Fiction

• “Cloudstreet” – Tim Winton (1991)
• “On the Road” – Jack Kerouac (1957)
• “The Catcher in the Rye” – J.D. Salinger (1951)
• “Treasure Island” – Robert Louis Stevenson (1883)
• “Moby Dick” – Herman Melville (1851)

Comedy / humour

• “Preincarnate” – Shaun Micallef (2010)
• “Curb Your Enthusiasm: the book” – Deirdre Dolan (2006)
• “The Official Rock Paper Scissors Strategy Guide” – Douglas and Graham Walker (2004)
• “Smithereens” – Shaun Micallef (2004)
• “Diary of a Bus Clown” – The Sandman (2002)
• “Naked” – David Sedaris (1997)

Environment / sustainability / business

• “The Life and Death of the Australian Backyard” – Tony Hall (2010)
• “Confessions of a Radical Industrialist: Profits, People, Purpose–Doing Business by Respecting the Earth” – Ray Anderson (2009)
• “The Transition Handbook: Creating local sustainable communities beyond oil dependency – Australia and New Zealand edition” – Rob Hopkins (2009)
• “Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century” – edited by Alex Steffen (2006)
• “Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability” – Dexter Dunphy, Andrew Griffiths and Suzanne Benn (2003)
• “Greening the Corporation” – Peter Thayer Robbins (2001)
• “Beyond Civilization: humanity’s next great adventure” – Daniel Quinn (1999)
• “The Cluetrain Manifesto: the end of business as usual” – Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger (1999)
• “Biomimicry: Innovation inspired by nature” – Janine Benyus (1997)
• “My Ishmael” – Daniel Quinn (1997)
• “The Sacred Balance: rediscovering our place in the world” – David Suzuki (1997)
• “Providence: The Story of a 50 Year Vision Quest” – Daniel Quinn (1996)
• “Ishmael” – Daniel Quinn (1992)
• “Gaia: a new look at life on earth” – James Lovelock (1979)

Biography

• “Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years” Michael Palin (2006)
• “Saint Morrissey: A portrait of this charming man by an alarming fan“ – Mark Simpson (2004)
• “John Peel – A Tribute To The Legendary DJ and Broadcaster” – Mick Wall (2004)
• “The Unruly Life of Woody Allen” – Marion Meade (2000)
• “Andy Kaufman Revealed!” – Bob Zmuda (1999)
• “Einstein: A Life” – Denis Bryan (1997)
• “The Joker’s Wild: the biography of Jack Nicholson” – John Parker (1991)

Science / psychology / social phenomena

• “Supernormal Stimuli: How Primal Urges Overran Their Evolutionary Purpose” – Deirdre Barrett (2010)
• The 50th Law – 50 Cent and Robert Greene (2009)
• The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable – Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2007)
• “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed” – Jared Diamond (2005)
• “The Rise of the Creative Class: And How it’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life” – Richard Florida (2002)
• “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal” – Eric Schlosser (2001)
• “Why is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality” – Jared Diamond (1997)
• The Blind Watchmaker – Richard Dawkins (1986)

Comics / graphic novel

• “X’ed Out” – Charles Burns (2010)
• “Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451″ – Tim Hamilton (2009) (graphic novel adaptation of the novel “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury, 1953)
• “Fun Home” – Alison Bechdel (2006)
• “Black Hole” – Charles Burns (2005)
• “Blankets” – Craig Thompson (2003)
• “Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again” – Frank Miller and Lynn Varley (2002)
• “The Authority: Volume 1″ – Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch (2002)
• Ghost World – Daniel Clowes (1997)
• “Maus: A Survivor’s Tale – “ – Art Spiegelman (1991)
• “Animal Man” – Grant Morrison (1991)
• “Sin City” yarns 1-7 – Frank Miller (1991-2000)
• “Blood: A Tale” – J.M. DeMatteis, Kent Williams (1987)
• “Ronin” – Frank Miller (1987)
• “American Splendor – the life and times of Harvey Pekar” – Harvey Pekar (1986)

Comics theory

• “Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels” – Scott McCloud (2006)
• “Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form” – Scott McCloud (2000)
• “Perspective! for Comic Book Artists: How to Achieve a Professional Look in Your Artwork” – David Chelsea (1997)
• “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art” – Scott McCloud (1993)

Music / entertainment

• “You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup” – Peter Doggett (2010)
• “Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991″ – Michael Azzerad (2001)

Miscellaneous literature / non-fiction

• Bicycle Diaries – David Byrne (2009)
• “The Joy of Writing Sex” – Elizabeth Benedict (2002)

There were a lot of great titles in that list, but the two that touched me most were “Blankets” (which I read in 2010) and “Ishamel” (which I read in 2011). I will expand on my appreciation of these books in a future post on this blog!

