Book Review - Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Overall, "Steal Like An Artist" is like having a pep talk at the ready for days when you need it. The general theme of the book is a sometimes gentle, sometimes blunt, reminder that there is nothing new under the sun and that's not a bad thing. We don't live in vacuums, and art (of any variety) isn't ever going to be a virgin birth. We are all products of everything we come across, and so is what we make, and THAT IS OK. And even if you know that intellectually, you can still manage to forget it on occasion. So on days, when you feel like every idea you have is unforgivably derivative - this is a great read!

The book also offers valuable practical advice about things like not waiting until you think you're ready (you will never think you're ready) - just make things and see how it goes; keeping some kind of notebook/log of things as diverse as the noise in your head and basic habit tracking; getting/keeping side interests (AKA being a whole person in general); and not being so obsessively secretive about your projects you don't include your fellow humans in the ride (then expect them to care when you finally hit the destination). It's also full of some great quotes - I'm talking genuinely frame-worthy quality quotes!

This is not a stale, cold, boring advice book. Even the things you already know are stated in a motivating way. This book is as if a good friend sat you down and told you to stop putting so much pressure on yourself, be yourself, have some fun when possible, and get off your ass and get busy making stuff - you know you want to, and you know you should.

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