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Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

Elizabeth Gilbert (Goodreads Author)

3.93 · Rating details · 158,199 ratings · 12,520 reviews

The instant #1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller

Named a Hot Fall Read by USA Today, Vanity Fair, Newsday, O Magazine, the Seattle Times, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Mashable, Pop Sugar, and the San Antonio Express-News

Named a Best Book of the Year by Brainpickings and Book Riot

"A must read for anyone hoping to live a creative life... I dare you not to be inspired to be brave, to be ...more

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Audio CD, 288 pages

Published September 22nd 2015 by Penguin Audio

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Oct 05, 2015 Ariel rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I appreciate and respect Elizabeth Gilbert's attempt to inspire creativity, and can fully see why people could love this and take a lot away from it.. but there were too many fundamental things that I disagreed with/thought were done poorly for me.

1) Creativity as a type of religion: I don't know if "religion" is the right word here, but Gilbert's spiritualization of creativity is saturated in this book. She talks about our need to think of creativity as a spiritual entity, to believe that ideas I appreciate and respect Elizabeth Gilbert's attempt to inspire creativity, and can fully see why people could love this and take a lot away from it.. but there were too many fundamental things that I disagreed with/thought were done poorly for me.

1) Creativity as a type of religion: I don't know if "religion" is the right word here, but Gilbert's spiritualization of creativity is saturated in this book. She talks about our need to think of creativity as a spiritual entity, to believe that ideas can leave us and jump into other people, etc. It all seems extremely unimportant and clouded to me, muddy and distracting.
2) Everything was super cheesy: It's tough to write non-fiction, especially motivational non-fiction, that doesn't end up being preachy or cheesy, I understand that, but this book had me rolling my eyes all over the place. Maybe some of those moments were what some people needed to hear, but for me it was just extremely boring and anti-climatic.
3) It was extremely name dropping: every few chapters Gilbert would say "So, I have this famous friend," and it started to get really grating. I get that she has interesting friends with interesting stories, but it really just felt like a pile of name drops.
4) An uncomfortable anti-higher education stand point: Studying the arts is a very oxymoronic idea, I can absolutely admit to that. Art is about personal endeavour and creativity, and in many ways can't be "taught." But there was a section in this book where Gilbert is very against creative related higher education. I agree that no one should feel that they need to pay crazy amounts of money to feel like a proper artist, but I really disagree with the idea that higher education is useless or worthless and gives you nothing but debt. I think that would be true if higher education was about creating good artists, but that's not what it's about - it's about giving you new perspectives, ideas, references, people, time.. things that you can then use to make stuff you may never have been able to make otherwise. Of course it isn't necessary, but to say it's worthless rubbed me the wrong way.
5) The opinion that creativity isn't necessary: There was a big section that I found really confusing and counter-intuitive to her entire argument, where she argued that the arts aren't necessary. She mentions how plumbers and janitors (for example) are roles that ARE necessary, but art isn't. And I just, shoot, I just really disagree with that. Of course art is necessary! If it wasn't necessary we wouldn't all wear different clothing, cut our hair in different ways, decorate our rooms differently, we wouldn't care about recording history, or sharing our experiences. Maybe someone could take from her writings a freeing lesson that "I can do whatever I want, because it doesn't matter!" but I disagree.

I am glad (contrary, perhaps, to this review's tone) that I read this because I do like hearing people champion creativity, but there were too many differences in mine and Gilbert's thinking. I recommend skipping this one and instead reading "Show Your Work" by Austin Kleon, a book I thought was super motivating and uplifting. ...more

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Jul 20, 2015 Lorilin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own, arc, wellness

