Book Review: Twelve by Twelve (cont.)

Recently I posted about the book Twelve by Twelve*; a one-room cabin off the grid & beyond the American dream, by William Powers. When I had first posted, I was about 90 pages into the 260 page book, but I was loving it so much and the book was so relevant to my dreams of having a tiny self-sufficient home.

One of the concepts that stood out to me most was the idea that we vote with our money. Specifically, it's the concept that the decision to spend money in certain ways has much larger impacts than just the exchange of money for goods. A good example of this is spending money on something hand made from conscientiously farmed Alpaca wool and paying a fair price versus buying something that was sewn in a sweat shop where the laborers do not get a fair wage and the product is made with possibly toxic ingredients.

I've read about this concept in a couple other places, but this book talked about how the author really worked to change his spending habits and his own battle with the increase in price for goods that are less damaging to the environment and the places they originate from. It was very nice to hear more than just the theory, but to see actual examples of how it was put into action. On the other hand, I think he was very lucky to have free-range farmers living just across the street.

Anyways, to wrap everything up, since this is supposed to be a book review instead of a book report, I really liked the book. The author's voice was engaging and fun to read, and while there may not have been an identifiable conflict-resolution story line, the book did keep me interested and thinking.

*Though I link to the book on Amazon.com, I highly encourage purchasing the book from an independent retailer or borrowing it from your local library.

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also, I'm thinking about starting a parallel blog for reviews, that way I can share it with family and friends and still keep this blog a little more anonymous.  Any thoughts?