Reading list for Progressive Living

[kayell]

Please add your favorites

----------------
(Read them at the library, check with inter-library loan, borrow from a friend, check at used bookstores and library and literacy council book sales)

Some of my favorites:

How Much Is Enough?
The Consumer Society & The Future Of The Earth
By Alan Thein Durning

Walden
By Henry David Thoreau

A Reasonable Life: Toward a Simpler, Secure, More Humane Existence
by Ferenc Mate

Living More With Less
A Pattern For Living With Less…
By Doris Jantzen Longacre
There is a religious slant to this one (Mennonite) but the book is so GOOD, and such a classic, that it should not be overlooked.

Clutter Control
Putting Your Home On A Diet
By Jeff Campbell
Not specifically progressive oriented, but a serious reminder that we all have WAY too much stuff.

Your Money Or Your Life
Transforming Your Relationship With Money & Achieving Financial Independence
By Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin

The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World by John Robbins, et al

Fast Food Nation
by Eric Schlosser

[Lorien]

1. "Affuenza"

The Book AND the PBS series:

Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic
by John De Graaf, David Wann, Thomas H. Naylor, David Horsey, Scott Simon

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1576751996/qid=1100536820/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/104-4273752-0447148?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Amazon.com
In their eye-opening, soul-prodding look at the excess of American society, the authors of Affluenza include two quotations that encapsulate much of the book: T.S. Eliot's line "We are the hollow men / We are the stuffed men," which opens one of this book's chapters, and a quote from a newspaper article that notes "We are a nation that shouts at a microwave oven to hurry up." If these observations make you grimace at your own ruthless consumption or sigh at the hurried pace of your life, you may already be ill. Read on.
The definition of affluenza, according to de Graaf, Wann, and Naylor, is something akin to "a painful, contagious, socially-transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more." It's a powerful virus running rampant in our society, infecting our souls, affecting our wallets and financial well-being, and threatening to destroy not only the environment but also our families and communities. Having begun life as two PBS programs coproduced by de Graaf, this book takes a hard look at the symptoms of affluenza, the history of its development into an epidemic, and the options for treatment. In examining this pervasive disease in an age when "the urge to splurge continues to surge," the first section is the book's most provocative. According to figures the authors quote and expound upon, Americans each spend more than $21,000 per year on consumer goods, our average rate of saving has fallen from about 10 percent of our income in 1980 to zero in 2000, our credit card indebtedness tripled in the 1990s, more people are filing for bankruptcy each year than graduate from college, and we spend more for trash bags than 90 of the world's 210 countries spend for everything. "To live, we buy," explain the authors--everything from food and good sex to religion and recreation--all the while squelching our intrinsic curiosity, self-motivation, and creativity. They offer historical, political, and socioeconomic reasons that affluenza has taken such strong root in our society, and in the final section, offer practical ideas for change. These use the intriguing stories of those who have already opted for simpler living and who are creatively combating the disease, from making simple habit alterations to taking more in-depth environmental considerations, and from living lightly to managing wealth responsibly.
Many books make you think the author has crammed everything he or she knows into it. The feeling you get reading Affluenza is quite different; the authors appear well-read, well-rounded, and intelligent, knowledgeable beyond the content of their book but smart enough to realize that we need a short, sharp jolt to recognize our current ailment. It's a well-worn cliché that money can't buy happiness, but this book will strike a chord with anyone who realizes that more time is more valuable than toys, and that our relentless quest for the latest stuff is breeding sick individuals and sick societies. Affluenza is, in fact, a clarion call for those interested in being part of the solution. --S. Ketchum


I also loved "Your money or your life". Very inspiring!

[kayell]

10. Definitely one of the best places to start

I highly recommend this and also taking the Ecological Footprint Test
http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp for an eye opening experience.

[sherilocks]

13. My foot pring was 26

Yikes, I have some work to do.

[JaneDoughnut]

27. I got an 11

Still pretty bad. But at least I know where I'm screwing up.

[HuskerDem]

30. That is a REALLY cool quiz

I got a 17, it would take 3.8 planets to support my lifestyle.

I have work to do.

[Warpy]

39. Mine was 20

but only because there wasn't a place for driving under 10 miles per week or riding an electric moped, something that is much cheaper than the gasoline powered alternative is (the moped draws 24 watts on full charge and takes 4 hours to charge). Nor was there a place for solid fuel heating, evaporative cooling, extra insulation, and wearing multiple sweaters on the coldest days.

