Best Beach Reads 2012: Green Home And Gardening Books For The Summer

The Best Summertime Eco-Home And Garden Reads

Now that I have my first official sunburn of the season — a 5-mile bike ride followed by a few rounds of skee ball on the boardwalk will do that to you — I thought it would be appropriate to feature a few items that I'm eyeing for one of my favorite non-biking/skee ball-related summertime activities: catching up on my reading.

Below you'll find a dozen freshly (or fresh-ish) released or soon-to-be-released summer books covering sustainable home design, building and architecture, gardening, and renovation/remodeling. I've also included hotly anticipated releases from both the first lady of the United States and the first lady of home decor catalog snark, Molly Erdman (seriously, if you've never met "Gary" and "Elaine" before, than this summer is the perfect time to do so). While they may not be ideal beach reads in terms of physical size and subject matter, there's nothing stopping you from settling down with these inspirational and informative tomes out on the porch swing, backyard hammock, or from the comfort of a bench in a local park.

Is there a green home- or garden-centric book that you're looking forward to spending some quality time with this summer?

List and captions courtesy of the Mother Nature Network

Summer Reading Guide

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