Since I first posted this blog nearly two years ago, I’ve read so many more books that shake things up I thought it was time to add a few more. The first five on the list are the newest additions to a growing list of books that help me on this whacky, precarious, but fulfilling creative journey. I put Donald Miller’s book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, first because it is JUST THAT GOOD. He’s kind of like a female Anne Lamott — simultaneously irreverent and poignant.
This book selection helps me think out-of-the-box about my life and my work. The books are not just for artists — they get you thinking no matter what you do. Some are practical guides; some are memoirs of people courageously changing their own paths. All are good.
- A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (What I Learned While Editing My Life),Donald Miller
- The War of Art, Steven Pressfield (see my blog on this fabulous book)
- Art & Fear, David Bayles and Ted Orland
- The Artist in the Office: How to Creatively Survive and Thrive Seven Days a Week, Summer Pierre
- Daring Greatly, Brene Brown
- The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron with Mark Bryan
- Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott
- The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life, Twyla Tharp
- Steering by Starlight: Find Your Right Life No Matter What!, Martha Beck
- Are You Somebody? The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman, Nuala O’Faolain
- Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard, Liz Murray
- The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life, Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
- Lit: A Memoir, Mary Karr
- Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer
- Sabbath, Wayne Muller
- A Season for The Spirit, Martin Smith