“Creative reading” is a term which refers to the reading of those books which are designed to inspire your creativity. These books don’t teach you how to paint or write or perform in plays (although they may offer great tips for improving any of those things!) Instead, they offer ideas and inspiration which allow you to get your creative spirit spinning. They encourage you to see the world in a new way and take steps to be more creative in your every day life. These are the kinds of books that can change your world.

Julia Cameron

One of the most famous authors of creative reading books is Julia Cameron. She is well-known for The Artist’s Way, a book that acts as a twelve-week course in creativity. Through this book, she encourages the reader to engage in tasks which include daily journaling (called morning pages), weekly artist dates with oneself and the exploration of writing prompts and exercises. Cameron’s other books, such as Joy of Walking, take you further into her ideas and encourage you to spend every day of your life thinking a little bit more creatively than you were the day before. They also offer regular reassurance that you can begin doing creative work at any stage of your life.

Sark

Sark is a playful author from the San Francisco Bay Area who has written a number of different books and poems. People know her work immediately because it is written in colorful, handwritten font. She uses her books to encourage you to think outside of your own boxes, to take time to imagine and dream. Her exercises, prompts and ideas are all tools that encourage you to pay more attention to your own creative impulses. And her poetry inspires people to do everything from parent better to love more.

Quick Ideas

Many inspiring books just offer some quick ideas for making changes in your life that encourage creativity. Some of these books include:

• Living Artfully: Create the Life you Imagine by Susan Magsamen. It offers ideas for bringing more creativity into every single aspect of your life. For example, she suggests something along the lines of that a good gift for a lover would be a box filled with slips of paper that say, “I love you because …” These are practical tips that can be incorporated into all different facets of life to make you feel more inspired by the things you see around you.
• Unleash Your Creativity by Rob Bevan and Tim Wright. Each short chapter of this book offers one of fifty two ideas for having a fresher perspective on things in your life. They are intertwined with one another but can also stand on their own. With one tip for each week, you could make this book inspire you for a full year.

Academic Reading

Many of the creative reading books that are available consist primarily of tips for being more creative. However, there are also books that take a more academic approach to considering what creativity is all about. These books also inspire you to be more creative but do so by appealing first to your logical mind. Some examples of such creative reading books include:

• What We Ache For: Creativity and the Unfolding of Your Soul by Oriah Mountain Dreamer. This book looks at the way that creativity is intertwined with sensuality and spirituality to create a balanced life.
• Creativity for Life by Eric Maisel. This book is written by a creativity life coach who uses it to teach you some of the principles underlying his work. It is primarily about how to balance out the rest of your life when you have chosen creativity as a career.
• Getting Unstuck without Coming Unglued by Susan O’Doherty. This is a practically guide to dealing with artists’ block which is designed specifically to meet the needs of creative women.

Creative Reading is More than Just Fun

Reading is fun for many people and creative reading is no exception. However, creative reading is more than just fun. It’s a tool that you can use to start thinking more creatively. This will inspire your work in new ways whether you’re an artist or just working an average job. And it will inspire your daily life in a way that may make you better appreciate the little things.