Customer Reviews

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

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You can probably read this small, illustrated book in half an hour, but it might change your attitudes forever. James opens with four questions: 1) Do you feel guilty if you throw paper in the trash, instead of recycling it? 2) Do you turn off lights to save energy? 3) Do you apologize for driving a gas guzzler? 4) Do you worry about climate change? If you answer yes to two or more, you have a green conscience; I answered yes to all but the third, because I drive a VW bug.

In 152 5½ x 6½ pages, artist Franke James uses her signature style of lively drawings, photos, and hand drawn text to chronicle her experience with going green. There are five chapters: 1) Me and my SUV say goodbye; 2) Green Eccentric Glamour; 3) The Real Poop on Social Change; 4) Paradise Unpaved; and 5) To My Future Grandkids in 2020.

The episode that most got my attention was the greening of their driveway. After she and her husband sold the SUV and had no car, they had no need of a driveway. They decided to dig it up and make a garden. "Oh, no" said the city of North York (within Toronto). "It is illegal ... your driveway must be made of concrete, asphalt or interlock. And you cannot plant more than one tree." Bureaucracy gone amuck! Eventually, they get their green driveway, and instead of pouring 2700 gallons of runoff into the storm sewers, they send over 10,000 gallons to recharge the groundwater and nourish their plants and trees. Pretty impressive.

James' worries about 2020 are legitimate--will we experience such drought that evergreen plants will be replaced with cactus? Will water be rationed and our grandchildren accuse us of wasting drinking water filling up swimming pools? She quotes statistics that the polar ice cap is thawing 30 years ahead of predictions, and the world has 15 years--no more--to cut emissions.

This small book is both delightfully charming and frightening, but the most important thing it does is to make you think about greening the world and to realize each one of us, like James, can make a difference. I suggest you take 30 minutes, read it, and then re-read it whenever you need reminding to put your green conscience into practice.

Something you should know: the book was printed on chlorine free paper made with 100% post-consumer waste, which saved 32 fully grown tress, 11,787 gallons of water, 23 million BTUs, 1,514 pounds of solid waste, and 2,840 pounds of greenhouse gases. Pretty impressive, isn't it? Shows what we can do.

by Judy Alter

for Story Circle Book Reviews

reviewing books by, for, and about women

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!

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

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.

Franke James' book Bothered By My Green Conscience is truly an edutaining read. It is educational AND entertaining to read. James writes about her journey on being green with some of the things she's done in a whimsical fashion. It is a quick read.

Franke James is a creative thinker in every sense of the word. She has a practical side (contributing to a business blog) but it's not nearly as fun or as interesting as her whimsical side. This book combines her musings about our impact on our planet with her "down the rabbit hole" illustrations. The result is a book that you can read and continue to enjoy. It's one you will want to own and share with friends.