Happy New Year! I know we’re almost at the end of January but wow, January…
Book Recs!
I love books. I love reading books, looking at books, and being around books. I love bookstores and libraries. My favorite job was my first job at Barnes and Noble. Something about books bringing people together into a community space feels really comforting and inspiring. Above all else, I love hearing about what other people are reading and love a good book rec! The ‘staff picks’ section of bookstores and libraries is my favorite section and where I’ve found some of my favorite books.
With that said, let me introduce ‘Book Recs’ where I present books that I’ve found inspiring in my creative practice. Consider this the ‘staff picks’ section of Beth Harper Design—the staff being, well, me!
The Power of Now: Eckhart Tolle
A good friend of mine recommended this book to me a few years back and I finally got around to reading it just recently. I’m so glad I did. While the concept of mindfulness is nothing new to me, the act of reading this book is in itself an exercise in mindfulness and really helps reframe the mind to be more present. I personally find present moment awareness essential to my creative practice and highly recommend this to anyone looking to live more mindfully.
Present-moment awareness creates a gap not only in the stream of mind but also in the past-future continuum. Nothing truly new and creative can come into this world except through that gap, that clear space of infinite possibility.
Eckhart Tolle
Purchase The Power of Now on bookshop.org
Art INC.: Lisa Congdon
Essential reading for anyone interested in selling art of any kind. Lisa Congdon lays out some great advice, tools, and resources to help get the most scatterbrained creative get organized around their business.
Purchase Art Inc. on bookshop.org
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative: Austin Kleon
This is a great little book full of inspirational and practical advice for artists. If you’re into it, there’s a couple of other books in the series, I’ll definitely be checking those out soon.
Purchase Steal Like an Artist on bookshop.org
Draplin Design Co. Pretty Much Everything: Aaron James Draplin
When it comes to graphic design, Aaron Draplin is the real fucking deal. I typically hate this analogy but he truly is a ‘rock star’ designer—he goes on tour, he sells merch, he has amazing music taste and has even collaborated with Red Fang (if you’ve never heard of them get ready to have your face melted). Above all else he’s totally true to who he is and insanely prolific. I look through this monograph pretty much every time I’m brainstorming on a logo or pretty much anything. There’s so much in here to look at and help get the wheels turning. Pure fun!
Purchase Pretty Much Everything on bookshop.org
The Story of Art: E.H. Gombrich
When it comes to get inspired in visual art pursuits, nothing does the trick quite like looking back through some art history. This is my go-to art history book because it was quite literally my art history textbook in college and it also happens to be extremely well written and easily digestible with a great comprehensive high level overview of art from prehistoric times up to the 20th century.
Purchase The Story of Art from bookshop.org
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear: Elizabeth Gilbert
I came across this book on another artist’s recommended reading list and picked up a copy at the library. I was shocked because at the time, all I knew of Elizabeth Gilbert was that she wrote “Eat, Prey, Love” but reading this opened my eyes to what an incredibly inspirational artist she is. Reading this was the first time I encountered the concept of ideas being like spirits floating around us and if you don’t grab it when its ready for you, someone else will. It’s a really interesting concept that I’ve noticed pop up again and again in interviews with artists, writers and musicians, etc. Highly recommended for anyone involved in a creative pursuit of any kind.
Related Posts
