Siesta Lane: A Year Unplugged, Or, the Good Intentions of Ten People, Two Cats, One Old Dog, Eight A

A poet at heart, Amy Minato rejects her life of consumption in Chicago to go back to nature - specifically, to a commune in Oregon, where she rediscovers herself. She also cops occasionally to the pretentiousness of her mission, and laughs along with the reader at her attempts to be both environmentally friendly and sane, considering the fact that she's moved in with a bunch of strangers in a remote locale.

Jan Muir, a relative of the great environmentalist John Muir, lends her beautiful black-and-white illustrations to the book.

Written with a grace and clarity of vision reminiscent of Annie Dillard's prose, Siesta Lane is both a practical case study in living green, and the heartwarming story of a modern idealist who dives headfirst into the fray and discovers just what it takes to live a year unplugged.

This is a must-read for armchair adventurers and a perfect, engaging primer for anyone who wants to stride confidently into the new, environmentally-conscious 21st century.