The Somewhat Amusing Ideas of Ian Stewart

I don’t read a lot of horror but I have read some. Stephen King? Not so scary. The scariest books I’ve read are few and likely different than yours. And I can’t even remember the titles of all of them. Ready? Here they are, presented in chronological order for me, that is, the order I read them in.

Everything by H.G. Wells

H.G. Wells, I would so write you a letter for ruining my childhood if it weren’t for the fact that you were dead. Plus, being dead there’s always the slim chance you might haunt me—further compounding my suffering. You see, growing up, I was quite sure there were Morlocks in my closet. That little black circle on the calender, the new moon, made me want to cry. Plus, The Red Room! Good grief! Who let me read The Red Room when I slept in a red room while visiting my Grandmother? And while The Invisible Man wasn’t quite so scary I really didn’t need to know that vivisecting cats was a necessary step in discovering invisibility.

Unremembered Horror Titles

When I was in grade six, and eleven or twelve years old, someone brought their parent’s collection of Horror novels to school. I read two of them. One was called The Sandman, I think. I probably read it because I thought it might have something to do with Spider-Man. But both were written in what I presume follows The Amityville style (I don’t really read Horror remember so forgive me if this is completely wrong). A realistic account of a family’s haunting, building from small visitations up to full-on demonic experiences that are so far-fetched they can’t be believed—unless you’re eleven. I didn’t get a lot of sleep that year. Plus, these two books are personally notable for me developing my odd theory that ignorance of religion kept you safe from hauntings; the ghosts seemed to only bug religious folks.

1984

If I can’t communicate essential human ideas because the tools to do so have been taken away from me, am I still human? I still remember vividly my initial shock from first reading 1984. Of course it’s not just frightening but incredibly sad and it’s overwhelming hopelessness and negativity is somewhat inspiring, that is: don’t let this happen to you. I rarely think of it as a science-fiction showpiece (sci-fi geeks love pointing at 1984 in defense). It’s horror for me.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

And lastly, one of the stupidest books I’ve ever read, a kid’s book, is also one of the scariest. The idea that someone thinks boring, terribly written garbage is somehow acceptable for kids fills me with Lovecraftian dread (speaking of, it’s the idea of unknowable whistling octopuses from beyond we Lovecraft fans find frightening—not the actual thing itself) . Here’s a sample page I saved before it hit the trash.

Yikes! Papa Bear’s feeling stabby again.

More Scary Stories for Halloween

There’s two days left till Halloween. If you’ve got any scary stories yourself why not blog about them and link back here so we can read them or post a comment. I can’t be the only guy around still afraid of Morlocks can I?

As if I wasn’t anxious enough about my reading habits: Did you know about 20 million trees are being cut down a year to produce books—just for the U.S.? I didn’t. To be honest, it never even crossed my mind. Thankfully, I’ve got Eco-Libris to set me straight. Eco-Libris will plant a tree for every book you read—making you look like less of an oblivious planet-killer (that would be me) in the process.

This is how it works: Send Eco-Libris 5 dollars and they’ll plant five trees in a developing country (where they provide significant value for both the environment and the local communities, according to the site). For every tree you plant you get a sticker. Put it on your books, or better yet, the books you give as gifts, to let others know about the project. Sounds neat to me. But I’m pretty environmentally unconscious so I thought I’d ask co-founder Raz Godelnik a few questions.

How did you get started with Eco-Libris, Raz?

It all started when I was thinking about paper and the environmental impacts of its production. I realized that it might take a while to get to the point where eco-friendly alternatives (from the use of recycled paper to e-books) will replace virgin paper. Then, I talked with some friends about the idea of giving people the opportunity to balance out their paper consumption by planting trees and received good feedbacks about it.

The decision to focus on books was made after learning that only about 5% of the paper used for printing books is made of recycled paper and because most books don’t have yet an online eco-friendly alternative (e-book) like magazines and newspapers have. So if you want a book, you usually can’t avoid purchasing the paper-made version, unless you go to the library or get it from places like bookcrossing.com, which are both excellent choices. You also can’t tell people to stop reading books, so it seemed to me only natural to give book lovers a new alternative to make their reading habit greener - planting trees for the books they read.

I like stickers and all but how to do I know I’m getting more than just stickers? Do I get a picture of my sponsored tree with my name on it? Is there some place I can check in on the projects success?

You won’t receive a picture of your trees as this would involve significant administrative costs. Our planting partners (and actually so do we) prefer to spend this money on planting and taking care of trees. However, we will be posting updates on all planting operations and projects to keep you up to date.

I would like to add that we have partnered with three highly respected US and UK registered non-profit organizations (Sustainable Harvest International, RIPPLE Africa and the Alliance for International Reforestation) that work in collaboration with local communities in developing countries to plant the trees. These trees are planted in high ecological and sustainable standards in Latin America and Africa, where deforestation is a crucial problem, and planting trees not only helps to fight climate change and conserve soil and water, but also benefits many local people, for whom these trees offer many benefits and an opportunity for a better future.

I usually buy used books—but that’s only because I’m cheap. Is there anything else an environmentally concerned reader (or a somewhat amusing cheapskate) can do?

Here are just a few ideas you can easily implement:

1. Join bookcrossing.com - it’s a great place to find (and give) books for free.
2. Support book publishers who print on recycled paper (find more information and a list of them on the Green Press Initiative website)
3. Join your local library. Hidden gems may exist right under your nose!
4. Support publishers who partner with Eco-libris.
5. Borrow a book from a friend. But don’t forget to return it
6. For students - you can rent textbooks via services such as textbookflix.com, which also partnered with Eco-Libris to plant a tree for every book they rent.

Recycled paper for books seems like a no-brainer but how does the paper stand up over time?

Recycled paper has achieved today a very high quality - it meets the same technical specifications and performs as well or even better in some cases than virgin paper. The cost is also more competitive than ever and even capacity is not an issue. Just look at the last Harry Potter that is a bestseller and was printed with partially or fully recycled paper worldwide. We certainly hope Harry Potter will set an example for the entire the book publishing industry.

Thanks for doing this, Raz. While you’re here, do you have any good books to recommend?

Worldchanging: A Users Guide for the 21st Century—a great book for anyone who is curious about the ways we should build the future.

More information, of course, at Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read.