I have finally cracked the secret to becoming a creative genius -
Take amphetamines whenever you want to be in an "artistic zone"
Smoke no less than 50 cigarettes a day
Take Valium to help you sleep for a couple of hours
Die in your 30's and be remembered ever after
Hurray to me!
original review: chrisbeckstrom.com/2018/05/31/11173/
A fascinating whirlwind tour of the daily schedules of a huge number of creative people. Some of the entries were so brief – a paragraph at times – it was difficult to catch my breath before moving onto the next. Reviewers on Goodreads felt the same way, and some suggested to read this book in small chunks instead of all the way through the way I did.
What I found most interesting were the common threads between these disparate individuals. Sure, there was huge variation (some people have extremely defined schedules, others just go with the flow) but a number of themes appeared in many of the chapters. These included struggles with substance abuse (alcohol, caffeine, amphetamines), under- or overeating, depression and anxiety (it’s heartening to know that even the most brilliant people struggle with these), treating their loved ones poorly (forcing their families into …
original review: chrisbeckstrom.com/2018/05/31/11173/
A fascinating whirlwind tour of the daily schedules of a huge number of creative people. Some of the entries were so brief – a paragraph at times – it was difficult to catch my breath before moving onto the next. Reviewers on Goodreads felt the same way, and some suggested to read this book in small chunks instead of all the way through the way I did.
What I found most interesting were the common threads between these disparate individuals. Sure, there was huge variation (some people have extremely defined schedules, others just go with the flow) but a number of themes appeared in many of the chapters. These included struggles with substance abuse (alcohol, caffeine, amphetamines), under- or overeating, depression and anxiety (it’s heartening to know that even the most brilliant people struggle with these), treating their loved ones poorly (forcing their families into rigid schedules, taking advantage of servants, demanding specific meals at particular times of the day), and a practice of working on creative projects even without the spark of inspiration. That last item is important to me; although I may be relatively prolific in my musical output, I generally only create music when I’m specifically inspired. I wonder how much more I could create if I created even without a spark of inspiration. Perhaps the spark would appear during the course of my creative activity.
Many of these artists also kept diaries and journals, using them as source material for their work, recording their various struggles, and in the end, providing an intimate look into their thoughts– extremely helpful as source material for a book like this.
The text was filled with hundreds of fantastic quotes. Two of my favorites:
Basically I enjoy everything: I am never bored.
– Matisse
Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.
– Chuck Close
The book was a very quick read. I highly recommend it to everybody, creative types, non-creative types, and everybody in between. Anybody pondering their own daily routine, wanting to be more productive, or just curious about some of history’s greatest minds would be well served to give this a read.
Interesting idea, and there's a lot to take in here. Others have noted that you don't really read this book are much as peruse it, and that's my experience: I read the first half dozen or so, then flipped around a bit.
While the info is interesting, it suffers from a big case of "so what?" A lot of people are covered, but none in depth, and there are no patterns.
If I had bought a copy I could see myself referring back to it as I come across new people ("I wonder if they're in there?").
Not a waste of time at all, but not the most enlightening read, either.
