What to buy a self-confessed anti-consumerist
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be compiling a host of gift guides to help you with your Christmas shopping. Below is a list of gift suggestions for friends and family that seek to be more socially conscious.
Curing Affluenza by Richard Denniss
In his new work, economist Richard Denniss shares advice on how to deal with affluenza – that strange desire we feel to spend money we don’t have to buy things we don’t need. He presents practical and clearly laid-out advice on how to distinguish between consumerism, the love of buying things, which is undeniably harmful to us and to the planet, and materialism, the love of things, which can in fact be beneficial. Curing Affluenza is a deeply interesting and thoughtfully presented book.
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
In The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, Margareta Magnusson makes a compelling argument for organising and decluttering your home in preparation for your death. Given the premise, this is a surprisingly charming, gentle and funny read. Magnusson offers indispensable advice on questions you will inevitably face when sorting through a lifetime of objects: How do you deal with your secrets? How can you avoid heirs fighting over your belongings?
Made to Last by Vanessa Murray
In a world full of mass-produced, disposable goods, there is a movement focused on sourcing unique and durable products that reflect true craftsmanship. Made to Last is a celebration of these products and the tradespeople behind their creation. The book features 50 artisans from around the world and details the products the create, the tools they use, and the secrets of their craft – alongside DIY projects for readers to try at home.
Also see Making Things Right by Ole Thorstensen (translated by Sean Kinsella).
Call of the Reed Warbler by Charles Massy
Call of the Reed Warbler will change the way you think of, farm and grow food. Author and radical farmer Charles Massy explores transformative and regenerative agriculture and the vital connection between our soil and our health. It is a story of how a grassroots revolution can save the planet, help turn climate change around, and build healthy people and healthy communities, pivoting significantly on our relationship with growing and consuming food.
Grow Your Own by Angus Stewart & Simon Leake
Urban environments require specific techniques to optimise growing conditions for plants. In Grow Your Own, two leading experts in horticulture and soil science teach the reader how to grow their own food-from the ground up. This is an authoritative and accessible guide that features bright and vibrant photographs.
An Activist Life by Christine Milne
Christine Milne’s memoir is the story of an apparently ordinary woman – a high-school English teacher from northwest Tasmania – who became a fiery environmental warrior, pitted against some of the most powerful business and political forces in the country. Milne shares an inside look at what it means to be a woman in politics: the sacrifices of family life and relationships, the relentless misogyny and sexism that must be endured, the gritty conviction that you must never, ever give up the pursuit of the greater good.
An Angkitja diary or calendar for 2018
Established in the early 1970s, IAD Press has built a strong reputation nationally and internationally as an Indigenous publisher of excellence. Each year they release a beautiful set of diaries and calendars that present the cutting-edge in central Australian Aboriginal art. By purchasing one of their products, you will be assisting them to further champion Indigenous language and culture.
Tinkering by Katherine Wilson
At a time when the labour market is failing as a source of security and identity for many, domestic tinkering is reemerging as a legitimate vocation. Practices of repair, crafting, invention, building and improvising that take place in Australia’s sheds, backyards, paddocks, kitchens and home-workshops are becoming a vital part of our informal economy and social cohesion, complicating distinctions between work and leisure, amateur and professional, production and consumption. Equal parts field guide and love letter, Tinkering mounts a case for the profound value of domestic tinkering in contemporary Australia.
Cooking with Kindness by Pam Ahern & Edgar’s Mission
This is an accessible, wide-ranging and lovely vegan cookbook. 50 generous chefs from around Australia share their secret recipes for cruelty-free cooking – from breakfast bowls and pancakes to vegan ‘comfort food’, mains and decadent desserts. In addition, royalties from the sale of this cookbook go to Edgar’s Mission, a not-for-profit sanctuary that provides a safe haven for rescued farmed animals.
Heartwood by Rowan Reid
In Heartwood, forest scientist Rowan Reid draws on over 20 years of experience and study to argue that growing trees for profit can have a positive environmental impact. He offers a scientific view on how anyone with the necessary land and time can grow their own trees and profit from them while improving the soil, water and ecosystem.
The Apartment House by Cameron & Butler Bruhn
The Apartment House is a stylish argument to downsize. From suburban duplexes to medium-density apartment blocks and vertical living in twin towers, this book explores some of the best examples of contemporary multi-residential projects. Whether newly built or renovated, each project demonstrates the importance of the relationship between density and amenity, whilst showcasing the benefits of living in closer proximity to one another.
Also see Small House Living by Catherine Foster.
Spinifex Gum
Spinifex Gum is a powerful and sonically innovative project that entwines creative voices from the length, breadth and depth of Australia to mine the heart of its land, its people, its history and inevitably its politics. Created by the Cat Empire’s Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill for Marliya, of Gondwana Choirs, this self-titled album features guest vocalists Briggs, Peter Garrett and Emma Donovan).
