I didn't read Eat Pray Love when I worked at a publishers and saw the cover every day. I didn't feel drawn to it somehow. I have on the other hand watched Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talk on creativity more than once. She's funny, inspiring and insightful. (One of my other favourite TED talks is by Amy Cuddy, check it out.)

Big Magic is Gilbert's book on creativity and I have devoured it. I have to admit that I borrow a lot of business/motivational/inspirational/creativity books from the library and most of them are so dense (and boring) that I don't finish them. This on the other hand is very readable, quotes lots of interesting authors and artists (Marcus Aurelius, Tom Waits) and has some thought provoking ideas. Gilbert believes that ideas are an entity just like plants and people and they spend their time looking for collaborative partners so they can come to fruition. I'm still getting my head around this one!

I envy her dedication to writing - I only wish that as a writer I had her unwavering commitment to the craft. She took a vow to be a writer when she was a teenager and has stuck to it ever since in spite of countless rejections. Talk about impressive. Compared to her I feel awkward and insecure. That said, I can learn a lot from her example and suggestions.

I don't agree with everything Gilbert says but that's okay cos there's still a lot to love. One of her main themes is that we shouldn't rely on our passions to pay our way. That we should work the boring jobs and do our craft in our spare time. I think that one of the reasons I don't agree with this point of view is that I don't want it to be true although I suspect she's right dammit!

What inspiring books are you reading at the moment?