Every electric light in my house that is used daily now has a fluorescent bulb. My cooling is by evaporative cooler, something I run an average of 3 hours a day, 3 months out of the year, something else that wasn't considered against a house that uses refrigerated air. Another thing they neglected is that growing a garden in the desert requires a lot of irrigation water, so the footprint for desert gardeners is much larger than for those who buy food that is trucked in.

The test needs to be revised and a lot of options that energy misers like myself have discovered and now use included.

[kayell]

2. Obtaining and reading books

I am a firm believer that we all consume far too much of EVERYTHING. That it is not just our consumption of rw corporate stuff that is a problem (although I especially avoid them) but that we all need to cut down overall. So here is my personal way to cut consumption of my favorite money and resource sink, while increasing actual reading.

Libraries - they're free (taxes), they are for everyone, the books are used frequently so resources are shared widely. If your library doesn't have something you want, they can usually get it through inter-library loan. Librarians also take note of input from patrons in ordering. Also local colleges may give community residents lending privelages. Organizations often have specialized libraries open to the public - for instance botanical gardens have horticultural libraries.

Home Libraries - Share the wealth. Lend between friends. Organize a book swap.

Bookcrossing - http://www.bookcrossing.com/ Free your books!
http://bookcrossing.meetup.com/

Book sales - often benefit an organization like libraries and literacy councils. http://www.booksalefinder.com/

Used book stores - both on and offline. These are great for finding both bargains and out of print books

Independent books sellers - http://www.booksense.com/ Find one near you.

[Lorien]

5. Absolutely!

Most of my shopping-Christmas and otherwise-is done at a handful of favorite used book stores. If I'm looking for something specific, I often go to Ebay (I've gotten some fantastic deals on out of print books there). Amazon also lists used books; there are 65 used copies of "Affluenza" alone!

One great aspect of used book stores; you can exchange your old books at most of them for new reading material. Our libraries in my town are awful, so I find myself collecting and exchanging instead.

[sherilocks]

14. I liked the booksale finder website

Particularly since they gave a rave review to the Gainesville, FL booksale. I make a point of going there every year. It's the best. Sorry, but happening again until April.

April 9 - 13, 2005

Largest Book Sale of its kind in Florida - More than 300,000 books, records, games, CDs, DVDs, audio, video, paintings, posters, prints, puzzles and magazines have been donated for the sale!

Saturday 9am to 6pm

Sunday 1pm to 6pm

Monday noon-8pm

Tuesday noon to 8pm, HALF PRICE DAY

Wednesday 10am to 6pm 10 CENT DAY

Hundreds of thousands of books and other items have been sorted and priced. The sale features books in more than 50 categories!

A vast array of classical and modern fiction, textbooks, large-print books, first editions and rare books, cookbooks, hobby books, plus a wide variety of other classifications!

Most prices range from $.25 to $3.00

Collectors' Corner featuring signed books, 1st editions, Florida collectibles

Over 90% of items for sale were donated by the public (less than 10% from library)

Bring your own boxes

All profits are used for the Alachua County Library District and community literacy projects.

[Lorien]

15. Oh man, that sounds dangerous!

my home might just fall into a sinkhole of it's own making if I spent a day at that sale!:D

[bunny planet]

40. Rats. I'll be in Florida on the 14th of April.

sure sounds like a great sale.

[kayell]

3. The Complete Tightwad Gazette

From an earlier thread

by AMY DACYCZYN
Recommended by jdj
“Tightwad gazette three is available from amazon.com, the author, Amy Daczyn does the most minute mathematical calculations to show how much money you can save by buying in bulk, off-brand,close-outs, yardsale,etc. (she doesn't do coupons, either)

the third book is a compilation of all her newsletters since she no longer publishes. She has info on insurance, mortgages etc.

There is a book out there on dumpster diving too, which isn't illegal in most places, I don't remember the title, but Daczyn mentions this in her book.

I find Suze Orman on CNBC to be a great help with learning about money, as I was taught zip about it growing up, I have gotten all my education about finances from her, and from Daczyn.”

My comment from that thread
“
I like TWG too, (and have all 3) but use common-sense on some
of her and her submitters ideas. There are a few suggestions in there that aren't exactly...um.. safe. Mostly food safety issues. Just don't unplug your brain when you open the book. If you're not sure about something like that, call your county cooperative extension service.

Some of the best frugal advice comes from people of some what dubious politics, but there is useful stuff to be mined there.

