There’s no question that I want to go to Harvard. Even at my age. If nothing more than to take Shelley Carson’s course, Creativity: Madmen, Geniuses, and Harvard Students. This is a woman who loves to teach. And is a Rockstar at it. That much I know is true after reading her instructive and interactive book, Your Creative Brain. There are dozens of books on creativity. Most focused on demystifying
What a surprise The Kinfolk Entrepreneur was. I discovered it in the Business—Startup section of my local Barnes & Noble. I thought it was a beautiful coffee table book that profiled entrepreneurs, and it is, but not of the traditional “startup” kind often associated with technology and Silicon Valley. It’s a beautiful book. And it profiles entrepreneurs. But they are entrepreneurs of a different sort: the creatives—i.e., the fashion designers,
I first read On Writing five years ago as I was working on the manuscript for my children’s book. I loved it. I read On Writing again last week as I was gathering inspiration for an article on creativity. I loved it. If you want to be a writer, read this book. If you want to be a creative and live the creative life, read this book. Or, if you
There’s a lot of meaty goodness to Creativity, and some sleepy time too, but overall it’s insightful and instructional. The backbone of Creativity is interviews with 91 exceptional individuals by Csikszentmihalyi and his students at the University of Chicago. Their primary goal? To demystify the creative process. But before we delve into the guts of the book, let’s start with Csikszentmihalyi’s presuppositions: 1. Creativity is defined as “a process by
I’ve been reading a lot of books on creativity lately—most by 20th-century scholars. They offer intriguing insights but are also a tad heady and dry to consume. Wired to Create is not a compendium of sober research. It’s a highly readable, fun peek into creative minds—something to devour in full on a quiet, snowy Sunday. And why wouldn’t it be? It’s inspired by Gregoire’s hit Huff Post article “18 Things
Wonderland is a refreshing take on a world (and people) that takes itself (themselves) entirely too seriously at times. The premise of the book is that many significant advances in society got their start in amusement—our amusement. According to the author, the book is “a history of play, a history of pastimes that human beings have concocted to amuse themselves as an escape from the daily grind of subsistence.” The
Let Me Out: Unlock Your Creative Mind and Bring Your Ideas to Life by Peter Himmelman My rating: 4 of 5 stars Sussman Lawrence was a staple in Minneapolis' indie rock scene when I was growing up. And band member, Peter Himmelman, who went on to pursue a solo career, was a local hero. Like millions of other Americans in his fifties, he found himself and his ways outdated and
