Customer Reviews

Sleeping Naked Is Green: How an Eco-Cynic Unplugged Her Fridge, Sold Her Car, and Found Love in 366 Days

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The concept behind "Sleeping Naked is Green" is pretty clever; the author found one way to make her life more "green" every day for 365 days. The purpose of the book, we are told, is not to lecture the audience on the need for more eco-friendly lifestyles but rather to show how a "normal" person tries to change her life and which things worked and which were a big drag.

It's a neat idea.

The book itself is a bit disappointing, however. First of all, it consists almost entirely of blog entries that the author posted at the time. A more cohesive narrative would have been MUCH more interesting than a series of disjointed, one page blog entries.

Also, only about half of the blog entries are in the book. So, at the beginning of each "month" there is a list of what changes were made on which day. For example:

March 1: Switch to recycled paper towels
March 2: No more electric heating pad
March 3: Ban all styrofoam
March 4: Switch to an eco-friendly toothbrush
etc.

But we only see the blog entries for Days 1 and 3; we never hear about Days 2 and 4. That seems a little odd. I suppose the reasoning was that the book would have been too long if it had included all 365 entries, but that's precisely why a narrative style of writing, summarizing the changes made each month, would have been much more interesting.

As it is, this book is essentially an incomplete collection of mildly interesting daily blogs.

Definitely not a must-read.

To read about, that is - Vanessa certainly seems to have had her ups and downs over her year of making a new green change in her life every day. This book chronicles her 'greening' year, episode by episode. Each chapter covers a month, with a list of what changes she made that month first, and then a few select changes are highlighted with some commentary. (One of the few disappointments I had with the book was that a lot of the changes I was interested in weren't the ones chosen for commentary, alas!! But of course the book would have had to be a thousand pages long to include everything...)

Let's start with the lists at the beginning of each chapter - for one thing, if you are looking for some new ways to green up your own life, you are bound to find several things new to you here - Vanessa covers the gamut from, yes, selling her car and unplugging her fridge (which oddly enough she makes sound almost doable...) to tiny changes like 'eat ice cream only from a cone, not a cup' or 'shower in the dark' (she MUST have a window in her bathroom! I'd kill myself falling over something!!).

The commentary is great - no super-pious, greener-than-thou here! Sometimes she'll talk about some of her many misadventures along the way (worms from her compost bin on the living room floor), sometimes she'll talk about how something that sounds hard wasn't, or something that sounds easy, wasn't. Sometimes she takes herself seriously, sometimes not - which all in all, makes for a better read than a book that just takes one side or the other. It almost reads like - dare I say this for a 'green' book? - chick lit. If you enjoyed Julie and Julia, you'll enjoy Vanessa's similar tone (but not quite so many disasters!).

In keeping with the chick lit theme, yes, she does find love - I won't tell you who, but I will say I was surprised! It added a nice dimension to the litany of green episodes, gave it a 'hook'. I do wish she had spent a LITTLE more time telling us how they hooked up - one page she was beginning to think about him as a potential partner, a few pages later they are dating - aww, we missed the whole big 'he confesses his feelings' moment that any Jane Austen fan will tell you is by far the best part.

But that's a minor quibble - it is, after all, a book about how she greened her life, not a romantic diary. And BOY did she green her life - well done, Vanessa!! I got a lot of ideas for my own life (although DANG I'm jealous of the green options she has available in Canada that are simply NOT available in the Midwestern USA!), and I really enjoyed the book. If you are looking for a green read that's not oppressively heavy and guilt-inducing, and yet actually has some practical and out of the ordinary ideas, give this a read. You won't regret it.

This book chronicles the author's year of making 366 mostly trivial changes to "green" her life. The writing is breezy and entertaining, and she is fun to spend a year with. Anyone hoping to come away with ideas for how to reduce their own impact on the planet will be disappointed. The book constantly focuses on the minutiae such as what kind of toilet paper to use and the sensational such as whether to use toilet paper at all, but completely misses the big picture such as how much long-distance travel is compatible with a lower carbon foot print lifestyle. One of the last changes she makes captures this nicely, "use bathroom before boarding plane". In the end Vanessa Farquaharson's impractical approach to environmentalism does more to set back the movement by making it seem bizarre and inconvenient such as "shower in the dark" while missing easier and more important changes everyone can make such as flying less.

