of my book to the public, and that is, 'Do the hardest thing first.' And then brag about it, shamelessly!"

Are you wondering how the environment and political skills mix? With Franke, they do! A classic example is her inspiring story, Paradise Unpaved (which is one of five visual essays in Bothered By My Green Conscience). It recounts in words, drawings, photographs (and news articles) how Franke challenged City Hall for the right to build a green driveway -- and won. Franke has used her talents as a writer, artist and game designer to create two entertaining and visually stunning books that are fun to read and inspiring.

"Bothered By My Green Conscience: How an SUV-driving, imported-strawberry-eating urban dweller can go green" was published by New Society in April 2009. It has received outstanding reviews and resulted in speaking events and Green Conscience workshops at many universities including the University of Cincinnati, Bates College, University of Colorado, and the Canadian Ecology Centre. For more details please visit http://www.frankejames.com.

"Franke James uses right-brain thinking and a unique visual style to green her future, and ours. She fuses together the conflicting ideas around her personal lifestyle and her concern about climate change and arrives at some novel solutions. Bothered by My Green Conscience leaves an imprint. Fantastic!" Daniel H. Pink, author of A Whole New Mind

"In her quest to wake up people to climate change, Franke James uses whimsical collages of words and images that bite you under the surface and tease your values. She isn't afraid to take on anyone, from big industry to the cultural icons who try to make global warming an intellectual game. When my co-editor, Kim Blank, and I decided to edit a book of cultural readings for university students, we knew that we wanted James and Rachel Carson to anchor the conclusion." Stephen Eaton Hume, author of Economics Writing

"When Franke speaks, her passion comes through every time. She offers powerful information with humor and creativity, so as to keep her audience engaged and encourage them to think differently. She nudges people into a new way of seeing things, so kindly and clearly that they thoroughly enjoy the journey." Erika Andersen, author of Being Strategic

Franke is co-founder of The James Gang Art & Design, with over 20 years experience as a creative design and marketing professional. She has a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Victoria, and a BFA from Mount Allison University. She lives in Toronto, where her favorite mode of transportation is walking.

Please visit http://www.frankejames.com to read more about Franke's environmental work.

Please visit http://www.officepolitics.com to read Franke's advice on how to play the office politics game with integrity.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do the Hardest Thing First, July 9, 2009

By 

Catherine Garnett (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bothered by My Green Conscience: How an SUV-driving, imported-strawberry-eating urban dweller can go green (Paperback)

Bothered By My Green Conscience takes "going green" from buzz words to thoughtful action. Instead of just talking about doing something, Franke James actually thoughtfully considered how the way she lived her life affected the Earth and took action to make changes to her lifestyle. Not only does Franke share her own true story - the challenges, the struggles and the successes - but she does it in an entertaining way. Her creative illustrations bring her words to life. I've been inspired by Franke's book - not just to live a greener lifestyle - but to "do the hardest thing first" in everyday life. Remembering that one line helps me just get started even though a project seems too challenging and I don't know where to start. If I just start, then the hardest part is behind me and it gets easier from there. I hope that Bothered By My Green Conscience will offer a new perspective on environmentalism - a more humanized one - that will inspire us to do what we can to take care of the Earth and to reach higher to achieve more in life. Thank you, Franke James, for sharing your story and your creativity with us through this book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bothered By My Green Conscience, August 25, 2010

By 

MichelleGillies - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bothered by My Green Conscience: How an SUV-driving, imported-strawberry-eating urban dweller can go green (Paperback)

Stunning! In more ways than one. The visuals created by the author were stunningly beautiful. I keep going back and seeing more detail.
The information that Franke James was able to share with us was often shocking, and yes I was stunned by some of the facts. Franke managed to keep me entertained and at times amused, but she certainly aroused my "green conscience" to a whole new level.
Bothered by My Green Conscience: How an SUV-driving, imported-strawberry-eating urban dweller can go green

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A visually stunning book about an urban dweller's journey to green-dom, July 24, 2010

By 

P. A. Monteiro "Percy" (Bangalore, India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bothered by My Green Conscience: How an SUV-driving, imported-strawberry-eating urban dweller can go green (Paperback)

I first came across Franke James' work when I read her visual essay Dinner with a Stranger. I enjoyed the essay immensely and I've been a regular reader of her blog ever since. (Disclosure: I've exchanged emails with Franke about her visual essays and she was kind enough to send me signed book stickers for her book.)

I had read the visual essays in Bothered by my Green Conscience but not all at the same time. Reading the essays pieced together like a narrative was much more enjoyable in book form and I was able to better appreciate how good the illustrations are. Franke's use of visuals makes the stories that she tells accessible to everyone and yet the stories are so powerful.

As soon as I finished the book, I wanted to give it to my family members so that they too could read it. Maybe after reading it, they'd understand why I do things like use baking soda for cleaning, segregate garbage, etc. In fact, Bothered by my Green Conscience is one of those books that I feel like giving to everyone I know because it's so easy to read, is enjoyable, and it gets the message across.

Overall, a terrific read and I hope that more people will read the book.