Here are 100 books that He Saw that it was Good fans have personally recommended if you like
He Saw that it was Good.
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I have taught writing to adults for over half of my life—starting in my twenties, when I looked so young that my students once mistook me for a confused kid having wandered into the wrong room! I love love love seeing writers find their writing voice—and the only way to do so is simply to do it. Writing and communicating well is an art, a delight, a form of self-expression, and a way of being in the world—and it is VERY easy to learn with a good teacher. All of these books inspire me because their writers are excellent, encouraging, practical teachers.
The author’s charming and disarming Lamott-isms (“bird by bird” as a way to describe baby steps; “sh**tty rough drafts” as a way to forgive ourselves for writing imperfectly; pretending the inner critic is a mouse in a jar, then turning down its volume) give writers the permission to be, simply, human.
A classic, warm book that always brings me back to the page.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An essential volume for generations of writers young and old. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this modern classic will continue to spark creative minds for years to come. Anne Lamott is "a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writer’s world and its treacherous swamps" (Los Angeles Times).
“Superb writing advice…. Hilarious, helpful, and provocative.” —The New York Times Book Review
For a quarter century, more than a million readers—scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities—have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdom…
The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.
On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive…
I blame my mother. She took us to the public library every week and let us check out as many books as we could carry. Consequently, reading was a joy rather than a burden. The writing came after I got over my false assumptions about English Lit and Modern Poetry. As a screenwriter, I craft silly stories to make audiences laugh. That’s why I watch movies after an exhausting week. As an author, I gravitate towards non-fiction–trying to reconcile my artistry with my faith. I’ve written about movies, music, video games, technology, and art–with an eye toward lifting our spirits and comforting our aching souls.
I get frustrated by organizations and systems that are so devoted to metrics that they miss the creative opportunities at hand.
Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind flips the script on the AI-driven world we’re inheriting, insisting that the right-brained approach to creativity will unlock a brighter future for us all. I’ve found that his focus on story and design moves audiences far more than spreadsheets and PowerPoints.
Pink reminds us why empathy and playfulness are the kinds of superpowers we must rediscover amid so much machine learning.
This is a book that you have to read. A Whole New Mind is a groundbreaking look at how we should live our lives in a world turned upside down by rising affluence, the outsourcing of good jobs abroad, and the computerization of our lives a world fast shifting from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. Lawyers. Accountants. Radiologists. Software engineers. That's what our parents encouraged us to be when we grew up. But Mum and Dad were wrong. The future belongs to a very different kind of person - a person with a very different kind of mind.…
I blame my mother. She took us to the public library every week and let us check out as many books as we could carry. Consequently, reading was a joy rather than a burden. The writing came after I got over my false assumptions about English Lit and Modern Poetry. As a screenwriter, I craft silly stories to make audiences laugh. That’s why I watch movies after an exhausting week. As an author, I gravitate towards non-fiction–trying to reconcile my artistry with my faith. I’ve written about movies, music, video games, technology, and art–with an eye toward lifting our spirits and comforting our aching souls.
As a young man who loved the violent films of Martin Scorsese and the soothing sounds of Gregorian chants, I wanted to reconcile these seemingly contradictory passions.
Madeleine L’Engle offers wise words of encouragement for integrating our faith and our art. While I’d enjoyed her science fiction novels like A Wrinkle in Time, I was surprised by the practical, down-to-earth aspects of Walking on Water. This book slowed me down, allowing child-like wonder to return. She challenged me to develop a daily creative practice because one day off ends up disconnecting us for three.
In this classic book,Madeleine L'Engle addresses the questions, What does it mean to be a Christian artist? and What is the relationship between faith and art? Through L'Engle's beautiful and insightful essay, readers will find themselves called to what the author views as the prime tasks of an artist: to listen, to remain aware, and to respond to creation through one's own art.
Jake Sledge, a rugged ex-cop turned private eye, teams up with his colossal partner Bobo to navigate the gritty streets of River City.
A murdered lawyer drags them into a web of political intrigue, neo-Nazi thugs, and bloody showdowns. With sharp wit and hard-hitting action, Jake tackles scumbags the only…
I blame my mother. She took us to the public library every week and let us check out as many books as we could carry. Consequently, reading was a joy rather than a burden. The writing came after I got over my false assumptions about English Lit and Modern Poetry. As a screenwriter, I craft silly stories to make audiences laugh. That’s why I watch movies after an exhausting week. As an author, I gravitate towards non-fiction–trying to reconcile my artistry with my faith. I’ve written about movies, music, video games, technology, and art–with an eye toward lifting our spirits and comforting our aching souls.
I’m so sick of the culture wars in America. That’s why Makoto Fujimura’s call towards Culture Care was so refreshing and encouraging.
