This is great. Aldous Huxley narrates his book A Brave New World as actors perform sections from the book to the music of Bernard Herrmann, the great composer who worked extensively with Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Scorsese and other great diretors.
This is a digital conversion of the original LP so there is a lot of noise, hisses, pops and scratches, but this is brilliant to listen to nonetheless.
Find the MP3s here.
Throughout my writing career I’ve written or some other creative writing off and on from music video treatments and screenplays to novels, short stories and poetry. Along the way, I’ve made about every mistake you can make, learned some great tricks, had great successes and a few white whales I can’t seem to conquer.
The most important thing to know as a writer is that you have to write, a lot. Write every day, every morning, write when you’re on a break at work, write before bed, write at lunch. Scribble the words on napkins, in journals and into your writing program of choice.
The one resource that I really love is The Lie That Tells A Truth by John Dufresne. No other books has had the impact this book has had on how I approach the craft of writing fiction. His book is full of great information, first-hand examples of how he tackles tough writing challenges and best of all the book makes for a great read. Dufresne’s style is funny and personal. He writes like he gives a damn. And, he knows what hell he’s talking about.
If you write, read this book. Of course, do it while writing. Read it in the nooks and crannies between putting ink to paper (or font to form?) and I think you’ll find that the insights will give you fuel, help you find certainty and just enough hubris to do the unthinkable: write a novel.
That’s my plan. I will write a novel this year. I’d hate to let John down.
I’ve had junior writers ask me over the years if I could give them some suggestions regarding the best books for young copywriters. I’m always torn on this one because ultimately becoming a better writer is about writing, studying effective writing and reading with a critical eye the words of others. However, there are books that have helped me. Mostly via inspiration or by influencing how I think about what I do.
Here are some of those books.
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Zinsser’s book is an absolute classic. No other book has better insight into writing clear, concise, fluid and forceful prose. Perhaps it’s best advice however is the section on the true secret of really great writing: self-editing.
A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
This amazing book by Daniel Pink is about ideas, creativity and the symphony of fusing design thinking, story and the over-arching notion of aesthetics to create a new model for collaboration. Great stuff.
The Elements of Style by Strunk & White
Strunk & White’s ubiquitous book is one of the true grammarian classics. A writer’s bookshelf seems unbalanced without a copy resting somewhere among the books and issues of Print and Creativity. Plus, it’ll help you write more precisely and can answer those pesky little grammar questions we all have from time to time.
A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver
Mary Oliver is one of my favorite poets. Her style and command of language will dig deep into your soul. Give her a read and you’ll see. This book is just what it claims to be, but on a deeper level her deconstruction of great poems, her attention to the nuances of language and sound and the shape of words as they roll off the tongue will help any writer craft more impactful copy. Thing about the meter and rhythm of language. Thing about how this impacts a headline, tagline or any piece of copy and you’ll be all the better for it.
The Lie That Tells a Truth by John Dufresne
A great book on writing fiction by novelist and teacher John Dufresne. What really makes this book great is that it’s one of those writing books that doesn’t feel like a writing. The essays read more like inspirational mantras on the ins and outs, dos and don’ts of the craft of writing. Chapters are filled with great insights, wonderful quotes and tremendous tools for creating great prose. For the copywriters out there read this book for the perspective, the style and because it’s a really fun read.
So that’s my top 5. Ask any other writer and they’ll likely have five different choices as their favorites. The truth is, you can’t go wrong as long as you remain curious and never stop trying to be better at what you do.
The Conscious Cook by Tal Ronnen is one of the most beautiful cookbooks I’ve ever seen. The typography is beautiful, the colors exquisite, the food photography completely tantilizing.
And that’s just aesthetics. The recipes themselves are amazing. This book, along with Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Diet provide an incredible Vegan one-two punch of delicious, natural, earth and animal friendly cooking with flair, flavor and tons of taste.
In The Conscious Cook, we get to see what the new face of Vegan cuisine looks and tastes like. There are no bland, boring or dull dishes here, only rich, savory and satisfying dishes.
Before I became a vegetarian I had this fear that I’d get easily bored with the cuisine. I also had a sense that the faux meats where horrible. I was wrong on both. Granted, the psuedo-saugage, veggie burgers and other veg-meats have made great strides. So much so that I’ve dined at veggie restaurants where you’d never know you were eating chicken or beef if you weren’t paying attention.
This is a great cookbook. It’s full of photos, information and dynamic recipes. The layout is clean and fresh. Designwise, this is one of my favorite cookbooks ever.
A recent story in the New York Times discusses the release of a long-await and very mysterious book by the great psychonaut Carl Jung. The Red Book, set to be released October 7th of this year promises to blow minds while delving deeply into the psyche, dreams and thoughts of one of the world’s greatest minds.
The book has been shrouded in mystery for almost 100 years and still creates a bit of unease even to this day. According to the Times article,
Some people feel that nobody should read the book, and some feel that everybody should read it. The truth is, nobody really knows. Most of what has been said about the book — what it is, what it means — is the product of guesswork, because from the time it was begun in 1914 in a smallish town in Switzerland, it seems that only about two dozen people have managed to read or even have much of a look at it.
