The 20 Best Books to Spark Your Creativity

Creativity is a skill that can be developed, not just a trait some are born with. Expanding your creative capacity allows you to generate innovative solutions to problems, express yourself in original ways, and enrich all areas of life.

Reading is a great way to ignite new creative thinking habits, perspectives, and confidence. Below are 20 of the best books for sparking your creativity through frameworks, case studies, and hands-on exercises.

1. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

The Artist’s Way provides a 12-week system for overcoming creative blocks and unleashing your full creative potential. Author Julia Cameron brings together tools like:

• Morning pages – journaling stream of consciousness to surface ideas
• Artist dates – playful solo excursions to inspiration
• Weekly walks – routine movement to ponder possibilities

This book frames creativity as an integrated lifestyle, not just isolated activities. It will empower you to live more spontaneously and fearlessly.

2. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Big Magic offers profound inspiration for fully embracing your innate creative spirit. Novelist Elizabeth Gilbert untangles deep myths around creativity being elitist or something that can be lost.

Some key concepts in the book include:

• Ideas areseparate entities seeking a human collaborator
• Don’t let perfectionism lead to inaction – done is better than perfect
• Balance serious discipline with childlike playfulness
• Let inspiration flow without trying to control the outcome
• Stay courageous through criticism – creativity is vulnerability

This book frees you to create for the sake of enjoyment and connection. You’ll gain permission to start projects just because they excite you.

3. Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon

Steal Like An Artist flips conventional wisdom to argue that all creative work builds on what came before it. Austin Kleon encourages you to proudly steal influence from your heroes and remix it into your own original work.

He advises:

• Consume across domains to gather wide inspiration
• Keep an influences swipe file you can reference
• Share unfinished work to get feedback and energy
• Find your niche communities who will support you
• Stay focused and avoid shiny object syndrome

This short but impactful read will give you courage to playfully build upon your inspirations. You’ll realize true originality comes from combining your influences.

4. A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young

Advertising legend James Webb Young lays out his simple 5-step framework for producing innovative ideas consistently. A Technique for Producing Ideas has sparked breakthroughs for creators since 1940 with steps like:

• Gather raw material – fill your mind with inputs
• Digest it by mulling over observations
• Let your subconscious make new connections through incubation
• Have your “Aha” moment as disparate concepts coalesce into an idea
• Polish that idea into final form

This process shows creativity is a skill to master, not just natural inspiration. Follow it to generate regular flashes of creative insight.

5. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

The War of Art captures the inner battle against “Resistance” all creatives face. Author Steven Pressfield personifies resistance as the force pushing against you realizing your full potential.

Some principles in the book include:

• Resistance grows stronger the more important your ambitions
• Professionals push through resistance, amateurs get derailed
• Do the work for its own sake – detach from outcomes
• Finish projects to build confidence and momentum

This short powerful book will inspire you to win the war against resistance. You’ll be motivated to persist through creative barriers with consistent effort.

6. The Eureka Factor by John Kounios

Where do moments of insight and inspiration come from in the brain? The Eureka Factor examines the neuroscience behind flashes of creative insight by cognitive psychologist John Kounios.

Some of his key findings on the drivers of “a-ha moments” include:

• Heightened activity in the brain’s default mode network where ideas intersect
• Alpha brain waves that open you to possible connections
• Visual and semantic associations between disparate concepts
• Positive mood and freedom from bias/rigid perspectives

Understanding the mental states enabling breakthroughs will help you systematically generate more creative epiphanies.

7. Imagine by Jonah Lehrer

Imagine dives deep on the factors that lead to our most innovative new ideas across fields. Author Jonah Lehrer applies neuroscience and behavioral economics to unpack how creativity works.

Some of his key findings include:

• Regularly alternating focused attention and daydreaming
• Taking breaks or mixing up routines to stoke new neurons
• Cross-pollination between specialties sparks innovation
• Criticism followed by alone time and re-framing issues prompts revisions
• Moments of discomfort push us past creative plateaus

This book reveals the ideal conditions, habits, and mental states for creativity. You’ll get science-backed advice for generating original thinking.

8. Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls the state of optimal engagement and enjoyment in activities “flow.” His book Flow dives deep on the habits, environment, and mindset enabling you to regularly achieve this productive state.

His research found common preconditions for flow include:

• Matching high challenges to current abilities
• Having clear goals with immediate feedback
• Avoiding interruptions or chaos
• Not worrying about the outcome
• Feeling in control and intrinsically rewarded

With practice, you can design creative work and hobbies to regularly achieve flow. This book points the way to extraordinary engagement and productivity.

9. The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp

Legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp shares her hard-won secrets for activating creativity in The Creative Habit. She provides 31 exercises spanning idea generation to editing to turn inspiration into finished work.

Some examples are:

• Start moving – take a walk to get unstuck
• Scrub away garbage thoughts by writing them down
• Cultivate your artistic ancestors with quotes
• Make lists of everything imaginable about your idea
• Edit your weakest point to grow your strengths

Full of wisdom and prompts, this book gives you tools to build your own creative habit.

10. Daily Rituals by Mason Currey

Ever wonder what routines famous artists and thinkers followed to prime creativity? Daily Rituals explores the daily habits of icons like Maya Angelou, Charles Darwin, Pablo Picasso and others.

