Book Club
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‘The only failure would be to do nothing at all’
Spotlighting some of the inspiring women leading the charge for a better world.
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How to make your New Year’s resolutions a little less self-centered
In 2018, try making your usual self improvement about world improvement. Maybe it'll stick this time.
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Ask Umbra Book Club: Is minimalism just for the rich?
Is a streamlined life something only a privileged elite can afford? Ask Umbra explores.
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Ask Umbra Book Club: How sustainable is minimalism?
Welcome to the first day of discussing Ask Umbra's July book club pick, The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Living Guide.
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Ask Umbra’s Book Club announces ‘The Joy of Less’ is next book
Dearest readers, Spring cleaning has gotten me thinking about de-cluttering — and the larger minimalist movement. It sure feels great to get rid of things we no longer use or need, but what’s to stop us from just filling up our lives with more stuff? Minimalism and environmentalism have a lot in common — enough […]
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Ask Umbra Book Club: How coal lit a fire under human society
Bring in the chimney sweep!Photo: Thiophene GuyDearest readers, In our last book club conversation about Bill Bryson’s At Home: A Short History of Private Life, we discussed some of the sordid history of the food we eat. Now let’s turn our attention to the way we heat. Back in the Middle Ages, people were in […]
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Ask Umbra Book Club: The history of ‘adulterated’ food and gross-food urban legends
Give us this day our daily bread, as long as we know what went into it.Photo: LaCheryl PorterDearest readers, Last week, we kicked off our discussion of Bill Bryson’s At Home: A Short History of Private Life. You can catch up here. Let’s move our conversation into what is perhaps the heart of a house: […]
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Ask Umbra Book Club: Did Paleolithic hunter-gatherers eat healthier than we do today?
Corn of plenty? Maybe not so much.Photo: Big Grey MareDearest readers, Welcome to the second day of our conversation of At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson. You can catch up on yesterday’s chat here. If you have yet to get a copy of the book, jump in anyway. As a […]
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Ask Umbra Book Club: What makes a home?
Home is where the art is. And the war too.Photo: Stefano ADearest readers, Welcome to February’s book club conversation. I hope you’ve gotten some good couch time in at home to read At Home: A Short History of Private Life, by Bill Bryson. If you haven’t been able to cozy up next to this “history […]