The idea of launching the monthly ‘Recommended Read’ is to shine a light on the literature, contributors and writers in the area. The monthly ‘Recommended Read’ will be a book (maybe even chapters of a book) the wider public can relate to as well as people that work within the sphere of sustainability. For this precise reason I shall refrain from academic literature.
I am hoping this is a figure-out-able project insofar I don’t have a definitive list, nor a plan for years to come and will simply be working quarter by quarter. I am by no means an expert in book reviews. I’m sure there is a lot out there I have not read, perhaps not even come across and would benefit from you sharing valuable material too. If you have come across a book or maybe a heavyweight chapter you believe deserves the stage of ‘Recommended Read’ of the month, please do approach me. I will be happy to open up a discussion and see where it takes us.
Though sustainability, as a concept is an anchor for the ‘Recommended Read’ there may be books that feature that fall outside the core of sustainability but equally relevant and will hopefully enrich the discussion for example autobiographies and collections of stories.
As part of the process of comprising the ‘Recommended Read’ I will be going through my personal library (including my audio or e-books), selecting books that have resonated with me and have shaped me. If you are someone be it a family member or friend who has borrowed a book from my unofficial library and still not returned it, your time is up! I may be recalling it in to refresh myself ahead of writing up a piece for ‘Dr Sustainability’s Recommended Read’. Not to worry though, it can always be borrowed again.
As part of the ‘Recommended Read’ release I will try to keep it down to earth (I don’t want to scare you away), let you know the outlets the book is available for purchase/download, formats (preferably sustainable sources), tell you about the authors especially if there is something juicy to enlighten you about and will then get down to business by simply pulling out the key components surrounding the text and the reason(s) for selecting it as ‘Dr Sustainability’s Recommended Read’.
Deciding when to launch the ‘Dr Sustainability’s Recommended Read’ was an interesting process. With the new year around the corner it would make sense to launch in January 2023, I’m a bit weird like that, quite like to fit things in with the calendar or financial year – I have my own issues, I’m dealing with it!! When you have been managing businesses and financial accounts for years, you get only slightly obsessed with specific dates as they have consequential impact and deadlines. I have tried to tame my peculiarities and trying to function like an average ‘normal’ human-being to permit engagement with the Dr Sustainability community. I can’t promise the length of this abstinence and may return to my quirks sooner than later.
With December nearly here and it seems like a good enough month to launch ‘Dr Sustainability’s Recommended Read’. We’ve just had COP27, which left a lot to be desired. We are to conclude the year and the festive period is about to approach us, December it is!!
Perhaps the ‘Recommended Read’ can be added to your Secret Santa list or your Christmas wish-list to buy for yourself. Ha! It surely has to be better than the average gifts; socks, bath bombs or toiletry sets, which will most likely be re-gifted to keep it sustainable (cheesy joke, I know!)
You never know the ‘Recommended Read’ might even help to open up sustainability to a wider audience. If not, well, no one has died from reading this article nor the monthly ‘Recommended Read’…well I hope not, that would be an awful situation and would actually contra the sustainability agenda. Anyhow, expect Dr Sustainability’s first monthly ‘Recommended Read’ to be released early December!
