Update: this book giveaway has concluded, thank you all for participating!

When you think about sustainable landscaping, you probably consider water efficiency and using low-maintenance native plantings.  But do you think about energy efficiency?  Cooling the air, cooling the ground, and harnessing the sun, wind, and water?  Landscape architect Sue Reed has put together a comprehensive resource on the topic in Energy-Wise Landscape Design: A New Approach for your Home and Garden.  In the new book by New Society Publishers, Reed explains how to save money and energy, while creating a beautiful and natural landscape.

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To be considered for this random giveaway, leave a comment below through the end of Friday, May 14, 2010.*

Abrams was kind enough to send us a copy of Sheri Koones’ most recent book on modular homes, Prefabulous and Sustainable.  Considering we’ve published over 250 articles on various green prefabs, you can say this book is right up our alley.  Indeed, it’s a veritable treasure trove of inspiration for prefab enthusiasts and well worth the cover price of $25.

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To be considered for this giveaway, leave a comment below by the end of Thursday, April 8, 2010.*

Shedworking, a term coined by freelancer Alex Johnson, refers to the art of working from home in a shed-like space separate from the house.  Johnson has been at the forefront of this movement with his popular Shedworking site.  He's also the author of a book on the topic, which is due to hit the shelves in June 2010.  We've been granted early access to Shedworking: The Alternative Workplace Revolution and will give it away as part of this comment contest. 

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We are giving away one (1) copy of this book to a random commenter, so make sure to comment before the end of Friday, March 12, 2010.*

Solar power is exploding these days, what with generous financial incentives and the price of products going down.  All sort of people are looking at the technology to provide green power, but they need good information.  One place to find that is in a new book called Solar Basics by Neil Kaminar.   Kaminar, a solar engineer with nearly 40 years of industry experience, explains most of what you need to know about solar modules and how to make a solar system work. 

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Elizabeth Rogers, co-author of The Green Book, has a new book being published this week called Shift Your Habit, and we've been given a review copy.  Shift Your Habit is more of a resource book or a toolkit of ideas, rather than something that you would read on a snowy day, but I guess you could do that, too.  The premise is that moderation is revolutionary, or more specifically, that living greener doesn't just help the planet but it helps you save money. 

Thus, save money and save the planet at the same time.  It's a theme that's been played out quite regularly in the media with headlines like "Earn green by going green."  But that's not to say there's no value in the message. 

Rogers actually quantifies the incremental, monetary benefit to shifting your habit from one behavior to another.  And she does this with hundreds and hundreds of eco-friendly tips, just like this one:

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