Susan Scott

At our house, Alternatives is a keeper; as with great cookbooks, we mark up our favourite articles and save them for future reference. I also keep Orion’s gorgeous photos and impassioned essays, and together, the sumptuous American magazine and its savvy northern cousin keep my family on a balanced diet of smart environmental thinking.

Still, when I want lasting nourishment I turn to books. Magazines, like newspapers and the web, connect me to the conversation grid, but they can’t replace the staying power, the gravitas, of books. That’s why I’m staring down the recession by beefing up my booklist.