Self-Help & Books
Every year, my criteria for my favourite books of the year changes. In 2024, after coming out of a long writing drought, I’ve realized that the books that left a long-lasting impression on me were the ones that made say, “Wow! I want to write like that!” or “Wow! I want to live that way!”
“Devotion” is a short memoir in the Why I Write series. In this collection of short essays, Patti Smith recounts how she centers devotion in her creative life.
“The City and Its Uncertain Walls” begins with a young nameless couple. The story truly starts when the girl disappears and the boy, now a middle-aged man, decides to unravel the mystery of the walled city she once spoke of.
If you’ve never come across the term ‘autofiction’ before or if you don’t quite know what it means, I have a previous post on What is Autofiction? You can read it here.
In summary, autofiction combines autobiography with fiction. Autofiction is a fictionalized version of the author’s life, or memoir.
“The Creative Act: A Way of Being” is a book about embodying creativity, and is written by world-renowned music producer Rick Rubin.
“Bluets” is a book of lyrical, meditative fragments or vignettes on the colour blue intermingled with Maggie Nelson’s feelings of love, sadness, and despair.