What an enjoyable book! Vanessa Farquharson documents her 366 day year (aaargh. It had to be a leap year, didn't it?) of making one change per day to her lifestyle to become more "green." The author does not come off as smug or preachy AT ALL, though she makes some very radical changes in her life during her green year. She says, "...As more people ask me which [green] changes I think are most important to make, I now pause before answering, taking the time to consider what THEIR routine involves on a daily basis, where THEY live, and what THEY value---because while I, personally, was discovering how little I needed a fridge, not everyone can deal with vases full of carrots and room-temperature hemp milk. (165)" Indeed.

Some of the author's green changes seem uninspired, but she had to come up with one a day for a year, so that's understandable. Some of the changes are radical and shocking (worm-based compost in the living room, anyone?). Throughout the book, her struggle to make green choices and live with them is funny and endearing. She, like most of us, is trying to make good choices in a world full of conflicting information. "Does this mean we shouldn't bother making any changes because critics and scientists keep changing their minds? Of course not. But I do wish it were possible to get a better grasp on which ones have the biggest impact, rather than taking 366 stabs in the dark and hoping for the best. (258)"

I am not a vegan or nearly as green as I could be, but the book made me think of some small green changes I could make. I'm not giving up toilet paper, though. Yikes.

As a Vine reviewer, I was given a complimentary copy of this book. I try to help other potential readers by revealing whether I would have purchased this book, had it not been given to me, and whether I would have been pleased with my choice. I probably would have purchased this book, if I had heard about it, and I would have been pleased with my purchase.

The author explores quite a few 'green' ideas. What I enjoyed was that she was typically doing this on a low budget with easy-to-get materials. There are some genuinely excellent way to go green in this book that have little to no effect on your daily life - this is a big plus! Other ideas are a bit lame, but that's to be expected when you're trying to find a new 'green' living style every single day of an entire year.

Writing style is good, down-to-earth, a little inexperienced, but definitely funny in some areas. We are using 10+ of her examples in our daily lives now, but skipped a few others. For example, CFL light bulbs are great at 'sipping' energy, but they contain Mercury which means they MUST be recycled properly. The toxic chemical combined with additional energy required to recycle the bulb just doesn't seem that 'green'.

Overall, a fun read and you'll definitely learn a few ways to be more environmentally friendly... you'll also probably discover your green 'limits', or what you're not willing to do.

Pop culture reporter Vanessa Farquharson decided to blog her adventure into the adoption of a new "green change" into her life daily for a full year. This book is a result of that effort. Although it is not a day-to-day accounting of her adventures, it does highlight a number of both easy and hard changes in her lifestyle, as well as her relationships with her friends, her worms, and her organic wine.

There's both a voyeuristic and an environmentalistic angle to Farquharson's work. This is because a number of her adoptions are factually grounded as "good" for the environment, while others are... silly? I'll give a few example below, without giving away the big picture that you'd get from reading the entire book:

Authentic green living issues:

- check the tire pressure in your car
- turn off all lights before leaving home
- buy only used sports equipment
- learn to sew and mend clothes
- eat only ethically raised [I think she is discussing sustainable as well] fish

and so on.

On the "sillier" side:

- skip gown in doctor's office
- drink only organic hard liquor
- sleep naked
- skinny dip
- choose subway transfers printed on recycled paper rather than laminated paper

Again. there are 365 (+1) ideas here to see how Farquharson fit them into her life, and to give you ideas as well.

Farquharson has some very interesting insights from this experience, however:

"I'm green with envy of another person's green status, and it's pathetic. ...Arguably even worse than green envy, though, is this other feeling I've begun to develop: the need for approval from the green-keepers... . Even if I'm the most environmentally conscious shopper in the health food store, by the time I get to the checkout and proudly answer the question 'Paper or plastic?' with "Neither, thanks, I brought my own,' I'm practically shocked if the cashier doesn't smile approvingly and give me a gold star." Great, great observation.

And tied with this issue of - believe it or not - competition between these "greenies", and the little cheating that goes on even with a person as dedicated as Farquharson (and she is certainly dedicated during this year), "...I'm forced to confront and rationalize my hypocrisy during this challenge."

