Year of No Garbage, by Eve O. Schaub

Stoneham Reads is once again igniting the spirit of literary exploration and community engagement with the launch of its annual program. This year, we proudly announce a theme that centers on both our town and the planet, exploring themes of sustainability and environmental stewardship: Stoneham Reads: Small Steps to Sustainability. 

The Stoneham Reads program has been bringing residents together for the past several years through the shared experience of reading and discussing a carefully selected book. This year, we’ve elected to think about how we can individually and collectively be more sustainable, and support a healthy environment.

We’re selecting two books; one for the spring, and one for the fall. Our spring selection is “Year of No Garbage” by Eve O. Schaub. 

“Year of No Garbage: Recycling Lies, Plastic Problems, and One Woman's Trashy Journey to Zero Waste” takes a humorous but pointed look at one family’s attempt at going “zero waste” to reduce their impact on the planet. Both hilarious and sobering, Schaub’s witty recounting of her family’s challenges focuses an important lens on the amount of waste, particularly plastic, that we all produce each day.

While going “zero waste” may not feel possible, the book offers some reasonable and achievable options for reducing environmental impact and increasing sustainability. Through the year, Stoneham Reads will host events and share resources that will allow the community to find small steps they can take to increase their own sustainability in a way that feels manageable and meaningful. 

Stoneham Reads looks forward to announcing our fall selection a little later this year, and will also make available a carefully curated list of other books for all age ranges that fit with our theme of increasing the impact of our actions while reducing our impact on the environment.