I was getting tired of reading business books and wanted to try something a little different; besides the public sector is probably due for a healthy dose of creativity.
The most valuable part of the book for me was chapter 4: Use Your Hands. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the need to step away from the screen more often (which is one of the reasons I’m trying to read more books) and Kleon drives the point home fairly well. The trick, Kleon says, is to divide your workflow into analogue and digital halves and proceed only to the digital side when the creative process is completed. I already move off the screen to do creative work (via my whiteboard), but I think I’m going to make the divide more explicit. I’m also planning on picking up a nice Moleskine notebook so I can move slightly away from my reliance on digital notes and use my hands more often.
In sum, Steal Like an Artist was the easy read I was looking for given the week I was having.
I like your project!
Try Makers by Cory Doctorow
I recently purchased this book on my Kindle but have not read it yet.
Sounds like a good read. I’ll have to check it out. The title alone reminded me of something I came across the other day called “Everything is a Remix” from film maker Kirby Ferguson. This video here is him speaking about the project at a conference, or he’s got a whole website about it here where you can watch the whole documentary. I found it to be pretty interesting stuff. Not sure if they’re directly related, but thought I’d share anyway.
Thanks for the links Jeff and the Reco Dick.