Free to be creative

An annotated reading of the books I read in November 2024.

This month’s books center on the idea of learning, the creative process, and how to design one’s life around fulfillment. You know, simple topics. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Learning, fast and slow

Do you ever find yourself wishing you could understand an interesting topic more deeply but feel intimidated by imposter’s syndrome? Don’t be! We are all novices in many facets of our world, no matter how generalized (or specialized) our skillsets may be. Ultralearning by Scott H. Young dives into the fascinating world of ultralearners, individuals who commit to mastering a new topic or speciality by dedicating a portion of their weekly schedule to acquiring the necessary skills to succeed in this new domain. Though the many case studies Young shares, by the end of the book, you may feel empowered to try ultralearning a new skillset you’ve always been curious about. Who knows, the process of ultralearning may teach you a thing or two more about yourself!

Why do we always cram-jam our calendars?

Looking at your Google Calendar on a weekend and realizing how much you have going on the next week can be simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting. It turns out, in a post-attention economy world, that constantly filling our calendars to the brim can not only burn out our adrenal glands (not really) but may also limit our levels of creativity throughout the week (more on this later). In Free to Focus, Michael Hyatt outlines this idea in depth while making the case for a more intentional structuring of one’s week, with the primary goal being to shift as many of your weekly activities into a zone of “Desire” rather than “Drudgery”. Doing so may not only improve your everyday experience at work but also increase your annual creative output.

The idea factory

If you want to take a deep dive on the psychology of some of the most creative individuals of our time, look no further than Creativity by the venerable Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. This book will teach you that creativity looks different for everyone, but focused effort (and flow) seems to be a key ingredient within many of history’s most creative environments.

How naval is your lifestyle design?

Inevitably, Naval would show up on one of my reading lists. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant takes readers on a whirlwind yet holistic philosophical (and practical) exploration of what makes life worth living (and how to live well in the modern era). For those interested in lifestyle design, this is a must read.

Finally, something that’s not self-help

This monthly reading list would be remiss without including at least one classic sci-fi book, namely the Hugo award-winning Hyperion. In this first entry of the two-part series, Dan Simmons weaves an intricate web of character arcs and backstories into a singular narrative that compels readers to plow through its pages (or at least it did for me). I will say, I felt the ending of this entry was too abrupt for my taste, but at least the follow-up work picks up almost exactly where the first book concludes. If you like time-altering sci-fi narratives, you should consider adding this series to your reading queue.

Cheerio.

Alex