There is a palpable feeling among many people, myself included, that ‘business as usual’ is not producing satisfactory outcomes for Earth’s natural environment, nor for the bulk of humanity. The challenge, therefore, is to transition our society towards a future that is more environmentally benign and socially rewarding, without stalling the economic engine of productivity. Enter Sydney’s Di Worrall with her 2009 book “A Climate for Change“.

Despite the title and imagery on the front cover, “A Climate for Change” actually has little intrinsic connection with the issues of climate change or even the nuts and bolts of running a business sustainably. Instead, the book should be shelved alongside management/self-help books in the vein of Stephen Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. The intended audience of “A Climate for Change” is anyone who can imagine things being different. Worrall is quick to warn of the smorgasbord of emotions and abundance of obstacles, internal and external, that will be encountered by those wanting to change the status quo. “A Climate for Change” is put forward as a handbook for navigating the pitfalls and prizes of change: firstly securing change in yourself, then inspiring others, and eventually ensuring that changes sticks.

Yes, change is the key word here. Rather than being written solely in response to environmental issues such as global warming, Di Worrall seeks something bigger, and keeps her advice adaptable to scenarios not limited to such ecological problems. Parts of the book sometimes have pages and pages of text between even small mentions of topics relating to environmental sustainability. Readers hoping to gain inspiration from battle stories of environmental sustainability practitioners may be disappointed by the general nature of the book’s advice. For this reason I would mainly recommend “A Climate for Change” to those with a specific problem or project in mind before opening the book.

Di Worrall’s “A Climate for Change” contains information that will be of use to readers embarking on personal projects of change, but as a whole falls short in its execution. Unfortunately, the bulk of material is presented in a generalised fashion that is short on examples and therefore not vivid for me as a reader. This is my main disappointment, as I cannot fault the information put forth in the 278 pages of this book. With many books in this genre being peppered with case-studies and ‘hands-on’ examples of transition, the abstract style of “A Climate for Change” feels stark by comparison. To me, “A Climate for Change” is not a page-turning book I would likely read in full again, but is certainly one that I will keep on hand for the times when I can put its perspectives to use.

Stuart McMillen is the organiser of the monthly Green Drinks Brisbane event.

Environmental sustainability/business/behaviour change
• “A Climate for Change” – Di Worrall (2009)
• “The End of Charity: Time for Social Enterprise” – Nic Frances (2008)
• “Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization” – Lester R. Brown (2008)
• “Ecological Design” – Sim Van der Ryn and Stuart Cowan (2007)
• “Greenhouse Solutions With Renewable Energy” – Mark Diesendorf (2007)
• “Recycle: The Essential Guide” – Black Dog Publishing (2006)
• “Heat: How to Stop the Planet From Burning” – George Monbiot (2006)
• “The Natural Advantage of Nations” – Karlson ‘Charlie’ Hargroves and Michael H. Smith (2005)
• “The Sustainability Advantage: Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line” – Bob Willard (2002)
• “Gonzo Marketing” – Christopher Locke (2002)
• “Mid-Course Correction: Toward a Sustainable Enterprise: The Interface Model” – Ray Anderson (1999)
• “Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing” – Doug McKenzie-Mohr (1999)
• “Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution” – Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins (1999)
• “Inventing the Future” – David Suzuki (1989)

Pop-economics / sociology
• “Outliers: The Story of Success” – Malcolm Gladwell (2008)
• “The Logic of Life: The Rational Economics of an Irrational World” – Tim Harford (2008)
• “The Dip” – Seth Godin (2007)
• “Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking” – Malcolm Gladwell (2005)
• “Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything” – Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (2005)
• “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” – Malcolm Gladwell (2000)

Music biography
• “Running the Voodoo Down: The Electric Music of Miles Davis” – Philip Freeman (2005)
• “Passion Is A Fashion: The Real Story of The Clash” – Pat Gilbert (2005)
• “Heavier Than Heaven” – Charles R. Cross (2002)

Misc non-fiction reference
• “Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation” – Chris Turner (2004)
• “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art” – Scott McCloud (1993)
• “The Hillbilly Dictator: Australia’s Police State” – Evan Whitton (1993)
• “Getting it Together” – Noel Whittaker (1993)
• “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business” – Neil Postman (1985)

Fiction/entertainment
• “I’m Coming to Take You to Lunch: A Fantastic Tale of Boys, Booze and How Wham! Were Sold to China” – Simon Napier-Bell (2006)
• “Fight Club” – Chuck Palahniuk (1996)
• “He Died With a Falafel in His Hand” – John Birmingham (1994)
• “Jurassic Park” – Michael Crichton (1990)

Plus a lot of smaller books (e.g. cartoons), and those that I have lost track of. Seems like a lot when it’s listed like that!