7. Reading List
Getting THE READING LIST at the start of term was always one of my favourite things. It made me anticipate all the exciting ideas we were going to explore. Currently, this is what’s on my shelf from left to right:
The Artist’s Way Workbook + The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron – READING.
Rag Manifesto by Rachael Matthews – READ – energised my desire to make in massive ways.
On Mending by Celia Pym – TO READ.
Tomorrow in Your Hands by Rory Pilgrim – TO READ – RAFTS reminded me why we need art.
Black Women Always by Kevin Morosky – READING – centres + celebrates Black Womanhood + envisions new creative forms and practices outside established hierarchies. A radical work of love + manual for creativity.
Making Music: 74 Creative Strategies for Electronic Music for Producers by Dennis DeSantis for Ableton – TO READ – for helpful creative briefs.
Women in Audio by Leslie Gaston-Bird – REFERENCE – a necessary, vital resource!
Listening after Nature by Mark Peter Wright – TO READ.
Sound Arts Now by CRiSAP – READING – does important work towards broadening + decolonising the scope of what is considered sound art.
Mastering the Nikon D800 by Darrell Young – REFERENCE – alongside my course, I need to rtfm.
Wheesht by Kate Davies – READ – about reclaiming our imaginations + focus in an increasingly attention-grabbing world.
How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell – READ 3 TIMES – my favourite book about attention.
The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker – READING.
The Mindfulness Puzzle book – for self-regulating puzzles that aren’t on my phone.
The Power of Fun by Catherine Price – TO READ after her other book, How to Break up with your Phone – READING.
Women + Patterns + Plants by Sarina Mantle – gorgeous colouring book for off-phone creativity and play. What’s on your Reading List?
PS If you haven’t already seen it, please check out this wonderful post by Kate Davies: The world is my book for an expanded vision of what might constitute a “Reading List”.
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I would love to read most of those Felix! I have the version of the Rocky Nook camera book for my camera, find it really useful. What I could really do with is more time to read, but I am making headway with Izabella Wentz’ Adrenal Transformation Protocol, which advises daily creativity as part of the healing process (even mentioning knitting specifically!)
I’m encouraged that the Rocky Nook book for your camera has proved useful! The Adrenal Transformation Protocol sounds really good – I think anything we can do that helps reduce stress levels is such a good idea. I hope you can reclaim more time to read :)
I do love a book list that includes some books I’ve already read and enjoyed – makes me feel very inspired by the ones I haven’t read! I also loved How to do Nothing. And Wheesht – and I’m currently reading Kate Davies’ Handywoman which is wonderful.
Ah isn’t it nice to see your own reading lists reflected in another’s? Isn’t Handywoman wonderful? One of my favourite books ever written on the intersections of creativity and disability – it’s wonderful. I finished On Mending by Celia Pym this week and can thoroughly recommend it as a lovely multisensory adventure in mending with loads of pictures and a quiet, loving text. It sits well with Kate’s essay in Wheesht that speaks to Celia Pym’s work, but also to the thoughtful overlaps on crafting and the body layered throughout the chapters of Handywoman. Happy Reading!
I love How to Do Nothing and also her other book, Saving Time. I’ve only read each once but I know I will want to revisit them.
I enjoyed The Art of Noticing but it had one terrible side effect for me: the exercise about listening to all the things you can hear made me notice my tinnitus constantly for a week or two until I remembered how to not notice it again.
I have Saving Time but haven’t managed to read it yet! Thank you for the reminder to get to it.
That does sound like a difficult side effect re: The Art of Noticing – I am glad you found a way back to not noticing it. I have heard of a few people’s experiences of tinnitus and it sounds very overwhelming and hard. Have you found anything that helps? Other than a way to “not notice” it?
The creative act by Rick Rubin was a very good book. Also, Steal Like an Artist by Austen Kleon. He also has a great Substack newsletter. I am actually a fan of a few people on Substack. Kelcey Ervick is also great.
Yes I have The Creative Act and got a little ways into it – I think our housemove last year interrupted my ability to finish it, but now feels like a good time to revisit.
People seem to be enjoying substack, I am subscribed to stuff on there but a bit overwhelmed by all the notifications and essays. But it seems to be where folks are finding the people whose ideas they want – perhaps more popular these days than blogs, because everything can be found in the one place, would you say?