I want to start sharing monthly book reviews on my blog, since Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Big Magic has been quite popular in creative circles I thought I would start with it. I bought the book the first day it came out, before I had really read any reviews. I have a lot of respect for the author and I was curious what she had to say. Shortly after I purchased it reviews started pouring in, it seemed like every coach or creative on the plant had read the book and they were raving about it. I read phrases like,“it is completely breaking me open” and “unlike anything I have ever read before”. It seemed to me that everyone on the planet wanted to write the most flattering review in hope that Elizabeth herself would read it. I will admit it turned me off and the book sat on my end table for about three months before I picked it up.
I won’t say the book is “life changing” or that I am “broken open” but what I will say is that the book is good and definitely worth the read. I have highlighted entire chapters and many little sticky tabs peek out of my copy marking passages I want to easily access to read again and again. I this book I find her to be very realistic and honest. She doesn’t hesitate to talk about how hard she had to work for her success or the fact that for most of her career she held a second job to pay the bills. I must admit there are a lot of gems in this book. I love how she talks about our ideas as living things and how if we have an idea and we don’t act on it the idea will move on and find someone else who will, how’s that for motivation to beat resistance! She also speaks about how there is room for all of us in the world of creativity and measuring our worth not by our success or failures but by our dedication to our path as creatives. The story about the poet Ruth Stone blew me away (I’m not going to tell it here, you will have to get the book) and what she says about how the Romans view genius really got me to thinking.
Overall what this book reinforced for me is my own personal philosophy that we are all creatives, whether we accept it or not. To be human is to be a creative. In the book she states, “Are you considering becoming a creative person? Too late you already are one. To even call somebody “a creative person” is almost laughably redundant; creativity is the hallmark of our species”. YES!!! I agree!
Whether you view yourself as creative or not I do recommend reading this book, not because the book itself will change your life but it might just get you embrace your own inner creativity and that I do know will change your life.
You can find the book on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.