Talk about receiving the right message at the right time. Wow. Big Magic is one of the most honest discussions about the creative process that I’ve ever read. Gilbert strikes a playful and conversational tone, but make no mistake, this is all straight talk. Her no BS attitude helps do away with the unrealistic expectations and unnecessary melodrama attached to the concept of “creative living” (like how she so expertly pish poshes the tormented artist ideal). And in its place, she asks all people Talk about receiving the right message at the right time. Wow. Big Magic is one of the most honest discussions about the creative process that I’ve ever read. Gilbert strikes a playful and conversational tone, but make no mistake, this is all straight talk. Her no BS attitude helps do away with the unrealistic expectations and unnecessary melodrama attached to the concept of “creative living” (like how she so expertly pish poshes the tormented artist ideal). And in its place, she asks all people who feel called to create (writers, painters, musicians, whatever) to quietly and joyfully accept their creative inclinations and ideas as gifts from the universe. She reminds them to approach their creativity with curiosity and openness, with playfulness and joy—even when it’s tough, even when there is no Pulitzer, no bestseller list, no call from the Met. Own that creativity, she encourages. And also stay light with it.

Well, this was the message I (apparently) desperately needed to hear. I’m a stay-at-home mom with three young children. And when people ask me what I do, that is what I always tell them. But that isn’t what I want to tell them. What I want to tell them—what I want to shout from the rooftops, in fact—is that I’m a writer. Sure, barely anyone reads what I write, I’ve never been published, and it probably goes without saying that I’ve never been paid for a single sentence. In other words, no one really gets anything out of my work but me. But I love it, straight up. So I keep writing, regardless.

Yet it feels weird to declare yourself “A Something!” when that something doesn’t earn you money or status or likes or hits or retweets. Which means even though this side passion feels so authentically “me,” I hide it so people won’t think I’m a loser, an imposter, a wannabe, an embarrassment, a failure…and the list goes on.

I guess this reality had been bumming me out more than I realized, because when I read the following words, they resonated with me in an unimaginably powerful and loving way—like I was receiving a cosmic hug:

“Shake yourself free of all your cumbersome ideas about what you require in order to become ‘creatively legitimate’… You do not need a permission slip from the principal’s office to live a creative life. Or if you do worry that you need a permission slip—THERE, I just gave it to you… Now go make something.”

In other words, Gilbert’s message is this: just accept that you need to create. Accept that this is a part of you, that you are ALREADY “creatively legitimate.” And just do what you naturally feel compelled to do. Do it with joy—even when it gets difficult—and don’t worry about how it will be received (if it’s received at all). If you are called to be a maker, then you will just have to make. Own who you are, for better or worse.

So that’s what I’m doing from now on. I’m owning it. This is me stating my intent:

Hello, world. My name is Ladybug. I am a writer.
...more

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Jan 05, 2016 Darth J rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: disappointing, non-fiction, pretentious

Preach, Vain, Snore

You know, I didn't enter into this as a "hate-read", despite being such a cynic. I don't like to waste my time and money on things just to have something to snark at (I can already hear the snickering in the audience as I write that). You see, with any of these advice books I actually want to learn something useful; that's the whole reason why I would pick it up in the first place. Despite being utterly let down with her previous book, I genuinely wanted to give this a try, if ...more

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May 07, 2015 Chris Blocker rated it liked it · review of another edition

Is it mere coincidence that BIG is synonymous with FAT and that MAGIC is one of those oblique words difficult to put your finger on, like CHANCE? Because I think that's a better title for this book: Fat Chance. That's the message here: you're gonna fail, you big loser! Where's the big magic in that?

I get it, some artists are confused about the outcomes or reasons for pursuing creative ventures. It's true, most of us are going to fail and fail again. Many of us will eventually give up trying. Gilbert's aim here seems to be getting people to think differently about art, to force them to realize that the business sucks and the process isn't always easy, but we should all be happy because we're like children, finger painting our hearts out.

Somehow the fact that this advice comes from someone whose net worth is $25 million doesn't make it any easier to swallow.

The very fact I read this book is a testament to Gilbert's brilliance. It was her 2009 TED Talk that turned me onto the author, a writer I had written off previously solely because of her wild success. Not surprisingly, it is Gilbert's wonderful, well-presented argument about the elusive genius that opens up Big Magic. The message in these chapters is more inspirational: we all have creativity; relax, it's not your fault if your genius eludes you.

