Books & Music...

"Yo momma" jokes were always a sure-fire way to get you amped up and defending your mother. They would compel you to defend her honor even if you had decided you were never speaking to her again after the big blow up you had over keeping your room clean the previous night. As the time-honored tradition of giving mom one day for all she did for you nears and we look for great last-minute gifts, I believe a green book is a great place to start. And there's no better way to explain the book "yo momma" should receive from you than with some classic "yo momma" one-liners.

1. "Yo momma sold her car for gas money." If your mom is someone who just doesn't get the "green thing" or thinks it's too difficult, make it easy for her with Crissy Trask's book It's Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living.

2. "Yo momma got locked in a grocery store and starved." If your mom enjoys spending hours in the garden, ecourage her to do it the natural way with Douglas Tallamy's book Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens.

3. "Yo momma thinks a quarterback is a refund." Who doesn't like to save money while they're purchasing their favorite products? If your mom qualifies as a frequent (and big) spender, give her Diane McEachern's new book Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World.

4. "Your mom goes to college." So, the one-liner from "Napoleon Dynamite" isn't exactly old school, but it is popular enough to show up on bartenders' t-shirts where I live in Boise. And if your mom is the pensive intellectual type, consider buying Bill McKibben's latest book Deep Economy.

5. "Yo momma plugged a hole in the ozone layer." If your mom thinks her giant SUV is saving the planet because of all the recycled cans she can collect in it or believes the energy crisis can't be solved and has given up hope, give her some hope this Mother's Day. Purchase a copy of Jay Inslee and Bracken Hendricks' book Apollo's Fire: Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy.

If you really want to make a statement, plant a tree for the book you give her by visiting Eco-Libris. And whatever you give her, make sure your mom knows how much you love and appreciate her.