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toniclark's review against another edition
5.0
thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is about creativity, but more importantly, perhaps, about having a rich inner life. And both of those things are available to everyone. The book is about approaching one’s art — but also living one’s life — with curiosity and intention. It also provides a fascinating look inside Wood’s own creative process. This is definitely not a creativity how-to book, but rather a rich exploration of creative ideas and of the ocean of meaning that lies beneath the literal surface of life.
I heard about the book through the wonderful Diving In Podcast.
I heard about the book through the wonderful Diving In Podcast.
essjay1's review against another edition
5.0
A book for the permanent section on your shelf with reflections on creativity and resilience and much more. A book for readers and anyone who appreciates the many and varied ways creativity plays a role in our lives.
alananewport's review against another edition
5.0
Charlotte Wood delves into the questions and conundrums which confront writers, and the creative life, but this book is bigger than that too. Parts of it are a meditation on how we think and interpret life and living. She doesn’t preach, but sets out ideas and then twists them back and forth.
The chapters on intuition, aging, the value of disturbing our ingrained thinking and the value of sharing ideas and learning from others were all so interesting in a broader life context. I enjoyed considering whether ‘relatable’ is a good thing, and to seek out ‘radical otherness” in art, ideas, words to ‘force me to think’ (here she challenges our complacency with what we think to be true).
There’s plenty here for writers to absorb too, and of course Wood explores it all with precision, no sentimentality but always with thoughtful interrogation. An excellent read.
The chapters on intuition, aging, the value of disturbing our ingrained thinking and the value of sharing ideas and learning from others were all so interesting in a broader life context. I enjoyed considering whether ‘relatable’ is a good thing, and to seek out ‘radical otherness” in art, ideas, words to ‘force me to think’ (here she challenges our complacency with what we think to be true).
There’s plenty here for writers to absorb too, and of course Wood explores it all with precision, no sentimentality but always with thoughtful interrogation. An excellent read.
_lish_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
pipnewman's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
3.5
susannes_pagesofcrime's review against another edition
2.5
I found this one to be interesting at times but also quite self indulgent and a bit preachy which put me off.
zoevjester's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Definitely rushed it, but will definitely reread in the future because there are a lot of interesting points that I want to take the time to properly reflect on.