But the rest of the book gets lost in Gilbert rubbing our faces in her success. I know it's not easy, she seems to be saying, creativity won't pay the bills, so just quit thinking about it as a occupation and think of it more as finger painting!

There's truth there, no doubt. But Gilbert seems too desirous of proving her point by stretching truths. She points out how creative occupations are inherently worthless, the least valuable occupation in society. Objectively, perhaps that roofer's role in society can be more easily quantifiable, but to ignore the artist's role in shaping change and eliciting awe, to call art “arguably useless,” seems rather narrow-minded. (What would your muses think, Liz?) Name one roofer from history whose work was more meaningful than Michelangelo's ceiling. Also, Gilbert belittles creative higher education by smashing the MFA in writing, declaring it a fruitless activity. To prove her point, she highlights that no American winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature had ever earned an MFA. Point proven, well done. Except that half of the winners of the Nobel predated the existence of the MFA. Those who followed were entirely established before the MFA really gained momentum in the writing community. Likewise, the Internet is rather useless because Buddha never surfed the web, and Jesus declared disdain for Starbucks by having never consumed a cup of joe.

In the end, I think there are definitely glimmers of brilliance in this book and perhaps it is a great book for those who are kidding themselves about the arts. Me? I'm prepared for the toughness. I expect rejection. I'm still here because I love doing it. I whine from time to time, but I don't plan on quitting; I have no backup. Perhaps I should enjoy my occupation more, but being told I'm a failure isn't exactly going to make me jump for joy. Gilbert's insight, while largely accurate, is salt on an open wound for those of us who know it sucks. And I guess the message of Big Magic is that it will continue to suck, even when one of my books takes off and is made into a well-financed motion picture. Fat Chance. ...more

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May 01, 2015 Diane rated it it was amazing

Shelves: inspirational, audiobooks, nonfiction, favorites, writers-on-writing

Thank you, Elizabeth Gilbert, for writing this much-needed book on creativity. It was practical, helpful, comforting and inspiring. I know it will be a book I recommend over and over again to writer and artist friends, and anyone else who wants to live a more creative life.

I've been struggling for a week over this review, and I'm still a bit overwhelmed. Sometimes books are so powerful that trying to cobble together a few paragraphs about them seems both trivial and also maddeningly crucial. How ...more

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Dec 08, 2015 Debbie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfict-not-memoir, best-reads-2012-through-2019, all-time-favorites, luscious-spines-live-in-my-bookcase, writing, bookcase-of-faves-at-home, blew-my-mind

Favorite Book of the Year

Where to start? This book knocked my socks off. Which is pretty strange given that I’ve always been a die-hard cynic (with really tight socks). I’ve always rolled my eyes at spirituality and snidely called it woo woo (now I murmur woo woo with affection). And self-help? Please! I don’t need some pompous asshole telling me how to live right, okay? And I wasn’t a fan of Eat, Pray, Love. What a lot of strikes against this one.

So….ta da!! Holy freakin’ toledo! I know I risk ...more

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Jan 23, 2018 Katie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Every time I reread this I like it more

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Jul 01, 2015 Elyse Walters rated it liked it · review of another edition

The message is...."we are all inherently creative".
Elizabeth Gilbert says..."Be an artist. Create for the sake of creating".
"Because creative living is where the Big Magic will always be".
And we paid money for this enlightening information. It's kinda funny to me... how
such an average book, by an average writer, ( acknowledges herself that her ideas
won't resonate with everyone), is such a huge success ---and by that I mean 'money-in-the-bank'. She doesn't have to practice what she preaches. The message is...."we are all inherently creative".
Elizabeth Gilbert says..."Be an artist. Create for the sake of creating".
"Because creative living is where the Big Magic will always be".
And we paid money for this enlightening information. It's kinda funny to me... how
such an average book, by an average writer, ( acknowledges herself that her ideas
won't resonate with everyone), is such a huge success ---and by that I mean 'money-in-the-bank'. She doesn't have to practice what she preaches. Elizabeth doesn't need a 'day job'. lol. Her chapter on "Career vs. Vocation", ( coming from her)... only made me laugh. It's funny to me that she discourages people from approaching creativity as a career move. It's all a twist on words in my opinion. The fact is -- Elizabeth makes a living being creative.

