Great concept, and a good reminder to be less selfish and think about the planet and our future generations. However, I just didn't find this book very exciting or enthralling, and as someone who (shamefully) doesn't know much about environmental issues, I had hoped this book would do more for me.

I found this interesting and accessible but the PETA endorsement left me cold. I find it very hard to trust a book when it's supported by what could be called terrorists. Looking past this, there are some very clever and simple ideas for changing your daily, weekly practices. This is a solid 4 but given a 3 because of PETA.

A lot of great tips for how to be more conscious of consumption and of the environment more broadly, but most of them are old hat and many are from a super privileged perspective, not to mention coming from a place of no consideration for those without ability/access to partake (so much straw talk without ever once mentioning that straws are a necessity for many who are disabled). The animal talking points are straight from PETA and look, I'm an animal lover, but even my passion for animals can be suspended a bit when the discussion is "some studies have shown" and "undercover investigations have shown" without a lot of real details or further evidence to back it up. This doesn't happen in other sections of the book.

It's fine, but nothing new or insightful, and I listened to the audiobook cringing in the parts where the author -- who reads it -- tries to be hip and cool and down with the kids

A timely exploration of subtle ways you can reduce your environmental impact in your day to day life.

I love how the book is sub-divided, so if you are most concerned about a particular aspect of your life, like your home consumption, you can go straight to that section. But the book is comprehensive, addressing all areas of people lives and little (and big) things you can do to help the environment and the world.

The only problem is with the title including an expletive it can be hard to search on book-selling sites because you have to enter the asterix into the title.

I freaking LOVED this. I love the switch from the usual preach-y ways, Ashlee is like that no nonsense, no filter best friend that you absolutely love because she tells it like it is. SO applicable and yeah, definitely one you'll want to read again.

I loved this book! Ashlee's take on doing good for the animals, the planet, and for ourselves is exactly the message that needs to be put out right now. If we can get everyone to give a sh*t, everyone and everything will be much better off. Highly recommended!

This book is such a great guide on helping anyone, even me, live a more eco-friendly life. When you think of living eco-friendly, you're probably like me, you don't know where on earth to start, this book clears out all the fog and provides an easy guide for making the changes needed to make our planet a better place. I loved this book and it made me feel more powerful and gave me much needed inspiration about giving a shit!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy. This book is straightforward and concise. The author does a great job at breaking up green living into multiple categories that aren't intimidating or confusing. This book is helpful for giving the reader an idea of what they can do when they want to have an ecofriendly lifestyle but don't know where to start.

This book was also a nice read because it didn't feel pretentious or over researched. There were a few moments where it felt a little "preachy" but overall I think the guide aspect of it was helpful.

This book really made me think about things. I realized how much more I could be doing for the environment. It’s not just recycling. There’s so much more. Really made me think. Gave great tips!

This book is more about not only doing good for YOU but for the entire plant. It was a bit boring to me or school if you may same stuff we have been hearing since the early years but it is prob. okay for most.

I was not able to download this book, but was able to read a print copy when it became available. It was an amazing book that makes you open your eyes to try to live a greener life.

We are the ones we have been waiting for…

Truly, we have to step up, and I hoped Give a Sh*t. Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet. would help me do it. But I have a love/hate relationship with Give a Sh*t. I wanted to love it, and there’s a lot to love. Ashlee Piper has boatloads of passion and has given a lot of thought to various ways to minimize our carbon footprint, waste less, and save money. There are some wonderful lists of hints and tips, and I absolutely adore her kit that she takes with her everywhere that lets her eat out without creating more trash; it has utensils, a napkin, a tiffin, a canning jar, etc. Everything you need to eat somewhere without piling up paper and plastic trash. Just neatly convenient and environmentally thoughtful. There are lots of other great tips, many of which we’ve seen before, but it’s really nice to have them all in one place. I’d like to see even more. In many ways, this would be a great book to hand to someone who is absolutely clueless about the environment and who is just getting started on this road.

But I’m aware, as is most of the universe, that global warming is an issue, we need to repurpose and recycle, and I wanted a handbook – a true handbook. I already make my own tooth powder, body powder, carbonated water, etc., and do such things as eschew almost all prepared foods (I buy some flatbreads) and I cook from scratch, ferment foods, buy a lot of bulk, and carry my own shopping bags everywhere (which is one of her tips that I think the most oblivious person knows we ought to do). That’s where this book is disappointing. The cover states that this is a practical handbook, but in reality Piper has done a lot of preaching to the choir, and the practical lists and recipes are relegated to second place behind a whole lot of passionate soapboxing. If you’re looking for boatloads of statistics and cases, and you haven’t been watching the news or following current science trends, it might all be new to you, but I got really bored at times.

