They say you are what you eat, and that applies to creativity as well. I believe the books you consume have more an effect than you might first think. For me it started with working freelance, I edited a wide range of stories from across all sorts of genres. Then I found interest in many more areas. Then I began my minor in Classical Humanities, and began reading classics and learning about Greco-Roman myths and religion. There is a noticeable difference in my writing process and works since I began reading widely. As I learn more history, religion, languages, and read widely from fantasy to historical fiction to horror to thriller—the more eager I become to create.
Connections from various aspects of life inspire new things, and while there can be creativity anywhere, from little-to-no consumption to maximum consumption; I find the more I sit and digest the things around me, the more I find a thrill in breaking it all up and piecing it back together in my next creation. Whether that next creation is a painting, a poem, a flash fiction, or a novel, I find myself excited for the process.
So for today, I wanted to review a range of books I’ve read that I would recommend for expanding your creativity. Get ready for a metric TON of book recommendations. I’ll also be mentioning some fantastic YouTube channels for learning!
Recommended Reads: Fiction
For Fiction I’ll be recommending the most here. From fantasy, to historical fiction, to sci-fi, and more–I highly recommend taking the time to read each one aloud. If you’re like me and struggle with focus, try listening to an online audiobook while you read along on the pages! It helps make the work more digestible.
Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
Classical Fantasy
Dragonsong, the first volume in the series, is the enchanting tale of how Menolly of Half Circle Hold became Pern’s first female Harper, and rediscovered the legendary fire lizards who helped to save her world.
I mark this as classical fantasy because it really feels exactly like that. It’s a quick read if you’re looking for something to get you out of a reading slump or have limited reading time. his may sound a little odd, but the way it is written is so saturated – it felt colorful as I read through the book and the world described was vibrantly alluring despite being quite down in some areas. If you’re looking for a classy fantasy with an enchanting feeling look no further than Dragonsong.
Fixing Hanover by Jeff VanderMeer
Dystopian/Steampunk/Sci-fi
Fixing Hanover is a very short Steampunk/Sci-fi piece that I wish everyone would read at least once! The prose is thought provokingly good, and the ideas shown in this story make it feel like a political dystopia in a strange land.
It’s such an abnormal piece in a good way! And very different from a lot of steampunk literature as it feels very literary/mysterious. Fixing Hanover is found in a collection of steampunk stories called Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Greek Mythology Retelling
Achilles, “the best of all the Greeks,” son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods’ wrath.
A classic among Booktok and Bookstagram. The Song of Achilles got me out of an extended reading slump and is one of the stories that got me more invested in Greek mythology. It’s a fictional retelling centered around the romance between Achilles and Patroclus. Madeline Miller’s writing is literally breathtaking, the prose in this story is amazing. Each character has such depth, and the dynamics of each interpersonal relationship is unique. This book is emotional, fantastical, and very thought provoking. It’s also a very easy story to get pulled into, and shouldn’t take too long to read.
Angel Mage by Garth Nix
Three Muskateers Fantasy
This is a story I’ve loved, hated, and respected. At first I read this in highschool and adored it. The Angel Mage by Garth Nix follows a three musketeers style story, with even several characters from The Three Musketeers appearing. It handles an enchantingly complex magic system revolving around angels, and the best part? It focuses on the effects of calling on angels for magic – as humans cannot fully comprehend the beings before them when called.
The descriptions, despite being unable to fully paint an image really drive home that idea of something different from what humans naturally see, and the effects of using one for magic is my all time favorite! I adore magic that comes at a cost, and while one character is unique in her abilities in dealing with angels it is well portrayed and doesn’t feel like main character plot armor. The magic system revolving around calling angels to use their powers, but in turn it would age your body or deteriorate it further was the strongest feature of this book!
It’s such a unique fantasy, even though I never really got the Three Muskateers aspects until after reading it, I’d still recommend it. The concepts introduced have sat with me for a long time after reading it, and it’s a good story to read at least once!
Fatal Throne by Anderson, Donnelly, Fleming, Hemphill, Hopkinson, Park, & Sandell
Historical Fiction
If you were one of King Henry VIII’s six wives, who would you be? Would you be Anne Boleyn, who literally lost her head? Would you be the subject of rumor and scandal like Catherine Howard? Or would you get away and survive like Anna of Cleves?