Both of my daughters-- and my husband are professional artists. Should I have discouraged my daughters from making a career choice - from their passion in the arts? Or wasn't that them living from creativity in itself? Taking a risk? Not letting fear dictate their choice. I sent them to private academic private schools. They still have other choices. They both will tell you -- bullshit ... About "either or". If you want it all..
It's possible. They both are financially successful artists.

Elizabeth's ideas about ideas are more 'clever' than fireworks. The 'jargon' chosen for this book is a little gimmicky. The title itself ..."Big Magic"...
is a little too over the top for my taste, as well. And her ideas about ideas floating around the universe - looking for a host to land on --is just more 'jargon' ..( it's not that I don't understand what she speaks about- I do - even agree- but the whole delivery-package of this book just feels a little too commercial peppy style for me)

At times it felt like I was reading a memoir about her process of writing "Eat, Pray, Love".
Elizabeth spent much time 'reflecting'...( diary type writing). I became bored.
Yet, I respect her personal experience.

So, honestly, I find this an odd-funny-book. If others get value ( my friends have) ...then I'm sincerely happy about that.

The writing itself is less' than average. I understand that "The Signature of All Things", is exceptional...with gorgeous writing. I've heard that over and over again. So, maybe I should try that book. 3rd time just might be the 'charm'.

2.5 rating.

...more

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Aug 26, 2015 Cole rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I underlined something on nearly every page, and my margin notes look like this:

YES YES YES YES YES YES.

I haven't loved everything Gilbert has ever written, but this is one of those books that came into my life at the perfect moment. I say this often (usually about every book I read and enjoy), but I want everyone I love to read this book.
...more

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Jan 27, 2018 Nat rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

“I don’t know what I think until I write about it.”― Joan Didion

I was in need of a Nonfiction read to compel me from the start when I came upon Big Magic. Elizabeth Gilbert starts off this very book by writing about a reclusive poet she’s passionate about (“I loved him dearly from a respectful distance”), and I became swept up in the accessible, talkative writing tone. It's the classic case of 'I should’ve been bored me but instead, I was fascinated.' The author has an eye for telling stories an ...more

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May 02, 2018 da AL rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, audio-books

This & 'The Signature of All Things' are my fave Gilbert books. As the audiobook reader in addition to writer, she does an incredible job of sounding polished, relaxed, & truly encouraging. Read or listen to the end for the 2 best of all her great annecdotes. ...more

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Feb 24, 2016 Justin Tate rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The most important book a writer (or any artist) can read. It's better than Stephen King's "On Writing," better than E.B. White's "The Elements of Style" and, honestly, it's probably better than an MFA.

Prior to picking this up I hadn't read Elizabeth Gilbert before. Of course I knew of Eat Pray Love, but never felt compelled to read the book or watch the movie. That's not important. Don't miss this book because it's by the author of a cheesy memoir. If you want to be an artist (and enjoy it) rea ...more

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Jan 12, 2015 Rebecca rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: self-help, writers-and-writing, read-via-edelweiss

With her new book, Gilbert sets herself up as a layman’s creativity guru much like Anne Lamott does with Bird by Bird or Stephen King with On Writing. This is based on Gilbert’s TED talks, and it reads very much like a self-help pep talk, with short chapters, lots of anecdotes, and buzz words to latch onto.

Here’s a taste of some of Gilbert’s main ideas:
• Forget about entitlement; “You do not need anybody’s permission to live a creative life.”
• Authenticity is better than originality; after a With her new book, Gilbert sets herself up as a layman’s creativity guru much like Anne Lamott does with Bird by Bird or Stephen King with On Writing. This is based on Gilbert’s TED talks, and it reads very much like a self-help pep talk, with short chapters, lots of anecdotes, and buzz words to latch onto.

