Green Books Campaign: The Sonnets
This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 200 bloggers take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using eco- friendly paper, we hope to raise the awareness of book buyers and encourage everyone to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.
The campaign is organized for the second time by Eco-Libris, a green company working to make reading more sustainable. We invite you to join the discussion on “green” books and support books printed in an eco-friendly manner! A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.
On Reading Books
I have to confess, I am something of a luddite when it comes to reading books. I do not (yet) have an e-reader. I like reading books as books.
I realise this has an environmental cost, though the intricacies of the long-term environmental consequences of ‘real’ books versus the e-sort are still being played out (in the pages of the Guardian anyway).
I try to look after the books I have. I don’t throw books out (which makes the main challenge of any house move the transportation of the books…) Any books I’m not going to read again and don’t want to keep for sentimental reasons I pass on to charity shops to resell.
I don’t know about you but it’s hard to imagine a world without ‘real’ books coming out onto the shelves. It’s not really a world I’d like to imagine. In which case, we need to keep finding ways to make the production of books as environmentally sustainable as possible.
(Which no doubt also includes big changes to ways the publishing industry operates, with books currently commissioned, marketed, printed, and pulped in unsustainable ways. But I don’t have room for more than a raising of awareness of the paper issue here!)
The Sonnets
The book I reviewed for the campaign was The Sonnets and A Lover’s Complaint, by William Shakespeare, published by Penguin.
The book is made from paper that has come from environmentally and socially responsible sources, as certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. (You can read more about what Penguin are doing regarding paper sources here.)
I cannot pretend this is a proper review of The Sonnets. I have not had time to do more than dip into one or two of the poems.
I cannot wax lyrical about what you can expect, or what treasures you will find here: I haven’t studied, learned or loved many of these sonnets in years gone by (except for one which has lodged itself in my heart – sonnet 29).
Instead I will tell you simply that this is a book that looks gorgeous, and feels lovely to hold. It is a book I am glad to have on my shelves and know I will come back to, dip into, and explore, in times as yet unknown in years to come.
The paper, somehow softly mellow, feels right for these words written long ago. (I do not know how paper can feel mellow, but that is the word that comes to mind.)
There are a few soft marks – blemishes, you might say – including one on what is probably the most famous sonnet of them all (sonnet 18):
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
But there is nothing about this slightly imperfect paper that detracts from Shakespeare’s words. In many ways it helps to make his point.
Because no matter the march of time… and the need to learn better ways to publish books… and use paper with blemishes… the verse shall stand*.
I think I had better give the Bard the last word on this:
‘O, fearful meditation! Where, alack
Shall Time’s best jewel from Time’s chest lie hid?
Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?
Or who his spoil of beauty can forbid?
O, none, unless this miracle have might,
That in black ink my love may still shine bright.’
And so it does. Shining bright, in blackest ink.
~~~
Disclosure: I received a review copy of ‘The Sonnets’ as part of my participation in this campaign
*’And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand…’, the penultimate line of sonnet 60.
It does looks a wonderful edition, a work of art just as a book, let alone the content. Wonderful that such a beautiful book is also produced in an environmentally friendly way.
I buy most of my books second hand as a way of reducing the environmental footprint, but it’s encouraging to see how many publishers are starting to use sustainable printing practices.
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Oh, how I love Shakespeare (tho I can’t begin to claim to understand it all) – and interesting to see another publication that is akin to a work of art itself.
My mum gifted me the most beautifully presented Illustrated Edition of William Shakespeare on The Art of Love last year… unfortunately it’s not printed on eco friendly paper, despite it’s green cover… I wish it were so.
Beautifully written, honest review, Joanna
Ah, so you are the one that claimed the Sonnets before I could. LOL at least you’ve reviewed them, and that book is eye-catching. I reviewed a contemporary poetry collection this year instead.
My goal for “My L.I.S.T. Book” (Life in Simple Terms), is to make it completely eco-friendly (if possible). But it can be very cost-prohibitive. Perhaps this fact can be something else we consider in our efforts to raise awareness.
Joanna,
Eco-friendly paper is great, but I believe the way publishing works is worse for the environment than the paper used. The last time I’ve seen a statistic–and it’s been awhile so I hope, but doubt, it has improved–about a third of all books printed are sent to the landfill without ever being read. That happens because of the business model that allows bookstores to return unsold books for credit. In the cases of mass market paperbacks, it’s cheaper to strip and return the cover and discard the book itself. That, to me, is disgraceful.
@Crafty Green Poet: yes, this was definitely a book where the look and feel of it complemented and enhanced the content. I have to confess I don’t regularly buy books at charity shops, but I do donate a lot (100s!) of books to them, and I hope that helps keeping books in green circulation.
@Julie Gibbons: Thanks Julie. Writing this made me realise how many different aspects there are to making informed and green choices (something you no doubt grapple with on a daily basis). I suspect if you were to dig a bit you’d find loads of unsustainable practices in the publishing industry (as Lillie points out). But at least this campaign is a way of raising awareness of some of the ways we can make a difference.
@Serena: yep, you had to move fast to get the book of choice!
@Leah Pauls: that is a huge factor indeed Leah, plus the different layers of ‘green’ that you uncover as you start looking for eco-friendly ways to do things. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and disheartened by the scale of it sometimes. If you’re interested in getting information that’s honest, down to earth and also positive and encouraging I’d thoroughly recommend Julie Gibbons site Organikal: http://www.organikal.com/
@Lillie Ammann: Lillie, I did find some articles on that topic when I was researching that, and it is deeply discomforting to see how unsustainable some of those practices are… and hard to see how a different model might evolve. Maybe e-publishing will be the way to achieve a truly green model… though it’s hard to see a world without printed books (I hope we never do).
I have to confess I concluded this post would reach epic proportions if I tried to explore too many different eco-aspects of publishing, so I decided to focus on the paper, and the poems.