Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon. Actually, lots of people have shared their thoughts on being creative, but if you don't think of yourself as an artist, you might not have realized these things apply to you. Kleon has assembled inspirational quotes from many sources and added his own helpful advice. He encourages his readers to think of themselves as artists, no matter what field of endeavour.

Kleon's basic premise is that no art is original. "The writer Jonathan Lethem has said that when people call something 'original,' nine out of ten times they just don't know the references or the original sources involved. What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before."

If you are looking for motivation, this will fit the bill. It's a quick read too. It was handy that I happened to have downloaded the book onto my iPod via the Edmonton Public Library's Freading e-book database. I read the entire book out loud to my sweetie in the hospital while we were waiting for her to have emergency surgery on Sunday. She came home yesterday and is healing nicely. My blog posts may be shorter and less frequent for a while, though.