Book recommendations — you get ’em everywhere. If you’re not seeing the same cover image all over your social media feed, then you’re probably hearing about the hottest new psychological thriller from all of your friends in line at school pick-up, or constantly making a mental note to buy that self-help book you keep seeing at the top of the bestseller list. If you’re like us, you can get overwhelmed with too many options, which is why we’re psyched to debut the first edition of our bulldog book club. Every few weeks, you can come here to the blog and find a single, super-satisfying recommended read that perfectly captures the spirit of our community. If you pick up just one book this month, make it this one.
Today, we’re featuring Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. You may already know Liz as the refreshingly honest woman who eat, prayed, and loved her way through a wildly-popular 1997 memoir, but in Big Magic, she’s turning everything you may have thought about her writing upside down. This book is a short-and-sweet guide to creativity, an action plan for boldly proactive living, and a seriously motivating message about what happens when you kick the you-know-what out of your fears (which, as you know, is what we aim to do every day at bulldog!).
What we loooooove about Big Magic is that it can empower anyone to dig deep and bring some much-needed creativity into their life. You don’t need to be an “artist” in the traditional sense to take something away from Liz’s message, so if that’s turned you off from picking up the book earlier, we beg you to reconsider (like dogs begging for table scraps). Seriously, read it, anyway. Once you start, you won’t be able to stop.
Check out this passage:
“Let people have their opinions. More than that — let people be in love with their opinions, just as you and I are in love with ours. But never delude yourself into believing that you require someone else’s blessing (or even their comprehension)… And always remember that people’s judgements about you are none of your business.”
If that’s not the most perfect expression of both “live and let live” and “never blend in” (all in one!), then we really don’t know what is.
And in case we still don’t have you convinced, check out this awesome video that gives you a behind-the-scenes peek at how that amazingly psychedelic cover was created. It will make you want to get your hands dirty with a spontaneous painting project of your own and rush to pick up the book that inspired such a cool technique.
Do you have a favorite book that you’d like to nominate for the bulldog book club? Tell us on Facebook + Twitter!
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Book cover image: cu-rio.net