I've learned a lot from those people about cutting back, although my purposes are very different. "

[Lorien]

7. Ha! I was trying to remember the title of that one

That's my mom's FAVORITE! So lives by it, too. :-)

[Lorien]

22. BTW- I think they also publish a monthly newsletter n/t

[kayell]

28. She used to but retired it in 1996

[kayell]

4. "Blinded by the Right," and "The Republican Noise Machine,"

From an earlier thread:

Recommended by ailsagirl

"Go to Media Matters for America

The man who runs this website, David Brock, was formerly a right-winger who wrote poisonous articles against anyone who wasn't conservative. He finally had his fill and has since defected to our side. I trust him implicitly-- he's on Al Franken's show every week and he gives a summary of the lies that are coming out of mainstream media.

His website, http://www.mediamatters.org, is a rich resource for those seeking the truth. You can look up stories by people ("journalists," anchors, etc), shows (e.g., 60 Minutes) of by publisher/outlet/network. And you can find out who's honest and who lies.

A very important resource.

Brock has written two books: "Blinded by the Right," and "The Republican Noise Machine," both receiving good reviews."

[kayell]

6. "Dr. Pitcairn's complete guide to Natural health for dogs and cats"

Recommended by Jen6 in response to feeding companion animals.

"A good book on the subject: "Dr. Pitcairn's complete guide to Natural health for dogs and cats" by Richard H. Pitcairn DVM."

[kayell]

8. "Your money or your life"

Another recommendation by Jen6 in and earlier thread.
The National Bestseller "Your money or your life-Transforming your relationship with money and acieving financial Independence" by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. It's about living with less and getting more out of life-and it really does a good job of getting people excited about the process.

[kayell]

9. Corporate Bookstores - the good, the bad, and the ugly

from an earlier thread by 69KV


"Good:

Powell's Books - www.powells.com
100% to Dems, including a $23,000 donation to the DNC in 2004!
http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.asp?NumOfThou=...
Powell's is the only unionized online bookseller, another plus.

Barnes & Noble - www.bn.com
$103,350 in 2004 - 98% to Dems, 2% to pukes
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?Ind=N...

B. Dalton - owned by Barnes & Noble
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=BKS

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mixed or unsure:

Amazon.com - 39% to Dems, 61% to pukes in 2004
http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.asp?strID=C0036...

Books-A-Million - 60% to Dems, 40% to pukes during the 1996 cycle, nothing since.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Bad:

Hastings
100% to pukes from CEO John Marmaduke and director Stephen Marmaduke:
http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.asp?NumOfThou=...
http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.asp?txtName=ma...

Borders - no data on opensecrets, but they are union busters: http://www.bordersunion.org/index.php?module=ContentExp...

Waldenbooks - owned by Borders"

[fudge stripe cookays]

12. No donations either way from Half-Price Books.

So good there. And they are big literacy supporters. It's a pretty big local chain.

[kayell]

11. Material World: A Global Family Portrait

by Peter Menzel, Charles C. Mann, Paul Kennedy



This is a stunning pictorial view of what people own in countries around the world. Highly recommended. It has been around a bit and is likely at your library, and shows up in used book stores.

[dpibel]

16. Radical Simplicity

Radical Simplicity by Jim Merkle.

YES! A Journal of Positive Futures www.yesmagazine.org

Disclosure: I reviewed the book for the mag.

Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin. The book that started the current voluntary simplicity movement.

The Good Life by Helen and Scott Nearing. They were doing it 70 years ago.

[Glenda]

17. Funny, I just checked Walden out of the library last week!

I'm trying to learn to be a minimalist. I've been decluttering for the past 3 weeks (well, really the past 4 years, but more intense lately)

FOr decluttering:

ANything by Don Aslett - they are inspiring, esp the ones that have reader comments


Money:

Your Money or YOUr Life is great - and their web forums (www.simpleliving.net)

David Bach - books and seminars (www.finishrich.com) - I took a phone conference seminar (The Automatic Millionnaire) from him. I changed a lot of things financially because of it. He also thinks you should give back. And also, I was worried that he was pro-Bush (given that he has a lot of money himself), but he's not - I think he's appalled at the fiscal irresponsibility of the * admin, when Bach advocates individual's being strong financially


All around simplicity:

30 Days to a Simpler Life - by Cris Evatt and Connie Cox. THis is an awesome book, and what got me started simplifying. It talks about creating simple systems, and gives hints.

