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 …
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Black Lives Matter - Trans Lives Matter
I'm a neurodivergent music maker, DIY electronics tinkerer, I read in spurts.
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Chris Beckstrom rated Animal Farm: 5 stars
Animal Farm by George Orwell
George Orwell's timeless and timely allegorical novel—a scathing satire on a downtrodden society’s blind march towards totalitarianism.
“All animals are …
Chris Beckstrom rated The Ministry of Truth: 5 stars
The Ministry of Truth by Dorian Lynskey
The author has written a study that places George Orwell's 1984 in a variety of contexts: the author's life and …
Chris Beckstrom rated The definitive Time machine: 3 stars
The definitive Time machine by H. G. Wells (Visions)
The Time Traveller, a dreamer obsessed with traveling through time, builds himself a time machine and, much to his surprise, …
Journey to the Centre of the Earth (Bantam Classics) by Jules Verne
Journey to the Center of the Earth (French: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles …
Chris Beckstrom rated All Systems Red: 4 stars
All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)
"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."
In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved …
Chris Beckstrom rated Novel Ideas Classic: 5 stars
Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and Eco-Speculation by A. C. Wise
Every story and poem in this optimistic illustrated anthology of “solarpunk and eco-speculation” portrays a future in which environmental disaster …
Chris Beckstrom rated Black Like Me: 5 stars
Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
Publisher's description: Studs Terkel tells us in his Foreword to the definitive Griffin Estate Edition of Black Like Me: "This …
Chris Beckstrom rated Mexico One Plate At A Time: 4 stars
Chris Beckstrom reviewed Daily Rituals by Mason Currey
More than 150 inspired—and inspiring—novelists, poets, playwrights, painters, philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians on how they …
Review of 'Daily Rituals' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
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.
Chris Beckstrom rated Catching the Big Fish: 3 stars
Chris Beckstrom rated Preserving wild foods: 3 stars
Chris Beckstrom reviewed Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals …
Review of 'Between the World and Me' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Brutal. Honest. Enlightening. Heart-wrenching.
