100 books like The Genius Zone

Anyone who’s looking to establish a daily creative practice would be well advised to read this book and put the beautiful ideas inside into practice.

It’s packed with 12 weeks' worth of ideas for bringing out your artistic side. The ideas can help with any type of creative endeavour and are sure to encourage those creative juices to flow!

I met the author, Adam J. Kurz, at a conference for creatives, and his story of starting and growing his creative business inspired me to buy this book. In the book Adam shares tiny, easy-to-read tips for creatives who want to share their work with the world in their own unique and authentic way. Each page of the book is perforated so you can tear it out and send it as a small reminder to a friend. I love the message in the title – things are what you make of them – and this book offers you a unique perspective on failure, success, creative block, fear, starting again, and organizing your work life so you can enjoy it. 

Would you like to turn the seemingly impossible into the possible?

Then, add this compelling and insightful book to your library. The author, in brilliant detail, shows you how to imagine the unimaginable and solve the unsolvable.

With practical advice and easy-to-understand language, Varol describes nine simple strategies that you can use to advance your career and advance your life.

What I like so much about this book is that the techniques are universal - they can be learned and used by anyone, no matter their occupation, the challenges they normally face, or they questions they often ask.

Varol shows you, in rich detail, how to approach complex and unfamiliar problems…and solve them with efficiency and satisfaction.

Your creativity will soar…like a rocket ship!

How do creative people produce their best work? That’s the question Galenson researched as an economics professor leading to this book comparing the two major creative approaches he’s identified: Do they create by just getting started and through incremental efforts and continuous testing they feel their way until they discover what they will create? Or do they begin with careful and comprehensive plans of what they will create, beginning only when they are confident they have a full vision of what the end looks like? He studied artists—painters and poets, novelists and sculptors—but the questions he asks and the answers he frames are relevant to all creatively entrepreneurial work and he shares his thoughts about that as well. I love Cezanne’s paintings and was delighted to learn my creative process is similar to his. 

This is one of only a few books I’ve found that looks directly at the way writers can use dream awareness in their creative practice. It’s a collection of interviews with twenty-six well-known authors compiled by dream researcher and radio-show host Naomi Epel, in which they talk about specific dreams that have inspired them and their thoughts about dreaming in general. I bought a copy to dip into on the train to London for a meeting but found it so fascinating, I abandoned my plan to do some sightseeing afterward, and made instead for the nearest bench and takeaway coffee, to spend the afternoon reading.

I think this book is perfect to address creative ruts, when we feel like we’ve explored all the usual avenues of inspiration. I love that it’s interactive with a mix-and-match prompt system.

It provides a breath of fresh air and aligns with how I love to generate random drawing prompts. I love discovering a new combination of prompts, pushing me out of my comfort zone and into creative territories I hadn't dared to venture before.

It's not just a book; it's a companion for those moments when the blank page seems daunting.

One of the questions most asked by my students is, “How do you find your voice, your style, your essence.”

This title by Lisa Congdon is one that I always recommend, as it addresses the quintessential challenge every artist faces: finding and honing their unique voice. Masterfully combining personal anecdotes with practical advice, Congdon makes the journey of artistic self-discovery less daunting and more exhilarating.

Her wisdom and experience act as a gentle guide, encouraging readers to explore and embrace their unique style. Reading this book is like having a heart-to-heart with a wise friend who knows the struggles and triumphs of being an artist.

Congdon’s approach is not about quick fixes; it’s about a deep, sustained exploration of what makes your art uniquely yours. More than instructional, it's a transformative read, imbued with the kind of sincere,  heartfelt guidance that can only come from someone who's walked the path… show more.

A perfectly formed, intimate epiphany of a book about birdwatching, by a non-birdwatcher. Unmoored by her father’s illness, Maclear tries to find a way of making life make sense. She experiments with calligraphy; she wrestles with writer’s block. One day she meets a birdwatching musician, who explains how the activity helps dissipate his worries and daily pressures. Intrigued, she asks if she can tag along. Reluctant at first, and almost despite herself, the author begins to find peace and unexpected beauty in the urban landscape. She discovers that simply being still triggers introspection. This is also a book about the tension between freedom and confinement – something that resonates particularly for me, as a writer with children.

Artist, designer, writer James Victore urges us to be ourselves without hesitation. Artists don’t fit in, we can’t. We’re observers and makers and require a certain distance from the mainstream to refine our vision and do our work. But we can be afraid to express ourselves fully and stand out from the crowd. This book dishes out confidence like candy. It’s a great place to replenish flagging spirits when they descend as they will from time to time. It’s energizing and makes you want to open your eyes and do what you can to further the unfolding of your truth and spirit. Written in short pithy chapters, you can dip in and out of it whenever you need a boost.

This book demonstrates that anyone can be creative, regardless of their background, profession, or society’s definition of a creative person.

Even though the examples in the book are largely artists’ stories, Brito presents them in a way that I can apply to my career. The book inspires me to explore new ways of thinking and problem-solving. What resonated with me the most were the examples of artists who faced setbacks but transformed their approaches, ultimately achieving success.

The book also delves into the stories of well-known entrepreneurs who pivoted, providing me with inspiration for sticking with an entrepreneurial project when it gets challenging.