Here’s a taste of some of Gilbert’s main ideas:
• Forget about entitlement; “You do not need anybody’s permission to live a creative life.”
• Authenticity is better than originality; after all, there’s nothing truly original out there
• Art is all about paradoxes: it’s simultaneously meaningless and meaningful (“human artistic expression is blessedly, refreshingly nonessential”)
• Don’t be so serious; the “necessary suffering” of the artist is a myth
• Replace the Martyr with the Trickster – it’s all play anyway (“intracranial jewelry-making” – a metaphor she borrows from Tom Waits)
• Follow your curiosity and keep saying yes
• Finally, put your work out there with trust – words like success and failure don’t matter

I found this book to be both enjoyable and helpful. It’s so different to Gilbert’s other work that you don’t have to have read or liked any of her previous books. The voice and message are similar to Rob Bell’s in the field of contemporary theology: reminding readers that what is too precious for words should, perhaps paradoxically, be held loosely with open hands.

Only occasionally did Gilbert get a bit too New-Agey for me:

“Ideas are a disembodied, energetic life-form. They are completely separate from us, but capable of interacting with us—albeit strangely. Ideas have no material body, but they do have consciousness, and they most certainly have will. Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made manifest.”

She illustrates this hypothesis with a story about a book project she abandoned after Eat, Pray, Love. Her idea was for a novel about a woman who travels from Minnesota to Amazonian Brazil to join an entrepreneurial scheme and ends up falling for her boss. Wrapped up in her now-husband’s immigration saga and the writing of Committed, Gilbert left the idea alone for two years and it withered...only to turn up as Ann Patchett’s State of Wonder. Gilbert seems to literally believe that her idea migrated to her new friend. Hmm...

At any rate, this is definitely inspirational stuff, if not exactly groundbreaking. “Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart. The rest of it will take care of itself.” ...more

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Nov 04, 2015 Debbie "DJ" rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, creativity, favorites, own

Wow! I loved this book, and think it's one of the most important I've ever read. I'm one of those who thought I missed the creative gene. That people were just born creative... not true! Gilbert explains how curiosity leads to ideas, and when ideas are paid attention to, true magic can happen. She says, " The idea will organize coincidences and portents to tumble across your path, to keep your interest keen... everything you see and touch and do will remind you of the idea..." I love that! Yes, ...more

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Sep 27, 2015 Iris P rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Iris P by: Debbie "DJ"

Shelves: inspirational-spiritual, 2015-favorites, non-fiction, out-of-my-comfort-zone, the-creative-life, audio-books

Ok so with a little more than 16 hours to end the year, my mind has been officially blown away by Ms.Elizabeth Gilbert, wow!
I am the more surprised because I utterly and unequivocally loathe the "self-help" book category. But what a rewarding reading experience to close what was already a fantastic year in books for me!

Listening to Gilbert's narrate Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear was delightful, she has the most lovely voice and is an excellent narrator, but I decided to also get the Eb ...more

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Jul 20, 2019 Warda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

This was a highly enjoyable audiobook to listen to.
Creativity has recently become something that really matters to me. I used to thrive on it and I had a certain belief about it. That creativity can only thrive when you feel something. But the truth is if you were to wait for a feeling, your creativity becomes stagnant and it has become stagnant for me.
Now I know it to be a muscle that has to be exercised and that creativity isn’t as serious or as deep one thinks.
It matters, but it’s also lig ...more

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Jan 13, 2016 Marina rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1-star

I decided not to finish this book at about 50% mostly because the level of bullshit reached astronomic proportions; the final straw was Gilbert saying the writing and art are the most useless jobs in the world and hold no merit compared to jobs that actually benefit society. ... and she isn't joking or being ironic. This is a New York Times best selling-author telling me that writing is useless, thankless job. I wonder if she laughed as she typed that.