So, what is the book about? Well, in essence it’s the search for the Holy Grail. In other words, the primal and very essential search for Soul. Or, as the article puts it, the story is one of the classic hero’s journey where ”Man skids into midlife and loses his soul. Man goes looking for soul. After a lot of instructive hardship and adventure — taking place entirely in his head — he finds it again.”
What did the author find as she read the book? She summarized her reeading of it like this:
The book is bombastic, baroque and like so much else about Carl Jung, a willful oddity, synched with an antediluvian and mystical reality. The text is dense, often poetic, always strange. The art is arresting and also strange. Even today, its publication feels risky, like an exposure. But then again, it is possible Jung intended it as such. In 1959, after having left the book more or less untouched for 30 or so years, he penned a brief epilogue, acknowledging the central dilemma in considering the book’s fate. “To the superficial observer,” he wrote, “it will appear like madness.”
I can’t wait to read it.
Read this book. Digest it. Ingest it. Think about it. Internalize it and please, God please, use it if you’re a writer, designer, creative director, account executive or if you in any way work with products, services or anything that may enter the public sphere.
Neumeier and his company Neutron, LLC has brought some of the freshest and most insightful thinking to the brand / marketing / communications conversation. The Brand Gap is the first in a series of books that have created considerable dialogue within the industry and signaled a paradigm shift toward the power of differentiation and design centered thinking.
Yet, it’s still shocking how resistant some are companies are to going against the cliché and predictable bandwagon jumping that so often characterizes many marketing department strategies.
Note to everyone: Sameness is not a marketing strategy.
Let’s be bold. Let’s take chances and stand for something meaningful and relevant. Who knows, we might just collectively raise what has been a very low bar.
I keep thinking that the best ideas will come when we can get past self-interest and get to a baseline of true collaboration. In my own work, I’m fortunate to have a tremendous creative partner that has great ideas and insights that feed well into the way I think and together we’ve been able to create work I’m very proud of as a creative.
However, this isn’t always the rule. My question is why? What do we have to lose by opening up and letting good thinking in regardless of where it comes from? Are we that territorial?
This from Get Back In The Box by Douglas Rushkoff.
Open source is more than a computer-programming ethos. It’s the impetus to an approach toward work and life that makes secrets and protectionism obsolete, and opens the floodgates of innovation on an unprecedented scale. As of yet, however, most people and businesses are still unprepared to confront the challenges to their own sense of competence that go along with it.
In other words, as Rushkoff writes, “Open source may be a new business model but it’s also a well tested, even ancient, approach to innovation.”
Personally, I like the notion of transparency. It’s honest and sincere and in an industry plagued by deception and skepticism, we need a fresh dose of truth. This begins with the ways in which we work and conduct ourselves. Besides, if we haven’t figured this out yet, people don’t want to be sold, they want instead to be inspired by brands that mean something to them, brands that resonate with their value systems and sense of self.
We gotta start somewhere. Why not the creative process?
Here’s to hoping that Watchmen is more in the spirit of V for Vendetta than League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Of course, Moore’s not a fan of either film or any film based on his writings. I can see the aversion. Then again, my favorite Alan Moore comic book by far is Promethea his metaphysical tale about transformation, enlightenment and ascending the Qabalistic Tree of Life in search of our true Self. Heavy reading yes, but oh so entertaining and what a story.
If you want a bit of future focused brand insight, read The Designful Company by Marty Neumeier from Neutron, LLC. His previous book are must reads ( ZAG being my favorite) and his newest provides a swift kick in the operational jewels of corporate America.
Reading this book made me feel all dreamy and idealistic about the possibilities of a world where companies, marketing departments and even governments where run by designers, creative thinkers, conceptualists and other aesthetically minded leaders. Just imagine what kind of world this would be.
Pipe dreams aside, we are moving ever more quickly toward a designcentric world as the cultural creative class grows, consumers become more brand savvy and the last true differentiation point is the core notion of really great design. We’re headed there now. Take a look at brands like Apple and you’ll see that some are already there and have been as the rest scramble and staff to keep up or in some cases simply get started.
Don’t lag behind. Read The Designful Company and jump on board.
I just read A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink and recommend it to anyone wanting to be grasp the emerging new realities of marketing and communications. His premise is simple: Gone are the days of left-brain dominance. In the age of Asia, Abundance and Automation, we are no longer able to compete as we once did. In fact, if someone overseas can do it more cheaply or if a computer can do it faster, then what you are doing is soon to go away.
But that’s okay. Especially if you’re more right-brained. For these high concept, high touch folks that future is very bright indeed.As for the book, Pink lays out a compelling argument and suggests 6 aptitudes critical for the future: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play and Meaning.
As a writer, director and brand strategist, this book put some additional shape on much of what I’ve been thinking and feeling over the past 5 years. Meaning is essential to people and the various conceptual aptitudes get to the heart of what motivates consumers and what should drive companies into the future.
