A very quick Year of Creative Reading post.
As it turns out, even though I’m taking an online class with the Loft Literary Center, I have managed to read two books since the class started at the beginning of July. Admittedly, both were easy reads, which is why I could fit them in with the reading I’m doing for class.
One book doesn’t really match the theme of creative reading. It is “Jon Acuff’s “Do Over: Rescue Monday, Reinvent Your Work, and Never Get Stuck.” Sorry, I forgot to get a pic before returning it to the library.
“Do Over” has useful advice for people at any stage of their career and Acuff provides a few exercises (and a healthy dose of humor) that get you thinking about your Career Savings Account (relationships, skills, character, & hustle) in unusual, but productive ways.
The second book I read most assuredly fits the theme of creative reading, although it is not on my original creative reading list. It is Danny Gregory’s “Art Before Breakfast: A Zillion Ways to Be More Creative No Matter How Busy You Are.”
This book is fun, fun, fun! And it makes me want to draw, and draw some more. And that’s a good thing because it is encouraging not only for those of us who are experienced artists, but for beginning artists, too. Gregory attempts to take the stress out of feeling like you don’t know how to draw by providing easy exercises from the get-go. He reminds artists of the myriad subjects just waiting to be drawn.
I highly recommend this delightful book, however I need to quibble with the subtitle. When I read “A Zillion Ways to Be More Creative,” I expect a whole bunch of different ways to be creative, not one way (drawing) that can be applied to a zillion subjects. Not that there is anything wrong with sticking to one way of being creative. I love that the book focuses on drawing, just as Twyla Tharp’s “The Creative Habit” comes from the perspective of a dancer. Diving deep into one topic and pushing it is a great method for stretching creativity. Nope, it’s just the subtitle that’s bugging me. If I’d had my druthers, the subtitle would be “A No-Stress Guide to Increasing Your Creativity Through Drawing.” But that’s just me.
Ignore the subtitle and read the book. 🙂