What We Are Reading Today: ‘Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear’

Photo/Supplied
Photo/Supplied
Short Url
Updated 30 March 2024
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear’

Photo/Supplied

Author: Elizabeth Gilbert

Ever wished you could write that novel, paint that masterpiece, or finally start that dream business, only to find that fear stops you from doing it? Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” could be your antidote. This inspiring book is a playful guide that dismantles the myths surrounding creativity.

At its core, the book is about creating a fulfilling, creative lifestyle for yourself, but it eschews the typical spiritual advice and guidelines for creative living. “Big Magic” encourages you to embrace the joy of creation, even if it is messy or imperfect.

Gilbert writes about “enchantment.” What do you love doing so much that the mention or sight of it charms and inspires you? And why does that enchantment fade sometimes? And how does one nourish it?

Gilbert is on a mission to unleash the creative thinker in us by convincing the readers that each one of us has hidden treasures burrowed inside, waiting to see the light of day. Drawing instances from her own life, she encourages people to do all kinds of simple, small things, but to do them “specially.” This, she says, is the first step in living a life driven by creativity.

The book is a result of Gilbert’s quest for self-discovery as a creative individual. It is not a self-help book — she assures us of this very early on — and she does an admirable job of being motivational without being preachy.

She discusses how fear is a natural part of the creative process — one you must recognize and manage so that it doesn’t stifle your dreams. “Big Magic” advises the reader to cultivate a curious mind open to everyday wonders, because inspiration can strike anywhere.

“Big Magic” is your permission slip to embrace your creative side. It is a call to action to live a life infused with passion and purpose — and a little mess along the way.

 

 


What We Are Reading Today: Humans by Surekha Davies

What We Are Reading Today: Humans by Surekha Davies
Updated 19 March 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: Humans by Surekha Davies

What We Are Reading Today: Humans by Surekha Davies

Surekha Davies’ “Humans” traces the long, volatile history of monster-making to chart a better path for the future. Along the way, Davies reveals how people have defined the human in relation to everything from apes to zombies, and how they invented race, gender, and nations.

This is not a history of monsters, but a history through monsters.


What We Are Reading Today: El Salvador Could Be Like That by Joseph B. Frazier

What We Are Reading Today: El Salvador Could Be Like That by Joseph B. Frazier
Updated 17 March 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: El Salvador Could Be Like That by Joseph B. Frazier

What We Are Reading Today: El Salvador Could Be Like That by Joseph B. Frazier

“El Salvador Could Be Like That” covers the bloody civil war in El Salvador from 1979-1986. The author draws from his vast trove of articles written from the frontlines, interspersing the reporting of facts with personal stories — some funny, some tragic. 

Broad in its sweep, focused on the daily lives of the war’s victims, the book is an important contribution to remembering the lessons and recording the history of this mostly forgotten conflict.

The book “puts the reader on the ground as a witness to the unfolding of a civil war, and provides the political and historical background that surfaces the underlying factors that led to the conflict.” 

It is both a memoir and a cautionary tale of the true costs of war as seen from the ground and in the lives of Salvadorans. 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy’ by Max Hastings

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy’ by Max Hastings
Updated 17 March 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy’ by Max Hastings

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy’ by Max Hastings

“Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy” offers an absorbing and definitive modern history of the Vietnam War from the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of The Secret War.

Here is testimony from Vietcong guerrillas, Southern paratroopers, Saigon bargirls, and Hanoi students alongside that of infantrymen from South Dakota, Marines from North Carolina, and Huey pilots from Arkansas.

No past volume has blended a political and military narrative of the entire conflict with heart-stopping personal experiences, in the fashion that Max Hastings’ readers know so well, according to a review on goodreads.com.


What We Are Reading Today: In Covid’s Wake

What We Are Reading Today: In Covid’s Wake
Updated 16 March 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: In Covid’s Wake

What We Are Reading Today: In Covid’s Wake

Authors: Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee

The Covid pandemic quickly led to the greatest mobilization of emergency powers in human history. By early April 2020, half the world’s population were living under quarantine.

People were told not to leave their homes; businesses were shuttered, employees laid off, and schools closed.

The most devastating pandemic in a century and the policies adopted in response to it upended life as we knew it.

In this book, Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee examine our pandemic response and pose some provocative questions.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Mina’s Matchbox’

Photo/Supplied
Photo/Supplied
Updated 15 March 2025
Follow

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Mina’s Matchbox’

Photo/Supplied
  • The house becomes a character in its own right — a vast, almost labyrinthine entity that mirrors the confusion and fragility of familial bonds

Author: Yoko Ogawa

Japanese novelist Yoko Ogawa, renowned for her beautifully crafted narratives in “The Housekeeper and the Professor,” and “The Memory Police,” brings her storytelling style to her latest translation to English, “Mina’s Matchbox.”

Both of those previous works showcase her ability to weave intricate tales that explore human emotions and relationships, albeit in very different contexts. This latest offering, however, presents a more intimate and poignant exploration of family dynamics through the eyes of a child.

In “Mina’s Matchbox,” translated by Stephen Snyder, we meet Mina, a young girl who leaves Tokyo to live with her aunt in a sprawling coastal house.

The narrative unfolds from Mina’s perspective, allowing readers to experience the world through her innocent yet observant eyes. As she navigates her new environment, Ogawa deftly reveals the underlying tensions and complexities within her aunt’s family.

The house becomes a character in its own right — a vast, almost labyrinthine entity that mirrors the confusion and fragility of familial bonds.

Ogawa’s prose is often described as dreamlike; there is a magical quality in the way the author constructs her sentences, drawing readers into a world that feels both familiar and surreal. Her unpretentious style captures the subtleties of emotion with remarkable clarity.

As Mina grapples with her feelings of displacement and belonging, the narrative unfolds to reveal the cracks in the family’s facade. The story serves as an incisive analysis of how external pressures can threaten the stability of family life.

Ogawa’s portrayal of the characters is nuanced, allowing their vulnerabilities and strengths to shine through, making them relatable and deeply human.

In many ways, “Mina’s Matchbox” reflects the themes found in Ogawa’s previous works, yet it stands apart as a distinct exploration of childhood and familial collapse.

The juxtaposition of Mina’s innocence against the adult world’s complexities creates a hauntingly beautiful narrative that lingers long after the last page is turned.

Ogawa continues to enchant readers, proving once again her mastery of the written word.