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A review by gina_gina
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
3.0
2.5 stars
01/25/2017:. In the end, I came to appreciate this book. Gilbert's message is powerful, although I do think that the book length diminished the impact and power.
I hopped between media formats to finish this book, and the audiobook was my favourite. Gilbert narrates the audiobook beautifully. She has a lovely voice and a good meter for dramatic reading.
01/22/2017:. Gilbert decries Oscar Wilde's assertion that an artistic existence is one long, lovely suicide... This from the woman who wished for a mother with Munchhausen-by-proxy in the first chapters.
Alas, Gilbert make a beautiful statement about believing that your creativity loves you. This paragraph may be the sole reason to read through these hundreds of pages. Your creativity sought you out... why not believe that it loves you as you love it?
The work wants to be made, and it wants to be made through you. Staggering!
01/09/2017: My library electronic lend ends today. I am only 58% of the way through this book, and I feel as if I have already gleaned 99% of the information -- at least thrice. Gilbert knows how to give and example and make a point. Repeatedly. Can I make it the rest of the way?
01/02/2017: "I did not write this book for you; I wrote it for me. I wrote it for my own pleasure." No kidding! This is +300 pages of masterbation. If Gilbert's editor had trimmed the book by 50℅, it could have been more readable and useful. Gilbert crushes my creative spirit with too many personal stories and a bit too much self-aggrandizement.
Snark aside, Gilbert's belief that formal and/or higher education is fantastic. Similarly, I am pleased that she celebrated the value of youth and age equally. We should be teaching, stimulating, and inspiring each other, regardless of age.
12/30/2016: Is it me? Is Ms. Gilbert an amazing writer, but I cannot see it? I spend my day writing and editing technical documents, so I am very critical of writing that fails to make a point -- quickly and succinctly. Not all non-fiction needs to read like a dishwasher manual, but I am on page 26, and I can feel my annoyance rising.
12/19/2016: I am not an artist, but I feel the desire to be more creative in my life. I am always looking for books that challenge my thinking, etc. I have a complicated history with Ms. Gilbert. It took me three or four tries to read Eat, Pray, Love. Every page was excruciating for me. I was filled with anger. I loathed the whining. I resented her privilege. I disliked the chitty-chatty writing style. I hope that Ms. Gilbert's Big Magic is an inspiring read.
01/25/2017:. In the end, I came to appreciate this book. Gilbert's message is powerful, although I do think that the book length diminished the impact and power.
I hopped between media formats to finish this book, and the audiobook was my favourite. Gilbert narrates the audiobook beautifully. She has a lovely voice and a good meter for dramatic reading.
01/22/2017:. Gilbert decries Oscar Wilde's assertion that an artistic existence is one long, lovely suicide... This from the woman who wished for a mother with Munchhausen-by-proxy in the first chapters.
Alas, Gilbert make a beautiful statement about believing that your creativity loves you. This paragraph may be the sole reason to read through these hundreds of pages. Your creativity sought you out... why not believe that it loves you as you love it?
The work wants to be made, and it wants to be made through you. Staggering!
01/09/2017: My library electronic lend ends today. I am only 58% of the way through this book, and I feel as if I have already gleaned 99% of the information -- at least thrice. Gilbert knows how to give and example and make a point. Repeatedly. Can I make it the rest of the way?
01/02/2017: "I did not write this book for you; I wrote it for me. I wrote it for my own pleasure." No kidding! This is +300 pages of masterbation. If Gilbert's editor had trimmed the book by 50℅, it could have been more readable and useful. Gilbert crushes my creative spirit with too many personal stories and a bit too much self-aggrandizement.
Snark aside, Gilbert's belief that formal and/or higher education is fantastic. Similarly, I am pleased that she celebrated the value of youth and age equally. We should be teaching, stimulating, and inspiring each other, regardless of age.
12/30/2016: Is it me? Is Ms. Gilbert an amazing writer, but I cannot see it? I spend my day writing and editing technical documents, so I am very critical of writing that fails to make a point -- quickly and succinctly. Not all non-fiction needs to read like a dishwasher manual, but I am on page 26, and I can feel my annoyance rising.
12/19/2016: I am not an artist, but I feel the desire to be more creative in my life. I am always looking for books that challenge my thinking, etc. I have a complicated history with Ms. Gilbert. It took me three or four tries to read Eat, Pray, Love. Every page was excruciating for me. I was filled with anger. I loathed the whining. I resented her privilege. I disliked the chitty-chatty writing style. I hope that Ms. Gilbert's Big Magic is an inspiring read.