Creativity is just play
I just finished reading The Starless Sea, by Erin Morgenstern. It was a little crazy, and a little confusing, but rich and full with lush romantic imagery. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Some stories began and ended. Others cropped up out of nowhere. Characters and themes moved between the stories, all tied together with bees and crowns and keys and owls. As I said, a little confusing, so I creeped on the author and came across a review of the book by someone from Harvard. Certainly, they know their stuff at Harvard, right? What did he think? Well... he hated it. No plot line, no character development, no dramatic tension, and so on. He cited an offending piece of prose, appalled that editors had not
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about love and loss and grief and recovery, all wrapped up in the enchanting notion that books are medicine for the soul. The bookstore owner refuses to sell a particular book to a particular client because, "It's not what you need right now." When recommending a book he asks, "How do you want to feel when you go to sleep at night?" and "How should the book taste ? Of ice cream? spicy and meaty? or like a chilled rose?" Seems odd maybe, but really, probably as good a way as any to choose a book. There are books for when you need a good cry - Little Women, Anna Karenina. When you need a thrill, there are books that take you on a roller coaster ride of fear and excitement -- The Scarecrow, and Silence of the Lambs. And there are books like The Night Circus that take you away to a magical place when you really need to go there. If you ever need an intellectual challenge, choose anything Umberto Eco has written.