What Gilbert basically says is: If you’re in I decided not to finish this book at about 50% mostly because the level of bullshit reached astronomic proportions; the final straw was Gilbert saying the writing and art are the most useless jobs in the world and hold no merit compared to jobs that actually benefit society. ... and she isn't joking or being ironic. This is a New York Times best selling-author telling me that writing is useless, thankless job. I wonder if she laughed as she typed that.

What Gilbert basically says is: If you’re into art or writing, don’t quit your day job and learn not to care about what anyone else think, because literally no one cares about art or literature because they lead to literally the most useless jobs in the world, and either way you probably won’t make it anyway. Also, higher fine arts education is useless, don’t waste your money.

She basically says that if you can’t afford to go to school to be educated don’t bother going, because you’re not missing out anything anyway, and the debt is not worth the fine arts degrees -- which is true BUT it's super classist/ableist/privileged assumption that age, higher education, dedication level, and money don’t play an instrumental role in a majority of [creative] people’s [even personal] roads to success. Because unless you know someone in that sphere already through parents, friends, family, etc... well, good luck breaking out.

I know what she was trying to say and what she was trying to achieve, but instead of arguing for Fine Arts and how important they are, she puts forward a really strong anti-higher education stance; reiterating the fact that Fine Arts are inherently useless because chances of success are too small and usually too personal for society to reap benefits from it as a whole. This... isn't really true, a least it's "well, you're sort of right, but not really" ... but I would never expect someone who's trying to inspire me to tell me I'm wasting my money and time trying to gain a diploma without which there's a slim to none chance I'll get hired. I mean, how privileged must you be to think people don't need one?

She encourages people to stop caring about what everyone thinks and pursue the passion anyway, to care only about what the work does for you, because no one else’s opinion is their own and you shouldn’t care for it. Sometimes that is a good idea; but if people have constructive things to say about your work and how you can improve, but you put her thought process to use you could end up hurting yourself, your work, and your business in the long run; you just won't grow as an artist.

She says you should pour your passion into your work- but too much because if you put all of yourself into something and it doesn’t take off you’ll probably want to kill yourself – because we all need validation, and so do you, and if you literally put all of yourself into this thing that literally no one else gives a shit about, you won’t get the validation that you so desperately need to survive. So basically be mediocre, because then people won't really have much to say to you about your work, it's safer that way.

Also, she encourages writers to put out sub-par shitty works out there to lower the expectations that people set for them once they reach top-level success. WTF.

Instead of reading this garbage, I insist you watch Gilbert’s TED talk instead, because unlike her book, her talk is actually inspiring: link. ...more

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Jan 24, 2018 Whitney Atkinson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, read-in-2018

I know this has mixed reviews but I didn't mind it! It's not my new bible or anything but it was definitely a kick to the booty to get going on all the story ideas I have. This touches on important topics about staying humble as an author, writing for the right reasons, persevering, and forming ideas. Although this applies to all creativity, I felt especially attached to this as a writer because she is also a writer.

A debated topic in this book is that Gilbert encourages people not to go to art ...more

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Dec 16, 2015 Hannah Greendale rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: writing-guides, non-fiction, adult

Click here to watch a video featuring this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.

...more

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Jun 30, 2015 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read2015, creativity, reviewcopy

I received a copy of this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I have enjoyed Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talks on creativity, more than her books, so I was happy to see her write a book on the topic she seems to think about a lot. Within this book itself she admits that she is writing it in order to explore what she thinks about creativity.

The book seems to be similar to one of those gift books you get when you graduate with highschool, with motivational quotes and pictures, those b ...more

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Dec 09, 2015 Julie Christine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reference-instructional, read-2016, writing-companions, best-of-2016

There could not have been a better time to read Big Magic than in the fraught and anxious, giddy and surreal days before launching my first novel. Gilbert's words soothed and grounded me, took me out of the uncomfortable, jangly headspace of self-promotion and back into the embrace of what it means to be a creative person, why I set forth on this path in the first place.

