Book Review: Creativity for Everybody
We recently received the following review from Kayla Tanksley, a college student at SUNY-Buffalo, who selected our book to read as project for an undergraduate course she is taking in creativity.
Creativity for Everybody provides an overview on the topic of creative thinking so that anyone can be creative and support the creativity of others. The authors write, “Whether you currently identify yourself as being creative or not, you can use it for positive growth, change, and innovation” (p. 7).
The first section of the book starts off by the authors giving the reader “an invitation.” They say that learning about creativity should be like choosing your own adventure. The first part of this book is designed to resonate with the reader personally and get the reader engaged in the reading. The second part of the book is set up to help the reader dig deeper by providing information about each topic on creativity.
After the invitation for the reader, the authors jump right into describing what creativity is not. One of my favorite thoughts from the book was that Creativity ≠ The Arts. Creativity is present in all areas of life. And, the arts can even have moments that are not creative. Creativity is essential for human survival, not just a frilly, optional activity. Creative behaviors are often misinterpreted as “bad behaviors,” especially in rigid settings.
In conclusion, I think anyone who enjoys creativity and its history will enjoy this book. The book is written in a way that is easy to understand. Overall the book was a very quick read and a nice overview of creativity. My favorite qualities and topics of this book are that each pair of pages stand on their own, meaning that you can flip anywhere and read the idea without being lost. Actually, the authors encourage the reader to participate in the book this way. Also, on every page there is a second set of ideas written vertically along the side of the page. The thoughts are simple and easy to understand.
Source: Haydon, K. P., & Harvey, J. (2015). Creativity for everybody. New York: Sparkitivity.
Kathryn Haydon helps you maximize your creative strengths so you can do your best work. Through keynotes, workshops, and consulting, she trains individuals, leaders, and teams to find the unique spark that leads to deep engagement and productivity.
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