4 Books That Will Spark Your Creativity This Summer

I didn’t mean to pull together a starter kit on creativity and artistic development, but I’m glad I did. Whether I was listening to Matthew McConaughey or flipping through Lisa Congdon’s imagination, these books helped spark something inside of me that had been dormant for a long time — my desire to fail. McConaughey has a whole section of his book dedicated to telling tell me all about that one time he had to throw “it” all away in order to get the kind of roles he wasn’t getting naturally asked to play. All of these books help you define what “it” (how you see creativity now vs how you want to see it) is and then offer up a roadmap that challenges you to grow.

Oftentimes being stagnant within our creativity comes at the heels of a some success or major “aha” moments. We’ve found something that works well and we stop trying to understand how to make it work better. I’ve been writing and creating content for 8 years now and I’d forgotten how to study the craft. I’d grown to the point of assuming that I would always be typecast for the kind of writing or content creation I was known for so there was no point in pushing my boundaries, but then this year something shifted for me.

I was afraid, but I jumped. I started taking classes that challenged what I knew about creativity (as a mindset) and it helped me challenge what I assumed about my own creativity. I also started reading more books. These are 5 of the latest books I’ve read that I think alone (or together) can help you spark your creativity this summer.

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

I listened to the audiobook, but I also own the hardcover so I can physically reference it — it’s that good. If you have to choose one way to consume this book, please listen to it. McConaughey does a phenomenal job of narrating the ups and downs of his life. I peg this as a book on creativity because above all else, that’s the common thread throughout each chapter. Creativity as an identity and as a life’s pursuit exist in harmony in Greenlights.

How To Build A Goddamn Empire by Ali Kriegsman

There’s been conversation swirling over the last year about how the conversation is shifting away from a “girlboss” being the only identifier for a woman who does business. Instead of the “girlboss” era, I think we’ve stepped into an era where we can define how we want to be seen in the industries we move through. Kriegsman does a good job of offering practical business advice to give a foundation for any creative passions you choose to turn into a profit-turning project.

An Ordinary Age by Rainesford Stauffer

I got to talk to Rainesford Stauffer a few days ago for a longer video piece I’ll be sharing on Instagram and a Q+A on here — she is as phenomenal as An Ordinary Age reads. One of the lessons I carry with me from our time in Portland is rooted on “enoughness.” Not sure if that’s actually a word, but to me here’s what it means, that what I want and what I work towards is more than enough even if it feels “ordinary” (as a bad word) to others. I aspire to a quiet, mostly normal, highly creative and dynamic life. Sometimes that manifests as “big” moments that others think add up to an “extraordinary” life, but most times it’s the smallest, quiet moments that I think for me add up the best parts of my “ordinary” life. In her book, Stauffer brings this idea home that while society (and current internet culture) may beg for us to hustle for our worthiness, we already own it. If we lead with our worthiness in mind it gives a different anchor and tone to anything creative we pursue. We shift from hustling for validation to pursuing something because it feeds us.

Find Your Artistic Voice by Lisa Congdon

I read through this while I was at the beach in April. It was both the most perfect, colorful beach read and also a motivator to zero in on what being creative meant to me. Living in the age of overconsumption makes it hard to hear our own voices sometimes. Every page in Congdon was an active exercise in self-listening, whether it narrowed in on my “why” or my “how”, it all helped me understand my way of creating art a lot better.