The other day, while going down the rabbit hole that is also known as Google, I stumbled upon an astonishing fact that, quite frankly… stunned me.
And seasoned Legionnaires know full well that’s no easy feat.
It came in the form of a striking headline claiming that physical books are responsible for felling — get this — 340 million trees per year. Yes… M for million. To put that into perspective, that’s roughly the size of Ireland’s County Cork (the largest county in Ireland)… about the same size as Puerto Rico or Brunei… larger than Delaware (U.S.)… or, for football fans in the Legion (myself included)…
That’s equivalent to 1.6 million football fields.
Mind-blowing stuff when you think about it.
Now listen, I’m far from ever being on Greta Thunberg’s Christmas card list, but even I winced a little as I read that article.
And (admittedly) I’d be lying if it didn’t make me feel a smidge better about only selling e-books at my Storehouse for now. Of course, I’m looking to change that later this year, but until then, I guess I’m in Greenpeace’s good graces?
But therein lies the problem.
Doing “our bit” for this ball of rock is usually a self-sacrificing endeavour (if you’ve ever sucked on a paper straw for longer than 5 minutes, you’ll know this).
And if we don’t?
We’re labelled as uncaring leeches.
However, in the realm of reading, we’re lucky because, unlike milkshakes and frappés, it’s possible to “do our bit” for the planet AND have fun at the same time. Of course, I’m yapping about e-books and audiobooks.
Not only do these mediums help to limit our guilt (which you may or may not feel – no judgment here), but they allow us to carry thousands of books in our pocket at any one time (arguably, the most important perk).
If there’s ever a win-win for the planet and humans, this is one.
There’s just one teeny-weeny problem.
When you buy e-books or audiobooks on places like Amazon, you’re technically “leasing” them. It’s a controversy that’s not just affecting the book publishing industry, but also the video game and movie industry, too.
This is where your Overlord and Saviour comes in, for any e-book you buy at my Storehouse is 100% yours to keep.
You never have to worry about waking up your e-reading device or BookFunnel app to see a new cover, bastardised edition, or God forbid the removal of any of my books (unless you refund, of course).
And any updates that I might make to my books are entirely yours to accept or reject.
Such are the perks of purchasing directly at my bazaar.
Perks that extend to all of my wares, which you can find with Greenpeace’s eternal gratitude here:
DJJW