He acknowledges how artists may end up as border walkers, gaining inspiration by living on the edges of society. But mere rebellion isn’t enough. I was so inspired by his encouragement to see cultural care as comparable to environmental work. How do we create estuaries where new growth and ideas can emerge? As a painter, Mako brings his visions to life on canvas. Yet, this book challenged me to usher more beauty into my community through any medium.
Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year Christianity Today's Book of the Year Award of Merit
"Culture is not a territory to be won or lost but a resource we are called to steward with care. Culture is a garden to be cultivated."
Many bemoan the decay of culture. But we all have a responsibility to care for culture, to nurture it in ways that help people thrive. In Culture Care artist Makoto Fujimura issues a call to cultural stewardship, in which we become generative and feed our culture's soul with beauty, creativity, and generosity. We serve others as cultural custodians…
In my late high school years and during college I was confronted with a question that has dogged many artists over the years who are in the church: should a Christian be in the arts or not? As it turns out, the first person to be described as filled by the Spirit in the Bible was an artist. I had to wait until my college years to find that out by reading Francis Schaeffer’s book Art and the Bible. This and Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water gave me a theology that valued art. Now I'm a full-time artist and curate a small art gallery, but I've never stopped looking for good books on Art and Faith.
What if creativity was not a talent given to a chosen few, but an invitation extended to us all? What if the desire for beauty was not gratuitous in life, but central to our faith? Drawing upon the biblical account of Creation and the witness of a myriad of creative thinkers, this book asserts that all of us—from plumbers to painters and meteorologists to musicians—were made in the image of an imaginative God. In that light, Naming the Animals encourages us to see creativity as an essential part of God’s design for partnership with humanity. This is a great introduction to the Art and Faith conversation.
A brief invitation to all people to live creative lives. Stephen Roach is host of the Makers and Mystics podcast and founder of The Breath & the Clay creative arts movement takes the reader back to the initial creative acts of God at Creation and explores the implications of Adam naming the animals, drawing out applications on how that merciful gift informs creative acts today of all kinds.
I’m a seeker and fascinated by spirituality. Books were among some of my best friends growing up and I’ve been reading and writing for as long as I can remember. I started my business Write On Creative in 2003 and have helped mission-driven business owners, entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders craft their messages, create marketing messages with integrity, and develop strategies to get their work out into the world. I firmly believe that business is personal so it makes sense that my first book released via the Write On Creative Publishing imprint is my story of healing with love. I live in magical, Ashland, Oregon and love spending time in nature.
This book is a powerful read for anyone ready to reclaim their creativity and heal their inner wounded child.
Jacob skillfully guides us through exercises that bring us home to ourselves. I include this as recommended reading in my book, and I love that Julia Cameron (another favorite author of The Artists Way fame) provides the foreword.
Full disclosure, this book brought me to healing tears. I’ve read it and listened to it many times and I had the pleasure of meeting Jacob at his Heal and Create Writer’s event along with SARK.
Another one of his books that you won’t want to miss is Blessed Are the Weird.
“I’m just not that creative” is a common refrain in today’s society. But according to author and creative coach Jacob Nordby, nothing could be further from the truth. Every human being is creative, and having a regular creative practice is a vital key to a happy and fulfilling life.
If we don't exercise our creativity regularly, our lives can feel dull, stagnant, and rote. Many people live this way and believe “this is just the way life is,” without realizing that developing a regular creative practice can be the cure to what ails them.
Caroline Herschel has always lived in the shadows. Beholden to her wildly popular older brother, William, who rescued her from servitude, she's worked hard to build a life for herself – one where she can go unnoticed and repay the debt she believes she owes him. But when her brother…
I grew up in a family of artists and then went to art school, so I have been thinking visually my entire life. I have always collected random, inspiring books with both words and images. I love being able to pick up a book and read a chapter at a time or flip through it for visual inspiration. I keep some of my favorite books at my bedside just because they give me comfort. There are so many more books I could recommend in the category I have chosen!
Be sure not to let the title deceive you, though. It is useful for artists at all levels because it is a place to refresh basic skills. To see in a very clear way how to draw a man standing is super helpful no matter where you are in your art practice.
If you aim to draw fantastical caricatures or very realistically, this book breaks it all down for you so that you can hit the ground running in your own personal style.
This inspiring book makes drawing in a realistic style easier than you may think and more fun than you ever imagined!
Authors Mark and Mary Willenbrink (Watercolor for the Absolute Beginner) cover it all-from choosing materials and the correct way to hold your pencil, to expert advice on the tricky stuff, like getting proportions and perspective right, drawing reflections, and designing strong compositions. (It's not as scary as it sounds...not with Mark and Mary as your guide!)