[fnottr]

18. No Logo by Naomi Klein

snip from Amazon

In No Logo, Klein patiently demonstrates, step by step, how brands have become ubiquitous, not just in media and on the street but increasingly in the schools as well. (The controversy over advertiser-sponsored Channel One may be old hat, but many readers will be surprised to learn about ads in school lavatories and exclusive concessions in school cafeterias.) The global companies claim to support diversity, but their version of "corporate multiculturalism" is merely intended to create more buying options for consumers. When Klein talks about how easy it is for retailers like Wal-Mart and Blockbuster to "censor" the contents of videotapes and albums, she also considers the role corporate conglomeration plays in the process. How much would one expect Paramount Pictures, for example, to protest against Blockbuster's policies, given that they're both divisions of Viacom?

Over all it makes a really good case for the connection between the rampent mass market consumerism here in America and the explotative practices of corperations both abroad and here in America.

[PretzelWarrior]

19. MUST-READS

I scanned a USA Today laying around work today..and read a brief review about a book about BRANDING the young in America. Marketing for brand loyalty in the preschool years.

Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture
By Juliet Schor; Scribner, $25; in stores
A Boston College economist, Schor examines how children and their parents are now perceived as the most tempting of markets by advertisers. According to Schor, $15 billion is spent annually on ads and marketing to children. Using original data collected from 300 children in the Boston area, Schor presents a disturbing picture of how children's sense of self is diminished by this barrage of ads. They begin to believe they are what they own.

A couple of other books by her that I plan to check out....

The Overspent American

The Overworked American

20. THE ORGANIZATION MAN, by William H. Whyte

THE ORGANIZATION MAN, by William H. Whyte
(New York: Doubleday, 1956)

http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/whyte-chap1.html

Chapter 1, Introduction

As recently as the 1980s Whyte revisited the organization man and claimed little had changed: "The United States continues to be dominated by large organizations ...The people who staff them are pretty much the same as those who did before." And a 1989 survey of middle-managers in 20 well-known US corporations including American Express, Dow Chemical, General Motors, Johnson and Johnson, Mobil and Westinghouse found that 76 percent believed they would spend the rest of their career with the company they worked for, 80 percent said they were deeply committed to the company because it had been good for them, and 77% worked more than 50 hours in an average week (26 percent more than 60 hours).


This book is about the organization man. If the term is vague, it is because I can think of no other way to describe the people I am talking about. They are not the workers, nor are they the white-collar people in the usual, clerk sense of the word. These people only work for The Organization. The ones I am talking about belong to it as well. They are the ones of our middle class who have left home, spiritually as well as physically, to take the vows of organization life, and it is they who are the mind and soul of our great self-perpetuating institutions. Only a few are top managers or ever will be. In a system that makes such hazy terminology as "junior executive" psychologically necessary, they are of the staff as much as the line, and most are destined to live poised in a middle area that still awaits a satisfactory euphemism. But they are the dominant members of our society nonetheless. They have not joined together into a recognizable elite--our country does not stand still long enough for that--but it is from their ranks that are coming most of the first and second echelons of our leadership, and it is their values which will set the American temper.

[kayell]

21. The Age of Missing Information by Bill McKibben

What we lose in a tv oriented world. Must read.

[HuskerDem]

23. Fast Food Nation and "Supersize Me"

changed the life of my whole family.

I will never walk into a supermarket the same way........ blind and compliant........... never again.

[Lorien]

24. Just about anything from Lehman's:

http://www.lehmans.com/jump.jsp?itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=672&iMainCat=672&iSubCat=672

I loved this store as a kid; the parking lot was always filled with Amish buggies!

book examples:

[HuskerDem]

25. I won't buy one damn thing from the Amish

They subjugate their women, and routinely accept abuse of females of all ages just as readily and matter of factly as they abuse their animals. Screw'em.

[Lorien]

26. Lehmann's isn't owned by Amish

they sell to Amish. Watch it there, friend; I'm from a Mennonite family with close ties to the Amish community. Amish, when they do vote, vote Dem; the reason they live "the simple life" is because they believe that taking more from the earth than one needs is sinful. They see abuse of the land through pollution as sinful.They are ALWAYS the first to help when anyone in their community (including non-Amish) needs help.Every Amish person-man or woman-gets the chance to decide whether or not staying in the community is for them when the reach their teens. The women I've known there aren't weak or battered; they are stronger emotionally than many "english' women are. They choose to stay because they see our society as shallow, disconnected, greed driven, and sad, and they prefer to be surrounded by family and friends, not stuff and status. Amish women take great satisfaction from what they do; it may not be my cup of tea, but these aren't women living under the rule of the Taliban, nor are they Mormons!