This story is a fictional retelling of King Henry VIII’s six wives, written by a different author for each perspective. I’ve heard many say it’s as close to historically accurate as possible, but of course we will never truly know exact POV. It is an excellent story if you enjoy The Crown on Netflix or want to get into Tudor history. The perspectives are unique, and the way it gives voice to each woman is amazingly done.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Classic/Historical Fiction
If you’re worried about getting into classics such as Moby Dick–It’s not as scary as it seems! Especially with this story. Now there might be a bit of a reading curve, I know I had to read a bit slow the first time, but honestly? It’s not as serious as I originally expected.
It’s stock full of puns, wordplay, and more. The style and theming are phenomenal, and I honestly was very surprised by this piece after all it’s built up to be as a staple classic. I found it very humorous to be honest!
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Classic/Southern Gothic
This is a story I downright despised when I first read it. As I Lay Dying is a story I was assigned in a literature class during my Associates Degree, and the more I read it and came back to it the more I found myself captivated by it.
The story lingers in the mind, and leads to some fascinating discussions. In my group discussion I saw even the haters loved to talk about this one. For a story that needs to be digested over and over to be seen in different lights, As I Lay Dying is a story you’ll contemplate for a while.
Reading Note: Listen to the audiobook from youtube while you read along the pages. It makes the story matter easier to digest! If you read faste or slower, don’t forget you can change the playback speed.
Recommended Reads: Non-Fiction
Short Intro
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
The Creative Act is a beautiful and generous course of study that illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It distills the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime’s work into a luminous reading experience that puts the power to create moments–and lifetimes–of exhilaration and transcendence within closer reach for all of us.
Meander, Spiral, Explode by Jane Allison
“For centuries there’s been one path through fiction we’re most likely to travel―one we’re actually told to follow―and that’s the dramatic arc: a situation arises, grows tense, reaches a peak, subsides…But something that swells and tautens until climax, then collapses? Bit masculo-sexual, no? So many other patterns run through nature, tracing other deep motions in life. Why not draw on them, too?”
This story really shifted my perspective on the creative act of writing from a text based process to a very vivid imagery based flow. It’s a unique read for the creative process and I recommend it to every writer I work with.
Recommended Reads: Poetry
For poems, I am going to recommend different authors and show one of their works as an example. I highly recommend taking the time to read each one aloud, putting emphasis on different words to really feel the poetry. I first scoffed at this idea until I had one particular professor who took the time to read each poem aloud like this and I find that it’s easier to digest the poem by putting in this effort.
Many of the poems I’ll be recommending can be found in the Norton Anthology series–these books can be pricier if you look at the newest editions but older editions are hardly different and can be found on sites like Thriftbooks for a fair price. Not to mention, you’re getting a TON of stories and poems in each one. It might look intimidating as a larger book, but just reading a page each day can be satisfying.
Langston Hughes, Harlem
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Copright Credit
Copyright Credit: Langston Hughes, “Harlem” from The Collected Works of Langston Hughes. Copyright © 2002 by Langston Hughes. Reprinted by permission of Harold Ober Associates, Inc.
Source: The Collected Works of Langston Hughes (University of Missouri Press (BkMk Press), 2002)
Langston Hughes was a prominent author connected with the Harlem Renaissance. In the 1930s he was called “the bard of Harlem.” This poem is one of his more popular works, and is one of my all time favorite poems.
It’s sharp to read aloud, and is just a fascinating poem. It was a powerful piece for it’s time and what it stood for during the Harlem Renaissance, and it still stands strong today. I recommend checking out other poems by Langston Hughes, and looking into his life story as well. This can be found in the Norton Anthology of American Literature Vol. D 1914-1945.
Read more about Langston Hughes and his works here.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
PART I
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
‘By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp’st thou me?
The Bridegroom’s doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May’st hear the merry din.’
I did not include the whole poem, as it is a very long one in seven parts. The whole poem is linked in the section title though, if you want to read the rest. It is an intriguing read as many stories of the modern age connect to ideas of the Mariner in this poem. My one example I can give on a more modern reflection of this, is the Mariner in Elden Ring. This mini boss seems to have taken much inspiration from this poem in his lore and themes.
This story/poem is about redemption, curses, and creation and focuses on the lasting repercussions of a thoughtlessly evil act. This can be found in the Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. D The Romantic Period.
Read more about Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his works here.
Nikita Gill, The Truth About Your Heart
Your heart will fix itself.
It’s your mind you need to worry about.
Your mind where you locked the memories,
your mind where you have kept pieces of the ones that hurt you,
that still cut through you like shards of glass.
Your mind will keep you up at night, make you cry,
destroy you over and over again.
You need to convince your mind that it has to let go…
because your heart already knows how to heal.