At the heart of this book, a series of fun, hands-on exercises help you practice and perfect your strokes-24 mini-demos lead up to…
I was born into a family and community of hardworking, service-oriented people with attraction to abundance, entertaining friends, and giving gifts. To earn money, I started selling gift wrap and greeting cards around eight years old, babysitting most of the kids in my small Iowa town at some point, and working summers in the fields at age 12.
As my career unfolded, I had a great seat at the table in multinational corporations, global business teams, private-equity-sponsored growth companies, and a disruptive innovation venture. My effectiveness as a colleague and a leader has been dramatically enhanced by the stories great writers share, and I only hope someone else is helped by the stories I’ve captured in Love Works.
I have probably purchased 150-200 copies of this book over the years, and it has been required reading for anyone in or supporting my last teams.
The Empowerment Dynamic is an easy read about two guys who meet at a beach on a fateful day, and the story unfolds with excellent advice to eliminate drama from our lives.
When we adopted these best practices, the little dramas that are like cancer inside of companies shifted victims to empowered creators, perpetrators to challengers, and rescuers to coaches.
Empowerment is a mindset, and the shifts outlined in TED are not only powerful – they’re also very easy to embrace and implement. This is the best $10 you can spend on Amazon to improve outcomes at work and in life!
Escape the Grip of Drama and Take Control of Your Life The Power of TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic) is a fable on self-leadership, because how you lead your own life has everything to do with how you lead in other areas. It is a tool for both individuals and organizations who want to create more effective communication and relationships. Learning how to transform everyday drama and opt for more growth-oriented solutions, is the priceless gift it teaches. As you walk with David, the main character, he shares how he is feeling victimized by life. Through serendipity he meets some wise…
I’m a British writer but I have lived in Norway for over twenty years. My yearning for history goes back as long as I can remember and I often feel trapped in the wrong time. Writing historical fiction is my way of delving into the past and bringing it back to life. I’ve always been creative and enjoyed arts and crafts and, as well as being a writer, I am also a creativity coach and have my own podcast,The Creatively You Show, which helps writers and artists deal with the emotional challenges of the creative process. My book choices reflect these interests and the broader themes of history and art.
This beautiful book is possibly the most important book of my writing career. I found it in a second-hand bookstore in Dublin on a rainy afternoon and, like the plot, I felt that my finding it was a stroke of providence. I was so moved by the story that I immediately signed up for a writing workshop with the author. That workshop was a defining moment in my life – after it, I knew I wanted to be a writer. Although this story is not directly about art, it shows how a man’s calling, his compulsion to paint, plays a key role in the lives and the destinies of others. The novel has a fairytale-like quality to it, a poetic timelessness that captures the essence of spirituality and love.
A classic love story and a seminal work of Irish literature that is a testament to romance, magic and the power of true love. With an introduction by actor John Hurt.
In love everything changes, and continues changing all the time. There is no stillness, no stopped clock of the heart in which the moment of happiness holds forever, but only the constant whirring forward motion of desire and need. . .
Nicholas Coughlan and Isabel Gore are meant for each other - they just don't know it yet. Though each has found both heartache and joy in the wild…
Rodney Bradford comes into Lindsay's restaurant, offers to buy her small house for double its value, eats her brownies, and drops dead on the sidewalk in front. Next, her almost-ex-husband offers to sign the divorce papers, but only if she'll give him her small,…
I’m a writer who is drawn to entrepreneurs, especially those with creative businesses; they inspire me. I launched a freelance writing business in 2014, but I’ve always wanted to work for a magazine. One day, it finally occurred to me to combine my interests and start a magazine about creative entrepreneurs! I have interviewed over 100 creative entrepreneurs for my magazine. I created this list because I think it can help others interested in starting a creative business.
This book demonstrates that anyone can be creative, regardless of their background, profession, or society’s definition of a creative person.
Even though the examples in the book are largely artists’ stories, Brito presents them in a way that I can apply to my career. The book inspires me to explore new ways of thinking and problem-solving. What resonated with me the most were the examples of artists who faced setbacks but transformed their approaches, ultimately achieving success.
The book also delves into the stories of well-known entrepreneurs who pivoted, providing me with inspiration for sticking with an entrepreneurial project when it gets challenging.
Axiom Business Book Award Winner in Entrepreneurship Category
Learn to make creativity work for your career.
Anyone, regardless of who you are or what you do, can cultivate the habits, actions, and attitudes that inspire creativity and innovation.
There has never been a more crucial time than now to develop your creativity and your ability to innovate. Coming up with original ideas of value is today's most precious skill.
How Creativity Rules the World shows that, despite contrary beliefs, creativity can be taught and learned by anyone. Creativity is an inexhaustible resource that is the key to thriving in the…