Farquharson writes with the wit of Nora Ephron (I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman (Vintage)), and with the green commitment of Alisa Smith (Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet). I started off being less than amused, but found myself following her life story for this year, rooting for her to be successful, to defeat the nay-sayers, and to save the lives of her worms when the compost bin needed to be moved. As I write this review, I've already handed off my copy of the book to another reader. "You'll like this," I said, "It's full of factoids, some good ideas, and an interesting story of personal sacrifice."

A year later, Farquharson has kept with up perhaps three-quarters of the changes she made in her life. She has a new romantic interest. And I think that she would say that she is glad this experiment is OVER! But she learned a lot, about herself and consumerism. And that's what makes this book work. You'll learn something and, if you incorporate that something into your life, who knows where you may take this adventure!

As someone struggling to live an eco-friendly, Green lifestyle, this book was just what I needed to read at the time. I could truly relate to the author's struggles to set regular goals and see whether she could meet them or not.

The lists at the beginning of each chapter were also helpful references for me and provided new information (and, wow, did I need it) to up our attempts at Green living. The engaging, personal writing kept this book from being dry. The author went FAR beyond what we were able to accomplish (yes, we still own a car and even a refrigerator) but we are actually imagining a day when we could live close enough to work to use the car less often (or not at all). In that regard, the book is inspiring.

Even if you are a pro at living the eco-friendly lifestyle, you might want to pick up this book. The writer's style will keep you thoroughly engaged. I felt like I was part of a discussion, rather than reading a "how to" book.

From the first few chapters, something about this book rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn't the "Is she green enough?" question, although the author does make some dubious choices about her challenges. Nor was it the hypocricy (deriding those that judge others "greeness" and then judging others for not being green enough). I recognize that this book is a journey, not a manual, so mistakes and judgements are to be expected. It took me towards half of the book to understand what it was that I disliked, but in the end I realized that it simply feels like the author is trying too hard.

Too hard to appeal to the young, hip single gal. Too hard to be witty. Too hard to relate. And as a result, the conversations in this book ring hollow, the situations are flat and the author is not at all relateable. It reads more like a diary entry than a story and I had a difficult time finishing this book (and I admit that I did a lot of skimming to get to the end). I wanted to like this book, and it definitely wasn't all bad. I felt challenged to become more conscious of my impact on the planet and got some great ideas from this book, but as a story, it simply isn't engaging.

Perhaps as a companion to her blog, which I checked out after I finished reading this and I enjoyed, this book is more interesting. But as it is, I felt like I was missing out on the real meat of the challenges and I had a difficult time really getting into her story. As such, I wouldn't recommend this to someone wanting to learn how to be more green or even to someone wanting to read about the challenges of being green to an extreme. I would, however, recommend this to anyone that enjoys the author's blog. All in all, I would give this one a pass, save a tree, and just read her blog (Green as a Thistle) instead.

I thought this book was fantastic. I found it while reading Hot, Flat and Crowded for one of my classes at school, and ordered it right away. I think the author is hilarious, and her journey through the eco-world was so inspiring! I have slowly been implementing some of her suggestions and it's been awesome! She thought of many things I wouldn't have ever considered. I am sooo glad I read this book, and I've recommended it to a lot of my friends!

Vanessa Farquharson started out writing a blog. 366 changes to green her life. I have been reading books about organic/environmental issues for a while now, so I was happy that I was introduced to this book. Everyday, Vanessa came up with a new idea for the month. Some ranged from the easy, (eating food straight from the pot or pan) to the difficult, (unplugging her fridge) to the uncomfortable, (not wearing a gown in the doctor's office) to the strange. (how does smiling at people help the environment?)

But all in all, it was an entertaining read. At times, her humor was a little annoying, and then there were other times that it made me laugh out loud and share passages with others. I know that some people have been critics of hers, stating that some of her choices were not big enough to make a difference, but not everything has to be big. If everyone followed what she was doing (even her small choices) they would add up to making a difference. She's also not perfect. She flew places, she didn't always eat organic cream cheese, but I admire the fact that she tried. I personally think that some people may be jealous that she thought of the idea first. At the end of the book, she claimed that she still follows about 200 something of her "rules." I counted my own and it only added up to 80, which caused a lot of green guilt for me.

The only complaint I have is that I wanted more details about some of the choices she made, but that would have led to a very long, and probably not as intriguing book. It was fun following her daily green adventures, which led to a very quick read.