Fear is boring.
Yes. This. I spent forty-one years (okay, maybe thirty-five; for the first six I was blissfully unaware that I ...more

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Jan 28, 2017 Kate (GirlReading) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

I had high hopes for Big Magic and during the first thirty pages or so, I thought those expectations would be met but unfortunately, as I read on, it just wasn't for me. I didn't personally agree with some of the ideas this book portrayed and Elizabeth Gilbert's voice and ideas just ended up not really resonating with me. I wasn't a fan of the constant name dropping and her idea that art isn't important, necessary or life saving. For example, she mentions how it would be useless during an apocal ...more

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May 06, 2019 R.K. Gold rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5 but rounded up to 4

If you’re looking a how to book this isn’t for you. If you’re questioning your creativity or looking for a one way dialogue to reinvigorate your purpose this short work will do you wonders.

I appreciate the idea of creativity as a living entity and it’s our responsibility to accept and reject it.

Though short, by the end I was ready for it to end. It did get repetitive at times but ultimately I’m glad I read it.

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Jul 20, 2015 Erin rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I won this as an ARC in a goodreads giveaway and I appreciate the opportunity to read it in advance of release. However, sad to say, it's very disappointing, and I loved "Eat, Pray, Love." This book is pretty bad. Two stars is generous.
It's just very cheesy from the beginning. There is no real science or logic to the book. It's just Gilbert's ramblings, page after page, ad nauseam, about creativity. The book is really just her writing history, how she was discovered, and why her way is the righ ...more

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Jan 01, 2017 Dannii Elle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: recommended-reading, non-fiction-nuances, authorial-advice, self-improvement-success

I think I just found my bible.

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Jun 15, 2017 April (Aprilius Maximus) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017

I think I'm in love with Elizabeth Gilbert. ...more

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Jan 13, 2019 Kenny rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, create, transformational, spiritual-growth

“The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.”
Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

Am a better writer for having listened to this? No. Am I a better ARTIST for having listened to this? HELL YES!

If you are involved in the arts 🎭 in any way, you must read this book. If you want to live a more adventurous life, you must read this book.

Bottom line, read this book.

...more

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May 20, 2016 VictoriaNickers rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016

Basically all the good advise you have ever heard on becoming a productive creative person all in one book. A creative living guide to life by following your happiness. This is definitely a self-help book. It was written for perfectionists and anxiety driven people (like me) and a reality check for everyone else on how to accomplish anything and everything in life. Yes, there is no earth shattering advise in this book. It is mostly common sense. It is about letting go of the excuses and moving ...more

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Jul 15, 2016 Faroukh Naseem rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Please get ready for a lot of name dropping and "I believe's..."‎

“Because the truth is, I believe that creativity is a force of enchantment—not entirely human in its origins.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic‎
‎
#theguywiththebookreview presents: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.‎

This is a self-help/motivation book and EG makes sure you know it is, on every single page.

She makes sure she tells you exactly how she 'Humbly disagrees' with an opinion (usually one which has been in existence since a long Please get ready for a lot of name dropping and "I believe's..."‎

“Because the truth is, I believe that creativity is a force of enchantment—not entirely human in its origins.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic‎
‎
#theguywiththebookreview presents: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.‎

This is a self-help/motivation book and EG makes sure you know it is, on every single page.

She makes sure she tells you exactly how she 'Humbly disagrees' with an opinion (usually one which has been in existence since a long time) and then gives you her opinion in a way that sounds like hers is the only correct way to do things.‎‎

She makes sure she humbly disagrees with how Harper Lee lived her 'creative' life and how Truman Capote thinking his books were his babies is non sense.

If you want to read about someone who thinks she has figured everything out about how to live a 'creative life' please pick this up right now.

It is a book where she tries to be humble about her successes, but her own concepts of 'how to be creative' make sure she can't be exactly that: humble.

