Summer reading lists usually include novels whose covers match the flirty colors of bikinis and swim trunks. The one I offer here is a bit different. Behold a few of my summer reading picks.

Cradle to Cradle , William McDonough and Michael Braungart.

This is written by a designer/chemist team who help companies think outside the design box when building everything from factories to products. Just take the cover of the book itself: made from plastic resin and inorganic filler, it’s not paper at all, so it’s durable and waterproof (perfect for poolside!) and can be easily recycled. These guys go way outside the box and even ask us to imagine a world in which cars actually clean the air and produce drinkable water. Imagine that.

Small Wonder , Barbara Kingsolver

This is the quintessential Kingsolver, a collection of essays from a few years ago about living simply and all manner of subjects from September 11th to a Hawaiian volcano to her daughter’s chickens. It’s a book that I’d like to give every single person I know.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan

I’ve been enjoying this as an audio book for some time—yes, it’s long. But, aside from its daunting length, this is the book on food from the expert on the subject. From a field of corn to a factory steer farm to a Whole Foods Market, Pollan takes readers all the places where food is born, concocted, grown, or manufactured. It’s the good, the bad, and the ugly about what we put on our tables and in our mouths, and it just might change your menu.

White Noise , Don Delillo

I’ll even include a novel on this list. After all, what better beach read than a tale of environmental disaster in Middle American suburbia? A disaster story may be just as fitting a theme for a summer book as it proves to be for a summer blockbuster.

I recently read this environmental classic for the very first time even though it was published in 1971. Dr. Seuss’ little tale of the Lorax, the Once-ler, and the poor, poor, Truffula trees is brilliant, inspired reading for any age, and couldn’t be more relevant today when we’re all so busy buying “thneeds.”

Feel free to thread with us and share your thoughts on eco-reading picks.

Article Written by Danielle Davis