Nikita Gill is a modern poet, unlike most of the others I have suggested. She is a British-Indian poet and has many volumes of poetry released including Your Soul Is A River (2016), Wild Embers: Poems of rebellion, fire and beauty (2017), Fierce Fairytales: & Other Stories to Stir Your Soul (2018), Great Goddesses: Life lessons from myths and monsters (2019), Your Heart Is The Sea (2019), The Girl and the Goddess (2020).
Her works are often focused on love, finding purpose or confidence, or feminist retellings of fairy tales or Greek myths. Her works aren’t my typical type of poetry, but I enjoy it nonetheless! I recommend checking out some of her works as they are inspiring and unique for modern poetry.
You can find Nikita Gill on Instagram here.
E. E. Cummings, pity this busy monster, manunkind
pity this busy monster, manunkind,
not. Progress is a comfortable disease:
your victim (death and life safely beyond)
plays with the bigness of his littleness
—- electrons deify one razorblade
into a mountainrange; lenses extend
unwish through curving wherewhen till unwish
returns on its unself.
A world of made
is not a world of born —- pity poor flesh
and trees, poor stars and stones, but never this
fine specimen of hypermagical
ultraomnipotence. We doctors know
a hopeless case if —- listen: there’s a hell
of a good universe next door; let’s go
This is a strange poem, from it’s play on formatting to use of capitalization (or lack of capitalization) to make it’s point. The poem can be read many ways, but focuses on the destruction of humankind’s progress and their warped view of the world.
I like the way the lines cuts from “pity this busy monster, manunkind, not.” Which shifts the view one might have from the title alone. Take your time reading this one aloud a few times. I also recommend checking out some of E. E. Cummings other poems such as, “anyone lived in a pretty how town.”
I recommend looking more into E. E. Cummings, both through his works and his life if you’re interested in toying with grammar rules in your own writing. This can be found in the Norton Anthology of American Literature Vol. D 1914-1945.
Read more about E. E. Cummings and his works here.
YouTube Channels
Here are a few channels I’d recommend for even more creativity!
Odysseas
This channel is a good place to start if you’re looking for ways to get into some new hobbies, learn new things, and improve yourself in a studious way. The videos are very organized, and the channel feels like it’ university level work.
I enjoyed his videos on Managing Multiple Interests, Mini Essays: The Ultimate Learning Tool, and Become a Renaissance Man with 3 Hours/Day.
Check out Odysseas here!
Rob Pirie – The Cause
Rob Pirie’s channel The Cause is all about continuation of education, classics, and living a joy fiilled life. I haven’t watched too many of his videos but the few I have seen were pretty intuiative.
Check out Rob Pirie here!
Internet Pitstop
This channel is way different than you’d think of something being suggested on an education/literary consumption article–but it’s honestly a great channel for perspectives on gaming and the craft/art of game development. His video edits make them really fun to watch, and if you struggle to pay attention to longer video essays (I do too, don’t worry) his videos are more enagaging and easy to get into.
I recommend starting with his video on The Atmosphere of Zelda, it’s a really good breakdown video and is very inspiring to watch. Internet Pitstop’s channel gives Y2K vibes, and is pretty laid back and chill.
Check out Internet Pitstop here!
Mina Le
Mina Le has some fascinating video essays on a wide variety of subjects. Her discussions on topics of modern times include intriguing study citations and always lead to some pretty insightful points for discussion. Mostly focusing on critiques/discussions of modern times, i.e. friendship in the current age, the downfall of streaming, how reading is changing due to social media, and more!
Check out Mina Le here!
The Book Leo
The Book Leo is a fun channel for mostly YA book reviews and discussions! From book reviews to insightful conversations on various publishing trends or popular tropes, Leonie’s channel is a great one to watch when you can!
Check out The Book Leo here!
FatBrett
Another channel for video essays, all about video games. FatBrett’s breakdowns always take the storyline in a videogame way further than I originally expected. It can be inspiring as hell, and seeing these breakdowns always blows my mind. The deconstruction of villainy videos are some of the best! FatBrett takes lore in videogames to feel like a university lecture on Greek mythos.
Check out FatBrett here!
One important thing to remember when reading widely–not every book is meant to make you feel good or fully satisfied. Books are made to move you, to make you feel a wide range of emotions from confusion to sadness to anger to joy. Now I’m not excusing poor writing by saying it’s good to confuse you–that isn’t always good but there are cases where confusion when reading leads to questioning, which leads to discussion, which leads to further critical thought and debate of a subject. (Goodness, maybe I should be a literature professor after all!)
Keep pushing forward, keep learning, keep growing, and remember–you’re one step ahead of where you were yesterday!
Cheers,
Mason Monteith
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