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A review by theresa_mysteries_and_mayhem
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
3.0
If you read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert for pure creative inspiration, you will find exactly that within the pages. If you were led to read it because you think it might help with inspiration to be more enterprising with ideas at work, you might be a little disappointed. While everything within this book can be translated to the working world, Gilbert tells us quite often not to quit our day jobs to pursue creativity. To read her words, it almost feels like creativity isn't something that blends well into our work.
I beg to differ.
I did find creative inspiration in Big Magic. At the same time, in places throughout the book, the concept of creativity and inspiration felt so boiled down by Gilbert it almost felt trite, which ironically is quite the opposite of creativity.
A couple of sections in the book that spoke to me were near the beginning of the book where Gilbert discussed overcoming fear and perfectionism. I made a few action items for myself to follow when attempting to follow my creative path based on what I read. Now I just need to follow them!
But isn't that always the most difficult part of self-improvement books? It's easy to read about what I should do and how life altering it can be. Actually getting over the fear and perfectionism to put those steps into action is something else entirely. At any rate, I read this at a good time with new beginnings on our doorstep with the new year.
I landed on 3 stars for Big Magic. It's inspiring, but I took what I needed from the first quarter of the book. The remainder of the book either didn't quite speak to me, or felt a bit repetitive. As with any book (especially when they're geared toward self-improvement) opinions may vary wildly from person to person. I still recommend it to anyone looking for some extra creative inspiration!
I beg to differ.
I did find creative inspiration in Big Magic. At the same time, in places throughout the book, the concept of creativity and inspiration felt so boiled down by Gilbert it almost felt trite, which ironically is quite the opposite of creativity.
A couple of sections in the book that spoke to me were near the beginning of the book where Gilbert discussed overcoming fear and perfectionism. I made a few action items for myself to follow when attempting to follow my creative path based on what I read. Now I just need to follow them!
But isn't that always the most difficult part of self-improvement books? It's easy to read about what I should do and how life altering it can be. Actually getting over the fear and perfectionism to put those steps into action is something else entirely. At any rate, I read this at a good time with new beginnings on our doorstep with the new year.
I landed on 3 stars for Big Magic. It's inspiring, but I took what I needed from the first quarter of the book. The remainder of the book either didn't quite speak to me, or felt a bit repetitive. As with any book (especially when they're geared toward self-improvement) opinions may vary wildly from person to person. I still recommend it to anyone looking for some extra creative inspiration!