10 (+2) Books on Art and Writing

 

These books are basically in order from my favorite to the not-quite-favorites…the middle is kind of all jumbled and they’re about equal weight.  I don’t have much to say about them individually.  All of these are books that are beautiful to read, inspiring, and informative.

1. Walking on Water

Hands down my most favorite book on creativity and faith.  I saw this at a garage sale and bought it (and it had highlighted notes all over the inside, which I hate!  I still haven’t bought a new copy.), having never heard of it, but it looked interesting.  This was in the early years of being married and having babies, and I was not in a creative mode at all, really.  This was just the push I needed to realize that yes, I am deeply creative, and that it matters.

2.  Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale

3. Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies

This is brilliant.  LOVE this one.

4. For the Beauty of the Church

5. Syllable of Water

6. Bird by Bird

7. Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity

8. On Writing

So I read my first Steven King book after reading this, and…it wasn’t bad.  I had to mentally tell myself it was just a book and it wasn’t evil and sinful to read, as it was so ingrained in me.  I have this thing about eyeballs, though……as in, they really creep me out.  I have hard contacts, and I never want to have soft ones so I won’t have to touch my eye to take them out.  Thankfully, my eyes are bad enough I won’t ever be able to get them.  (Yay, bad genetics!)  And when I was little,  I saw an episode of 3-2-1 Contact! that dissected a cow’s eye, and I can still picture it, and it’s gross.  So….in the King book I read, there was a horrible scene of an eyeball and a coat hook (I don’t even remember the name of the book to warn you)….and I haven’t had the nerve to pick up another book of his.  But this one is good.

9. Rumors of Water

10. More Than Words: Contemporary Writers on the Works That Shaped Them

(11). The War of Art

(12). The Culturally Savvy Christian: A Manifesto for Deepening Faith and Enriching Popular Culture in an Age of Christianity-Lite

 What are your favorite books on writing/art/faith?
 

 Linking up to the excellent series with Sarah Bessey!

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