Big Magic
Ratings142
Average rating3.8
It's not a very precise book, it won't give you a schedule to follow or a word count to hit. What it will give you is the right attitude to take on your creative endeavors. Which is exactly what I need right now, so an easy five stars. It just hit the spot, you know
I loved her approach to creativity and encouraging the process. I thought she was real and open about her own experiences. I left this book feeling inspired to create.
dnf. muchas de las ideas que presenta la autora son interesantes, otras no las comparto tanto. overall ok
There are some affirming ideas in this book.
“The outcome cannot matter.... You will keep making your work, regardless of the outcome. You will keep sharing your work, regardless of the outcome. You were born to create, regardless of the outcome. You will never lose trust in the creative process, even when you don't understand the outcome.”
“Not expressing creativity will drive people crazy.”
“Done is better than good.”
“When it's for love, you'll do it anyhow.”
“Since when did creativity become a suffering contest?”
“What would you do even if you might fail?”
“You are worthy ... regardless of the outcome.”
When you have writer's block, be like Tristram Shandy and get dressed up.
“Dress for the novel you want to write.”
I loved the idea of “creative living” and of the quiet impudence of doing your own thing.
I think this book found me when I needed it. Perhaps had I read it a different time, I may not have appreciated it as much
AUDIOBOOK
This book was incredible!!! Highly recommend. Wow! I need to listen again and take notes.
I saw Elizabeth Gilbert speak about Big Magic few years ago at a library conference, and I was a little eye-rolly in advance of it but by the end of her talk I was like “hell yes Big Magic! I should totally read that book!” but then I never got around to it. And then we read [b:Eat, Pray, Love 19501 Eat, Pray, Love Elizabeth Gilbert https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503066414l/19501.SY75.jpg 3352398] for Worst Bestsellers and I was like, oh yeah I should read Big Magic.Anyway yeah I really liked it! She's def a lil ~woo but at the same time she writes so beautifully and I really love her advice to just be open and try stuff and not worry about failing. A nice read for anyone, not just someone specifically interested in pursuing a creative career! Because we all have creativity in our lives even if we all use it differently!
Big magic: be creative if you feel like it and don't let the critics (internal and external) get you down. Might have made an okay essay.
This ended up being a bit too “woo woo” for me – not to mention I got absolutely sick of reading about how awesome she thinks her parents are. I dunno mate, reading about the reasons you think your parents are cool just makes me see them as assholes who don't think rules apply to them. So yeah. This was a miss for me.
I really did want to enjoy the book. Altho I entered with a bit of a “this might be hippie-creative stuff from the magic book” skepticism, I tried my best to keep an open mind.
The center ideas were simple
1. Let your fears coexist with your passions.
2. Give yourself permission to create.
3. Keep your day job to fuel your creative affair.
That's it.
I didn't enjoy the writing one bit. The whole “we were friends and lemme tell you secrets and anecdotes from my life like a friend would” style just doesn't work for me. It's a personal preference. I am sure this style and approach might resonate well with some readers but it really didn't work for me.
I appreciate the emphasis that the book placed on showing up, having a routine and grinding to create quality creative work. The book tries to provide a blueprint of how to live a creative life but rely goes into the details for them. The main advice were solid but the content could be more crisp.
I was expecting more concrete actionables and focused discussions on the various challenges and rewards of living a life of creativity.
Books on creativity are inspirational for me. They often give me that nudge to continue working on, thinking about or making progress on a passion project. I went into Big Magic looking for that same push, but it somehow fell short. This falls between a memoir about how Gilbert writes and a her own (somewhat unique take) about how creativity grows and spreads between people. While I'm usually able to take inspiration from a book like this, I was left more wanting to read “Eat, Prey Love” than feeling anything relating to creativity.
Books on creativity are inspirational for me. They often give me that nudge to continue working on, thinking about or making progress on a passion project. I went into Big Magic looking for that same push, but it somehow fell short. This falls between a memoir about how Gilbert writes and a her own (somewhat unique take) about how creativity grows and spreads between people. While I'm usually able to take inspiration from a book like this, I was left more wanting to read “Eat, Prey Love” than feeling anything relating to creativity.
