The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer was one of the first books I read in 2015 and pretty much my first experience of Palmer's work. I love reading books about creative people because I'm fascinated by how many different ways there are to live a life that includes making art. Palmer's version includes a lot of bravery, and also a lot of hope.

Added in 2019: One of the things that had really stuck with me from this book from the first time was the insane amount of touring Amanda does over the course of the years related in it. I am such a home body; I like traveling, but I need long stretches at home to feel grounded and happy. But with my first book out this year, I am doing more travel than ever before. I had heard that the audiobook version was really good, because it is read by Amanda herself and includes the songs (which are only printed lyrics in the text version). I gave it a listen to try and gather some of that tour-stamina energy into myself. Hopefully it worked!