In addition, Piper needs an editor. It’s not “the Great Salk Lake,” commas should stay in their place (as should all punctuation and spacing), and the answer to a comparative question should not be “no.” Example from the book: “Does said coffee taste better when it’s made in one of those wasteful K-Cup things or via a no-energy-required French press? Answer: no.” If the “or” was changed to “rather than” or something similar, it would be correct, otherwise, it just makes you do a double-take for a second to reread it and realize what she meant. Another example: “Animal testing, also known as vivisection…” Vivisection is not a synonym for all animal testing, although animal testing can include vivisection, not all animal testing is vivisection. Vivisection specifically refers to actual surgery and invasive cutting procedures performed on a living animal. (Although, to be clear, animal testing - especially on cosmetics, cleaning supplies, etc. - is still illogical, cruel, and unnecessary.) Another error: “London recently wrangled a 130-ton fatberg that cost $130 million a month to dismantle.” It took three weeks to dismantle that particular fatberg, and the $130 million per month is how much is spent cleaning up all the fatbergs that occur in the London sewers. If Piper makes errors with facts that we know, how can we trust her to accurately report those that we are not familiar with? I’d keep quoting errors, but I’ve already created a wall of text. These are things that an editor should have caught and corrected.

In addition, I believe a good editor might have suggested that Piper started with more practical actionable information at the beginning of the book, rather than the heavy-handed global warming treatment. That call to arms has been done so many times before, and it causes this book to lose its stated function as a handbook that will guide us room-by-room through our homes with tactics for a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

In addition, it is directly stated in the book’s description that it will be nonjudgmental, while, in fact, Piper is extremely judgmental in multiple places, which she explains away saying that she isn’t giving any room in certain areas because the truth is the truth, etc. Well, everyone’s truth is different, and my truth is that I don’t believe veganism is the be-all and end-all for everyone, and we shouldn’t judge those who don’t eat that way or who don’t do every step exactly the way we do our lifestyle. A person isn’t tolerant just by saying they’re going to be tolerant; they actually have to tolerate other views and act tolerantly. Sometimes others are going to follow a path that isn’t exactly the same as ours, but they won’t be wrong. (“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” F. Scott Fitzgerald)

I’m concerned by some of Piper’s recipes and suggestions, for example: Piper uses all-purpose flour in her recipes, which is one of the least nutritious, horrid-to-the-earth monocultured grains ever. She espouses almond milk which takes more water than cow milk to produce. Plus her recipes call for superfine sugar. White sugar is simply empty calories with zero nutrition, and one of the most abused crops as far as unfair labor practices and land abuse. In her defense, she does mention buying fair trade in a different part of the book, but never mentions fair trade sugar, coffee, or cocoa/chocolate, three of the most important items that you should always buy fair trade only. She only mentions checking for fair trade coconut oil and shea butter. Another concern: Piper states that people and/or companies can offset their carbon footprint by paying for carbon credits, which in no way addressees the real problem, but is bribing one’s way out of it, which I think should be counterintuitive to a true eco-friendly lifestyle.

I want to mention, since I received an ARC, that the typos and errors I mention exist in the finished book. I bought and read the published Kindle version of the book as I requested the NetGalley proof the day before the book was published and didn’t have time to read it, so switched to the real deal, as I was so pumped by the idea of this book that I went ahead and pre-ordered it.

Overall, there is some good information in this book, but I fear it is overshadowed by the presentation and the errors and inaccuracies, so I can give it only two stars. I’d give this book one star, but I feel very strongly that this could be a much better book, and even as it is, beginners to an eco-friendly lifestyle would find it more useful than someone who has already started on that journey (but then again, do we want them reading such inaccuracies and thinking they are correct?), so I’m bumping it up to two stars, which is below average. Despite the book's problems, I found myself still reading on, looking for more good practical tips. I find myself conflicted, but I cannot rate it any higher or give it an unqualified recommendation.

Great job Ashlee! This book was a box full of sunshine! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

Do you wish that you were living a better life? Doing good not only for yourself but for your nation and the entire planet? Ashlee Piper is here to tell you how to do it all in a series of essays and bulleted lists. Is any of it particularly new or astonishing? No. Is it filled with popular vernacular that would make it more suited to a popular blog than a book that is trying to make a difference in the world? "Yas." It may not bother some readers but it began to be tedious as the book went on.
This is a book that is trying to make a difference in the world, good on it.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out June 26
ARC kindly provided by Net Galley

I enjoyed reading this book. I am moving with a small list of actions that I would start doing to make my life greener. Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy of this book.

With all the talk about caring for the planet and being eco-friendly, all of us want to contribute to the topic. But in practise, where does one start? What is the game plan?

For a simple and easy beginning, this book is apt. It gets you started on the journey and then you can do more research about being more effective. Excellent start for going that extra mile,

Have you always wanted to live a more sustainable eco-friendly life but didn't know where to start? Then this is the book for you. Ashlee Piper has written an easy and humorous guide to making changes that help our planet.
It has a non-judgmental tone and the author encourages you to make easy shifts in your life to protect our planet.

I would recommend this to those looking for a bit of a counter argument to The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, but both balance each other out well. Will do well circulating at public libraries.