The books format is extremely confusing and she jumps from one 'Gilbertism' (thank me for coining that later :D) to the next and many times they don't go well one after the other. ‎

There was a chapter in the book where she tells us about how a book she was working on and stopped mid way 'left her' and went to the mind of the author 'Ann Patchett' through a kiss. Yes, she kissed Ann the first time she saw her and apparently the story for the book went to Ann and she wrote it. I believe such 'magical' truth's need not be told and just kept to oneself. Some truth's are so exceptional, most people will have trouble believing them. It's just too exceptional a truth. For those wondering which book it is, it's 'State of Wonder' by Ann Patchett.
‎
Ofcourse, there are a few good points about the‎ book and I've made sure I grab them and hopefully use them soon. After reading this book I am definitely thinking of getting back to writing soon! Thanks EG! :)

Overall, if you don't mind reading some very confusing yet interesting concepts about living creatively, please read it.‎ But if you are someone who can get irritated by someone being over enthusiastic for no reason, don't read it.‎ ...more

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Dec 31, 2015 Inge rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, all-time-favourites

Words will probably never be able to describe the beauty that is Big Magic. People have fawned over it high and low, but it’s one of those things you just need to experience for yourself. Whether you’re a writer, a painter, a quilter, a pottery-maker, a dancer, a singer, a circus artist, or anything else that could be considered even remotely creative, you need to pick up this book. You need to read it carefully, slowly, fully, and let it seep into your core. Trust the words. Trust the Magic. (T Words will probably never be able to describe the beauty that is Big Magic. People have fawned over it high and low, but it’s one of those things you just need to experience for yourself. Whether you’re a writer, a painter, a quilter, a pottery-maker, a dancer, a singer, a circus artist, or anything else that could be considered even remotely creative, you need to pick up this book. You need to read it carefully, slowly, fully, and let it seep into your core. Trust the words. Trust the Magic. (Totally didn't mean to sound like a cultist there.)

"Pure creativity is something better than a necessity; it's a gift. It's the frosting. Our creativity is a wild and unexpected bonus from the universe. It's as if all our gods and angels gathered together and said, "It's tough down there as a human being, we know. Here--have some delights."

It’s as if Elizabeth Gilbert stared into my soul and wrote the book I needed. Because I love to write – more so, I love to have written – but I’m afraid it’ll be bad, but I’m afraid nobody will like it, but I’m afraid I won’t finish it, but, but, but. And so I don’t create. And then what?

Gilbert tells you that it’s okay to be afraid, that fear is part of living a creative life, but it shouldn’t inhibit you. And I think I just really needed to hear that, because I found it extremely comforting and affirming to read this. On the one hand, I wanted to binge-read the book so I could have all the words at once, but in the end, I read it slowly, so I could cherish all the words.

"You want to write a book? Make a song? Direct a movie? Decorate poetry? Learn a dance? Explore a new land? You want to draw a penis on your wall? Do it. It's your birthright as a human being, so do it with a cheerful heart."

I’m normally not this “floaty” about the books I read, but this was something truly special and I’d recommend this book to anyone who needs that little nudge in the back. To motivate you to start again or to keep going, to go for it. Not necessarily because it should amount to anything, but for the fun of it. Creating should be fun, not stressful. Creating is something you work with like a colleague, not something you demand stuff of at your every whim.

And sometimes, you get that strike of inspiration and the words flow and everything is unicorns and ponies and you hit that high that you’ve been working towards all along. That, my friends, is Big Magic. That is what we all strive for. And I think I finally understand my relationship with my creativity a bit better.

"If your goal in life is to become fearless, then I believe you're already on the wrong path, because the only truly fearless people I've ever met were straight-up sociopaths and a few exceptionally reckless three-year-olds - and those aren't good role models for anyone."

...more

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About Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert

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Elizabeth Gilbert is an award-winning writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Her short story collection Pilgrims was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway award, and her novel Stern Men was a New York Times notable book. Her 2002 book The Last American Man was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critic’s Circle Award.

Her memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, spent 57 weeks in the #1 ...more

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“Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart.” — 323 likes

“The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.” — 274 likes

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