Creative Reading

Having a positive relationship with creativity is extremely important to me. I have always created things, and found value not just in what I made but in the spiritual happenings of the creative act. Because I love reading I have cultivated quite a collection of books focused on creativity.

You can find most of my creative reading collection below along with whatever thoughts first come to mind as I pick up each book in the here and now:

The Artists Way - Julia Cameron
1. I have such fondness for this book, because it pulled me from the pits of depression. I was walking around the nearby pond during my lunch break in the dead of winter, wondering when my life became so dull. I stared at the gray dead of nature and worried about my student debt, why I had spent years of my life convincing myself that my interest in the sciences was enough to pursue them as a career, why my life falling so far away from what I had always envisioned for myself. I needed serious guidance, and I had heard the Artist's Way was coaching in book form and decided to give it a go. With Cameron's weekly guidance, I found myself seeking the joyful passions of my childhood. Feelings of failure and pessimism that had clouded my every thought seemed to clear with every lesson. I recommend this read to anyone hoping to get their childlike joy back. Whether you want to be an artist or not, I agree with Cameron when she says that "creativity is the natural order of life." But if you are an artist, I feel this is a must read. Elizabeth Gilbert is quoted on the back saying "without the Artist's Way, there would be no eat pray love".
Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert
1. You can see the influence of The Artist's Way very strongly in Gilbert's own writings on creativity. There is incredible value in what she writes here, condensing and modernizing the lessons from the inspiration, and saving you from the weekly homework.
Steal Like An Artist - Austin Kleon
1. I read this years ago now, and could probably use a refresher. This book is small with lots of pictures, making it an easy one to pour through when you need that quick reminder that no artist on the planet has come without influence of others.
Show Your Work - Austin Kleon
1. Same author as the last, but this time focusing on not just the act of creativity, but the importance of putting your work out where others can see it.
Put Your Mother On The Ceiling - Richard De Mille
1. One of the most prized books in my collection, though it focuses on imagination and not creativity. But you may find this book giving you a confidence in your ideas and choices that you make when building your own worlds. It did for me.
The Art of Creative Thinking - Rod Judkins
1. We have made it to the part of the list that discusses books I have thrifted but have yet to read. And what can I say about them really?
The Origins of Creativity - Edward O. Wilson
Creativity: Genius and Other Myths - Robert W. Weisberg
1. Just the title alone gives me a stroke of confidence.
The Creative Act: A Way of Being - Rick Rubin