Books – oddrops

Steal Like An Artist

Austin Kleon wrote Steal Like An Artist — alluding, presumably, to the unsubstantiated Picasso quote “Good artists copy, great artists steal”. The book is intended for “anyone who’s trying to inject some creativity into their life and their work”. I found it a stimulating and thought-provoking read.

There are 10 chapters — creativity guidelines:

Steal like an artist
Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started
Write the book you want to read
Use your hands
Side projects and hobbies are important
The Secret: do good work and share it with people
Geography is now longer our master
Be nice. (The world is a small town.)
Be boring. (It’s the only way to get work done.)
Creativity is subtraction.

Each chapter has examples and specific suggestions on what to do. For example, in chapter 2, there’s a subheading: “Fake it ’til you make it”.

I love this phrase. There are two ways to read it:

1. Pretend to be something you’re not until you are — fake it until you’re successful, until everybody sees you the way you want them to; or

2. Pretend to be making something until you actually make something.

In Chapter 9: Get yourself a calendar:

The comedian Jerry Seinfeld has a calendar method that helps him, stick to his daily joke writing… get a wall calendar that shows you the whole year… break your work into daily chunks. Each day, when you’re finished with your work make a big fat X in the day’s box. Every day, instead of getting work done, your goal is just to fill a box. “After a few days you’ll have a chain, ” Seinfeld says. “Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is not to break the chain”

So I’ve now got one X on my calendar.

Amazon: UK, US

Musing on Terry Pratchett

I am in Amsterdam — trapped, like many thousands are, by the eruption of Eyjafjallajoekull. I’m lucky: I have a hotel room and there are definitely worse places to be forced to spend time than the Dutch capital.

I spent the morning shopping for extra supplies — partly caused by the hotel returning two pairs of knickers that weren’t mine. I don’t mind too much wearing someone else’s (clean) socks, but underwear… urrggh!

I’m now in the Koepelcafé, which is attached to my hotel. I’m reading Terry Pratchett’s Unseen Academicals. I’ve been a big fan of Pratchett for a long time; the Discworld series has been a repeated source of delight — let’s hope that TP can find the motivation and determination to produce more books before Parkinson’s Disease finally stops him.

The stories and plot lines are clever and inventive and filled with all kinds subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) references to add extra layers of enjoyment, but one of the great strengths of the books is the richness and diversity of the characters: Granny Weatherwax (one of my personal favourites), Rincewind, Mustrum Ridcully, Sam Vimes, Captain Carrot, Lord Vetinari, Lu-Tze, Susan Sto Helit… the list goes on and on. It is Terry’s attention to detail that brings characters to life. I was struck by this very small example in Unseen Academicals: Lord Vetinari is talking to Glenda Sugarbean (head of the Night Kitchen in UU). Vetinari has referred to Glenda’s taking left-over food, which she says is “a perk” and anyway it is (as Vetinari well knows) for the elderly and poor. LV responds:

“Oh, but of course. Every job has its little perks. Why, I don’t expect Drumknott here has bought a paperclip in his life, eh, Drumknott?”

This makes sense to the reader; it’s a kind of universal truth: the pilfering of office supplies. We smile gently and, perhaps, imagine the discomforture of Drumknott, Vetinari’s secretary. TP, however, is not content with this. Several pages later, we’ve forgotten the incident: Glenda has left and Drumknott dismissed from the office, but before going begs leave to “add something, sir”.

“The floor is yours, Drumknott.”

“I would not like it thought that I do not buy my own paperclips, sir. I enjoy owning my own paperclips. It means that they are mine. I thought it helpful I should tell you that in a measured and nonconfrontational way.”

I laughed out loud when I read this: somehow this very small scene encapsulates the magic of Terry Pratchett.