Very rarely will I read a book twice. The only book I remember reading multiple times was The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriot- which in my opinion, is the most perfect fairy tale story to have existed by a debut author. And this was 12 years ago.

But the reason why I re-read that book was fairly to convince myself that I still feel very strongly about it, one. And two, I wanted to write the way she did, where I could inspire some kid, someday about why writing is literally the best thing ever. Because it makes you feel a way nothing else will.

You won’t read a book the second time unless there was a part of yourself that you lost whilst you flip through its pages (or swipe, ebook are welcomed here) and wondered about a sentence you read or a thought you came across, much after you closed the book. The impact it made resonated something strongly within you.

So when I decided to re-read Big Magic, it came with a very strong intention to feel the same way I did when I read it the first time. Which was to be inspired and to motivate myself with a little advice on creativity. Something I desperately needed because the quality of work and writing I procured wasn’t making me feel, proverbially, in a way nothing else will.

(Also my book list for 2020 was getting so morose I had to read something that restored my faith in good, happy writing.)

If you’re new here, this is how I like to break down a book review:

Reviewing the Recipe of a good book: A snap summary of what the book is about.

Bites of the Best Part of the book: What were my favorite parts, quotes and lines.

The Crumbs: The underwhelming parts of the book.

Saving and Savouring: What are the things I learned from this book.

And then I rate the book out of 5 cookies. Because everyone loves a good food reference. And reading a good book is essentially like food for the mind right?

(See what I did there?)

Reviewing the Recipe of Big Magic

From the author of Eat, Pray & Love comes a book about creativity, the bigger forces that come into play when you create and why you need to attribute yourself in certain aspects if you want to keep creating for the rest of your life.

Though she referenced a lot of writing as a form of creation, she also talks about how creating in any aspect, in any value or any art form in itself is a gratifying experience that basically fuels your soul.

And how she treats her creative process that allows her to make art honestly, wholeheartedly, happily and inspiringly. Hopefully showing you meaning in the process of when you make your own art.

Bites Of the Best Part

There are a LOT of good parts in the book, trust me I took 10 pages worth of notes from it, but here are some of the best parts that I loved that really resonated something:

We are all walking repositories of treasure. The oldest and most generous tricks the universe plays on us is bury these strange jewels within us all and stands back to see if we can find them. The hunt to uncover those jewels, that’s creative living.

She talks about the benefits of being creative and how life sometimes feels brighter, happier and fuller because of it. Because you have this part that’s all to yourself, that no one can take away from you. Your ability to create is something that’s entirely yours.

We all need an activity that takes us out of ourselves, our roles in society that help us forget who we are and it relieves us temporarily from the burden of who we are.

How true is this? We all need a healthy, concrete, positive escape from the running race of life. Just for a little while, it gives us breather while we stand to catch our breath in the corner. And how making art or creating something can allow us to do just that.

The Crumbs

Though I did feel at one point that there were certain parts of the book that kept reflecting different parts of the same thought, I later realized that she was trying to give you a perspective about an idea in various ways and degrees. Not really a crumb, but once you get the gist of a thought the first time, the rest are easy to understand.

Saving and Savouring

Yes, you know a book is good when you want to highlight things and underline parts and words in them or make notes about it. So quite fairly, here are some of the important things that I learned as a creative from this book:

Inspiration is quite literally an enigma. It comes as it pleases and leaves when it feels like it. The best you can do for it is to acknowledge this little niggling thought and not complain if it goes away suddenly without rhyme or reason. The more open-hearted you are, the more muses will feel like dropping by your brain. And if you do get frustrated with your art, chances are inspiration would probably fear coming to you again. So don’t be mean, be meaningful.

Everything can remind you of something. You draw inspiration from other works of art, so the fear of it being unauthentic or repeated or even unoriginal should not stop you from creating. Write what you know.

Combinatory play is the act of opening up one mental channel by dabbling into another. Apparently, if you want to solve one problem, you should open a mental space in another that keeps your conscious mind busy so your subconscious mind can think. Yes, daydreaming may debatably be an act of creative thinking! Basically doing something completely the opposite so that you enter into a different avenue of thought space.

Ok, here is the big one: The end result of whatever you create is not sacred, or important. If it is, then you are creating for the wrong reasons, and you shouldn’t be disappointed if it doesn’t make you happy. What you should look for, however is the time you spent on the project that allowed you to think imaginatively and differently. And that freshness in perspective and thought is what you should value.

When you put your work out into the world, the outcome cannot and should not matter. You should continue to create, continue to trust the creative process and you should keep sharing your work regardless of the outcome.

Such is the life of a creative person.

There is SO much to learn from this book. I think the best part about it is that it’s a great inspiring read for any artist who needs a pick-me-up. And some reassurance of why they should keep creating, no matter if it’s good or bad, or famous or unnoticed.

That’s why I guess I keep writing too, because, despite it all, it makes me happy. It helps me share parts of myself in where expression through words seems to be the only answer.

And in a way, it helps reaffirm the reason why you do what you do in the first place. Because you’re chasing a feeling that comes with it. Apparently some call it happiness. :)

I give this book a solid 4.5/5 cookies for all the positivity us creative people need in life sometimes.

Hoping you find a way to make inspiration stay,

Niki :)