I really love Alice Walker as a writer and a poet. <3 Many of the poems in this book cut deep into the heart of humanity. Recommended.

Dan Allender takes the hebrew form of "rest" and translates it "delight", debunking several myths that sabbath has to be sitting in church, reading only your bible, and generally being stiff and still. He invites ideas like playfulness and feasting, even sex(!) to celebrate the Sabbath. He also addresses time (specifically our western view of it) and the fears that we will not "have enough to truly rest."

I'm so appreciative of Allender's work - I had an issue with the way the centuries have depicted the sabbath (at least, my interpretation of said depiction!), and this blew the cover off of the stiff reality that I bought for so many years. I love his emphasis on delight and play, and also the differentiation between sabbath and a day off. I feel like I understand even more why I can still be tired after a day of "rest" - if I haven't taken the time to "dare to delight", I haven't really Sabbath'd. :)

Recommended. I'll probably come to this book again and again.

Ellen Langer writes about her own process of discovering "how to paint" tied in with ways that we can be mindful when creating art. She discusses things that often hold people back from creating art, like the "definition of art" (no one can agree, why worry?), comparing self to others (with so many different types of art, what good does comparing ourselves to ONE do?) and saying we're "not creative" (also with the many types of art doesn't make sense). She emphasizes that the process of making art, the curiosity of the finished product and the process are what is most important when doing any type of creating - it's not about the evaluation or what others think - it's about a way to be mindful when creating.

I'm oversimplifying, but this book was really helpful for me. Langer gives people a freedom from "knowing the rules" and getting something on the paper/canvas instead, learning as we go.

Recommended.

Pairings: Art and Fear, Sabbath.

Jonah Lehrer discusses unveils that the process and characteristics of creativity are not only measurable, they can be manipulated and taught. He examines creatives of all types and over the course of much history (though the history is mostly confined to western history) and notes certain qualities such as living in cities, collaboration, allowing criticism (but still being gentle), giving time for random connections, and most importantly, random exchange of ideas...even if it seems like wasting time,Leher will tell you it's not a waste! The end of the book also pleads for US education reform geared towards this "better output" for creatives (meaning, it can be taught) rather than the focus on sports and rote knowledge, which I personally liked. ;)

I appreciated Lehrer's broad definition of creativity - creativity is often confined to the arts, but he uses many examples of creativity in science and math fields, along with the creativity needed to start a company. Some of the chapters went a little heavy on the science for me, but that shouldn't deter you from the book.

I'd recommend this book to anyone stuck in the myth that creatives must be certain "types" of people, or anyone that is organizing a group of creative people for a common cause.

This book is a compilation of research on Dabrowski's Theory of Postive Disintigration, which is (very oversimplified) a study of five identified levels of relating to the world as a gifted individual, but each of these levels has a multi-level nature and isn't *quite* linear (trust me - just read it!). Dabrowski's theories also cover the overexcitability (OE) of gifted students and adults, which was a revolutionary theory at the time. OE has 5 forms: psychomotor, sensual, intellectual, imaginational, and emotional.

This book is for anyone who has been told that they are "too much" or "I can't believe how much you do!" or "Why do you read so much into what everyone says?" or "You have too many ideas, do you ever stop?" or my personal favourite, "You're too sensitive!" Yep!
This book changed my life and made a lot of sense with my experiences. Basically, a lot of the things that gifted children are shamed for (or that they aren't identified as gifted because they excel in other ways besides book-intellect) can actually be their strengths.

The papers are written by various scholars, researchers and practicing psychologists, so the "speed" of reading varied a lot through the book - some "chapters" would go quickly and some not as much. It's absolutely worth the read, though!

Kim Thuy tells a fiction-ish version of her family fleeing from Saigon to a overcrowded refugee camp, and finally settling in Canada. She narrates in a series of vignettes, mixing past and present to evoke the flow of her life.

I adored Thuy's writing style and structure. Her imagery and word choice are just beautiful. Recommended.