As a casual fan of Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic both entertained and enlightened me in the way only a self-help book can.
In my experience, nothing squelches creativity like the pressure to make it earn you a paycheck. Certainly, creativity in work is a great thing, but Gilbert emphasized that we can earn a living a lot of different ways. Taking the pressure off your creativity to be your primary income earner frees you up to be more creative.
The author says these things much more eloquently (along with a lot of other thoughts/tips for living a creative life). A good read for anyone feeling “stuck.”
Liz Gilbert writes with gentleness and grace. I do think this book helped me work through a creative block; it is whimsical in its examination of creative ideas as sentient creatures but practical in its advice from “done is better than perfect” to “be not idle, be not solitary.” The anecdotes were very cute and charming. I don't know if I'd come back to it a second time, though.
An inspirational read. First, the book is genuinely well-crafted (sure, it comes off a little cheesy at times but in the end, it is a self-help book...), Gilbert's tone gentle but assertive with nice conceits from her life and those of other creatives to illustrate her points. But I think what struck me most when reading this is how almost everything she was saying corresponded to my relationship with competitive running – how I put an incredible amount of time and effort into it, how I dedicate myself to it everyday through highs and lows (in constant recognition that most days are in-between), how I use it as a means to escape myself, how much I've come to realize the only way to run so much and stay sane is if performance matters, but also doesn't matter at all... And I realize that this is because my relationship with running is the same love relationship Gilbert has with her writing. I don't run to make a living off it, or because of what someone else will think of it... I run because I have to. I run because it feeds my soul. And writing, though I do not practice it so religiously as I run, has the same effect for me. So why am I so afraid to pursue that relationship?
Alright I'm getting a little too deep into my own experience here. Basically, this book has lit a fire in me to get writing – without fear, but also without expectation. Because I love it, and I think, maybe, it too loves me.
I like the underlying idea of the book; don't let fear hold you back from pursuing things that make you happy. However the repetitive theme that an idea is some magical force is ridiculously woo-woo and made me dislike the whole thing. I should have known from the description of the book, which I failed to read before borrowing the audiobook. It's disappointing because I think this could have been a really inspiring book if it wasn't drenched in supernatural language.
TLDR: If you are an artist in need of encouragement or someone who thinks they're not creative but wishes to be: read this book immediately. It's inspiring, funny, packed full of uncommonly good advice and utterly delightful to read.
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I absolutely loved this book.
I love anything about creativity and I'd seen this book mentioned somewhere, so I dutifully added it to my massive Want To Read list for some much later date. I happened to walk past a display table at the library where it was sitting out, recognized the cover and grabbed it (I've run out of books to read twice this year; a tragedy).
When I finally quit the terrible book I was previously reading and picked this up, I was surprised to discover how much I loved it. I've never read anything by Elizabeth Gilbert and have not seen her TED talk (that I remember). I enjoy light-hearted, personable writing, which she has clearly mastered (as evidenced by the fact that 99% of my notes were written down as direct quotes), and I couldn't put this book down. There's so much good advice here. As an artist who's also incredibly practical, it was refreshing to read someone who can tell it like it is while simultaneously being insanely encouraging and delighted to do all of it. This is a book I will eventually purchase to add to my personal library, and it would make an excellent gift.
I did see another review negatively mention her spiritualization of creativity. There's definitely a thread of that running throughout, particularly in a couple areas, but it didn't bother me. Some of it I would describe more as anthropomorphism. Regardless, it shouldn't be something that would prevent you from reading it. I don't believe you need to agree with every single point to enjoy a book - take what you need, leave what you don't. I also believe her advice in regard to education in the arts is sound as well as respectful.
There's definitely some beauty and insight here, but you have to work to get to it. It's wrapped in layers and layers of bubble wrap and wadded up newspaper to protect and expand it - pages of fluff. I appreciate Gilbert's sentiment and excitement, it's worth the read, but be prepared for some cringe-y cheese and cliches.
Fantastic book on how to live a creative life from the view point of the best selling author of Eat Pray Love. I listened to the audiobook which was read by the author, and give the book an incredible amount of depth and emotion. Audiobooks that I listen to and truly enjoy deserve a print edition spot of my bookshelf, which this one absolutely will have.