Common themes in their schedules include:

• Dedicating hours to create before dealing with other work
• Ritualizing activities signaling the start of creative time
• Focusing intensely in short productive bursts
• Alternating focus and reverie for subconscious connections
• Ending day reflecting on progress to spur momentum

This book will inspire you to protect time for an ideal daily routine generating steady creativity.

11. Wired to Create by Scott Barry Kaufman

What personality traits and ways of thinking distinguish highly creative people? That’s what psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman unpacks in Wired to Create based on comprehensive research.

He found creatives tend to be:

• Imaginative yet disciplined
• Passionate yet logical
• Rebellious yet playful
• Introspective yet open to new experiences
• Empathetic yet unconcerned with approval

Understanding these contradictory traits will help you develop habits tailored to boost your creativity. This book strips the myths from the reality of creative minds.

12. The Creative Curve by Allen Gannett

The Creative Curve flips upside down beliefs that creativity diminishes over time or requires raw talent. Author Allen Gannett makes the case that constraints enhance creativity, and we get better with practice.

Some examples he gives include:

• Dr. Seuss writing Green Eggs and Ham on a bet to use only 50 words
• The Blair Witch Project faking authenticity with a tiny budget
• Killing off a main Marvel character sparking massive creative storylines

This book will inspire you to embrace limitations and consistently build your creative capacity over time. You’ll gain motivation to start creating today.

13. Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod

Ignore Everybody offers irreverent inspiration for taking the creative path less traveled and channeling your true voice. Cartoonist Hugh MacLeod empowers you to avoid the traps of seeking approval and chasing ill-fitting opportunities.

Core mindsets he encourages include:

• The market for creative work is infinite if you give value
• Develop your distinctive personal brand
• Post work often to build an audience over time
• Detach from outcomes and ignore everybody judging you

Let this quick read give you courage to take creative risks and put yourself fully into expressing your passions.

14. Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon follows up his Steal Like An Artist with Show Your Work, a compact guide to getting attention in the internet age. Sharing your process early and often builds interest in the final product.

Some of his suggestions include:

• Maintain a creative diary online to engage future fans
• Openly credit your sources and influences
• Expose your experiments and dead ends along the way
• Collaborate with fellow artists to cross-promote
• Find niches where people want more content from you

This book pushes you past perfectionism to release your work as you create it. You’ll build an audience eager for your finished creations.

15. Creative Confidence by Tom Kelley

The partner at top design firm IDEO believes creativity is strengthening like a muscle, not a fixed trait. Creative Confidence shares strategies IDEO uses to build innovative confidence in all types of people.

Some of their tactics include:

• Rapid prototyping without attachment to outcomes
• Tackling playful challenges unrelated to work
• Learning basic design principles and tools
• Taking field trips to immerse in new environments
• Teaching creative skillsets to others

This book frames creativity as a universally accessible skill. Its advice will make you more flexibly creative in all facets of life.

16. Originals by Adam Grant

What makes highly successful innovators different? Wharton professor Adam Grant tackles that question in Originals by profiling pioneers across industries.

He found many share traits like:

• Championing ideas early before consensus is reached
• Persisting through waves of initial failure
• Taking a broad view and connecting disparate dots
• Challenging existing rules and norms
• Curating close-knit networks of fellow non-conformists

This research-backed book will inspire you to think and act differently from the crowd. You’ll gain courage to express your most novel ideas.

17. The Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal by Julia Cameron

The Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal provides guided space to implement the most transformational habit from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. Morning pages are three pages of longhand stream of consciousness writing done daily to siphon your subconscious creative insights.

With prompts and ample dot grid pages, this journal creates routine and ritual around unleashing your creativity through writing. Regular morning pages will increase innovation and unlock stuck energy. This practice clears mental clutter for free association.

18. Color, Draw, Collage: Create Your Way to a Less Stressful Life by Margarita Tartakovsky

Color, Draw, Collage taps the therapeutic benefits of engaging in simple creative activities. Author Margarita Tartakovsky guides you through hands-on art prompts using coloring, drawing, collage, and more to reduce anxiety and stress.

The act of making and expressing without judging the end result frees new mental connections. Unleashing your inner creativity, even in small ways, builds confidence. This interactive book provides structure but encourages fearless experimentation and play.

19. 365 Days of Creativity by Ruth Atkinson

Jumpstart your imagination daily with 365 Days of Creativity, a page-per-day prompt journal by artist Ruth Atkinson. Each entry features an intriguing photograph with five different types of creativity boosting prompts.

Those prompt categories include:

• Describe – paint a vivid word picture
• Imagine – compose a story
• Explore – brainstorm and mindmap
• Create – make something
• Share – exchange with others

Working through this journal habitually trains your ability to generate diverse ideas and flex your creative muscles. The visual fuel ignites your creative thinking day after day.

20. Your Creative Career by Anna Sabino

Your Creative Career provides tactical advice and inspiration for earning a living from your creative passion. Artist Anna Sabino candidly shares her own twists and turns translating creativity into a career.

She covers nuts and bolts topics like:

• Organizing your business model around your strengths
• Managing time and overwhelming possibilities
• Overcoming fear and perfectionism
• Funding your work through patrons and platforms
• Promoting your offering both online and off

This book provides a concrete roadmap to building a sustainable creative career path. You’ll gain the confidence and clarity to put your vision into action.

 

Final Thoughts

The only way to genuinely boost creativity is by doing. Don’t just read these books – put their lessons into practice through creating projects. With consistent effort, you’ll expand your ability to generate original ideas and make full use of your imagination. Never stop nurturing your creativity. It will reward you your entire life.