On Books...

Hey there! 
I am going to share a few of my favorite nonfiction reads here with you. I love to read and I try to read widely--across genres and across format. Is there anything more divine than a beautifully wrought picture book? 
A nonfiction book is a winner when I'm left thinking about it long after I have finished it.  I work at a library, so I don't often buy books--unless I know that I will want to reread them again. Little known fact about libraries: they don't keep books forever. Once the public hasn't checked out a book for a number of years, the book moves on to either a library sale or used book vendor or charity that redistributes used materials. Each library has different criteria for how long a book has to sit unused. If you want a place that keeps books forever, you are looking for an archive or a specialty library (so called because they specialize in one area of study). 

All that being said, these books are ones that I own and they are easily found online. I'll re-read at least one of them every year. This year, they have all found their way into my hands. It's been a doozy of a year, I think we can all agree. The one that seems to stick out like a sore thumb is Essentialism​ by Greg McKeown. 

But I find myself relying on this one when I feel pulled in too many directions. It helps me to refocus, and gives me the guidelines that I need in order to weed out the hell yes projects from the just fine projects. Our lives are too precious to spend on projects that don't make us excited. Now, I'm not talking about work per se, but I am talking about the things that you have a choice in. Choose the things that you feel drawn to. This book also helps me at work to identify the best use of my time and how to accomplish the things I have to do, but that I am not excited to do. We all have those projects!

Steal Like an Artist is a fun, quick read. It lays out all the ways you can absorb the world around you to create work that is YOURS and yours alone. In a photoshop-cell phone-copy & paste world, too many people are copying the work of others trying to make it big. Don't do that--it leads to burnout and frustration. Steal Like an Artist has so many great ideas on how to find your creative voice and how to push past creative blocks. 

Big Magic causes me to make a guttural sound that can only be described as: uuuughn. I picked this up after watching Liz Gilbert's TedTalk on the concept of Big Magic and LET ME TELL YOU HOW GREAT IT IS. A mix of personal anecdotes, a dash of mythology, and the whole thing feels like you're in conversation with Liz. This book doesn't down play hard work or failure, but instead encourages the reader to just show up every day and be open to the possibility that TODAY is the day. It's a how-to manual and a pep talk in one book. I love it, you should read it if you are ever feeling stuck or sad or anxious. It's a balm for all of those things.

For technical know-how and a pragmatic approach to drawing, John Muir Laws cannot be beat. I turn to this one time and again when I am looking for guidance on how to draw/paint the world around me. The clear instructions coupled with insights (like: you can't paint a waterfall, you can paint the rocks around the waterfall) have allowed me to push my own work much farther than if I were attempting to go by trial and error. If you are into recording the world around you, I cannot recommend this book enough. 

​So tell me, what are you reading? What are your go-to books when you need a pep talk?