Creativity by John Cleese

I have never thought much about creativity. Yes, I know that it exists, because why wouldn't I know with reading so many books? But I have never broken it down to see what it truly is and how we all come about it in different ways. That creativity is not something which is simply for the arts, it's everywhere if you know where to look for it. It is just sometimes you need to know the basics to create new rules. But in other cases, the rules stifle creativity and thinking can just as much be a problem for some principled subjects compared to others.

'Creativity' is one of those books that you can have as a quick read if you are bored, want to read something new, or to pass the time if you can't get to sleep (which was in my case when reading it originally). To put it simply, it is a bible for creativity. One that you can easily refer back to if you are having a rough day with your creative piece and need something to show you that it is possible to find the right way to finish it.

Don't get me wrong however, it wasn't perfect. Far from it. For some of the book it felt like Cleese's ramblings for what he believed for creativity to be. Almost like it should have been a part of the earlier stages of planning the book, rather than the final product. If you want to find answers to what he believes of creativity, you have got to dig deep. It is not something that you can simply read quickly off the page.

However, would I recommend this to any type of budding creative? Well, yes of course. But just make sure that you don't make this your leading authority to have a more creative life. You have to come to terms that creativity is not set in stone. It changes, it's not stagnant, just how we live through life. So, if you want you can read this, great, but make sure that it does not completely influence how you want to be creative, because otherwise how is that creative?

On this occasion, I gave this bible of creativity three stars.

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