The Lack of Book Reading

I once had a dream about writing a book, but I was realistic about the slim odds that it would be read by more than a handful of people.

From a 2021 article by Elle Griffin.

Almost a third of Americans don’t read books at all. And, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the ones that do spend only 16 minutes per day reading. Compare that to the average Netflix watcher who spends close to three hours per day consuming video content. At that pace, a watcher might get through 681 movies in a year while a reader gets through only 16 books—and that’s presuming those 15 minutes are spent reading books.

In reality, books compete for our reading time alongside newspapers, magazines, and other online publications. Even this year, when leisure time increased as a result of the pandemic, novels saw only a subtle increase in sales over last year—by 2.8 percent. News consumption, however, saw an increase of 215 percent with most of that time taking place on Facebook (23 minutes per day), Google (14 minutes per day), and MSN (five minutes per day).

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The Hauntingly Beautiful Music of Ekaterina Shelehova.

When I first heard the voice of Ekaterina Shelehova, it stopped me in my tracks. This is the rare kind of music capable of causing sailers to crash their ship into the rocks. Amazing:

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"For those who are wondering This is Ekaterina Shelehova, a talented soprano singer known for her original and expressive voice. She has made a name for herself in the opera world and has also joined the French new age group Era as their lead vocalist. Born in Kaliningrad, Russia in 1995, Ekaterina has been singing since the age of three and has won numerous awards and accolades for her performances. She is fluent in four languages and is also a former gymnast, showcasing her versatility and talent in various fields."

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John Cleese: Creativity is a Matter of Working Longer

How was  John Cleese able to generate so many creative scripts for the Monty Python Flying Circus? He worked longer hours, which required that he put up with more discomfort. That was his formula, which he discusses in this short video:

In 2020, Cleese wrote a wrote a short and cheerful guide to creativity called Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide.

Here are a few of my favorite ideas from his book:

Definition of creativity: "Wherever you can find a way of doing things that is better than what has been done before, you are being creative."

"Creativity is elusive like a dim star – sometimes you can’t see it until we look away."

"Creativity often come when you least expect it. For instance, while leeping or taking a walk. To be creative, you often need to work in silence."

Creativity comes quietly – often it only whispers at you.

I began to realise that my unconscious was working on stuff all the time without my being consciously aware of it.And that's the problem with the unconscious. It is unconscious. The language of the unconscious is not verbal. It’s like the language of dreams. It shows you images, it gives you feelings, it nudges you around without you immediately knowing what it’s getting at.

There were only two differences between the creative and the uncreative architects. Creative architects knew how to play.Creative architects always deferred making decisions for as long as they were allowed.

The greatest killer of creativity is interruption. It pulls your mind away from what you want to be thinking about.

Creativity may come from inside, as you suddenly remember something that you’ve forgotten to do, or worry that time is running out, or that you don’t think you’re clever enough to solve whatever problem it is that you’re trying to deal with. This can paralyse you.

It is, however, very important that when you first have a new idea, you don’t get critical too soon. New and “woolly” ideas shouldn’t be attacked by your logical brain until they’ve had time to grow, to become clearer and sturdier. New ideas are rather like small creatures. They’re easily strangled.

I'll close with two more quotes about creativity:

“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work." Chuck Close

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist” Attributed to Pablo Picasso.

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