As for abusing their animals; some do, some don't. They tend to raise livestock organically, we raise ours in factory farms (check out de-beaking-not a lot more abusive than that)! I've known Amish that nearly spent all the family saving to keep a beloved dog alive when it got sick. IMO-any animal raised "free range" is better off than any animal raised for McDonalds.

Don't judge those that you don't know personally. Just because people CHOOSE a different lifestyle that involves faith doesn't mean that they are repressive RWers.

[HuskerDem]

31. You judge me by assuming I do not know of them personally

So you can just flip that wagging finger right back in your own direction. For one, the old order doesn't even have rumspringa and many others limit it to the boys. I have absolutely no cause or responsibility to justify my opinion of the Amish to you, it is my opinion and it was earned well. It is wrong of you to assume otherwise.

I respect your opinion, and I am happy that your experiences with the Amish around you have been pleasant and fruitful. I can only say that my personal knowledge has a much less rosy tint.

Subjegation and mal-treatment of women, children and animials are all very touchy subjects for me. I won't apologize to anyone for that and all of the Dem-votes, free-range chickens and solid furniture in the world are not enough to change that.

[Lorien]

32. Hey, those are important issues for me too

I'm a woman who has lived through an abusive relationship, and animal rights are important to me (I volunteer for the local humane society). However, I feel that it's very unfair to paint an entire people with such a broad (and in my experience, unfair) brush. There are members of any group that behave in unacceptable ways. I'm not "wagging my finger", I'm defending the people who cared for my grandmother as she was dying two years ago. The outpouring of love, concern, and kindness that our family has received from those in the Amish community won't be forgotten by any of us. They are part of us; you attack ALL of them, and it is personal.

They LIVE a life that most of us only aspire to in terms of taking only as much as we need, and leaving the rest for future generations. The store I suggested has all the tools one needs for that kind of lifestyle; solar power, wood stoves, oil lamps, non-electric appliances...if the fact that they sell to the Amish offends you, then don't buy from them. But don't condemn anyone else who may see value in the products that they offer.

[HuskerDem]

33. I do not condemn the store

That is one thing that I did mis-undertand.

As I said, I respect your opinion but I will not concede any measure of validity to my own. My opinion was not constructed on the weak timber of a few individuals. It took a village to shield a monstrosity.

[Lorien]

34. I'm sorry that you had such terrible experiences

I hope that one day you'll encounter members of their community who can open your heart to a different view.

[CindyDale]

36. People tend to generalize about religious minorities

much more often than they do about followers of the major religions, I've noticed. IMO, it's not any different or less intolerant for us to make generalizations about minorities than it is for us to generalize about followers of the major religions.

Of course, we also see people who are prejudiced against all people of faith.

Here is a great site with lots of information on it for anyone who needs to learn more about any religion:

http://www.religioustolerance.org

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. How americans can buy American

The power of Consumer Patriotism

Roger Simmermaker
Second edition
(Rivercross: Orlando, 2003)

Full of LISTS, and a good start for this

[buycottJoe]

35. "The Better World Handbook"

The book's website has a summary of the book. It was published in 2001 so some of the company rankings may not be up to date.

"If you are excited about making the world a little better but don't know where to start...consider starting with our shortlist of what we consider the most powerful actions in our book. The actions come from our 13 action chapters in the book where they are discussed in detail:"

Buy A Low Emission, Fuel Efficient Car
Limit Your Work Time
Buy Less Stuff
Buy Products From Socially Responsible Companies
Make Time for Loved Ones
Eat Less Meat
Open An Account At A Socially Responsible Bank Or Credit Union
Conserve Energy And Water
Watch Less TV
Join an Organization Your Care About

http://www.betterworldhandbook.com

[realFedUp]

37. Thanks for the resources

and letting me know about this forum...terrific!

[Warpy]

38. "Champagne Living on a Beer Budget"

which came out in the late 60s and no, I don't remember who the author was.

It's what I credit with allowing me to avoid debt.

[buycottJoe]

41. 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Fight The Right

This book is an instruction manual for progressives. They mention 50 specific things that you can do in terms of being an activist - something more than just voting every two years. Each of the 50 short chapters suggests things such as:
Chap 2 - Join some national or local group. http://www.commondreams.org/community.htm has a long list of groups.
Chap 5 - Offer a subscription to a progressive magazine to your local library. They suggest different magazines.
Chap 6 - Get a few people you know, registered to vote. You help them fill out a voter registration form and mail in the form yourself.

Chap 7 - I think this chapter is the most useful. It's titled "Money Talks". It says to "buy blue" and refers people to http://www.buyblue.org .