Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity | Review
TITLE AVAILABLE AT
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository
TITLE INFORMATION
Author: Hugh MacLeod
Publisher: Portfolio
Year Published: 2009
Dimensions: 5.8” x 8.5"
Pages: 159
Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity is a collection of blog posts turned essays by comic artist Hugh MacLeod, creator of gapingvoid.com. This mix of creative life advice, and comics sketched on the backs of business cards offers readers a unique look into MacLeod’s life as he navigated through the world of advertising.
One of my favorite parts of this book is the fact that all of these essays began as blog posts on MacLeod’s blog, which he began in the early 2000s. It shows the time, dedication, and effort that MacLeod spent in order to maintain his blog despite the amount of readers he had at the time. He incorporates this later on into advice that is dedicated to consistency. A lot of books on creative advice and blogging always emphasize the importance of consistency, but as a small blogger, that doesn’t always feel possible due to self-esteem, prior commitments, and life in general. Matter of fact, I’m revising the draft of this post weeks after I’ve initially written it, and weeks have gone by since I’ve last posted. Despite having readers, it is common to feel like no one is viewing my own work. Unlike many other influencers, MacLeod addresses this nuisance, and he encourages readers to continue on with their passions. I find this extremely encouraging.
Aside from all of the other advice, nothing is really new. As you all know, I’m no stranger to books on advice aimed at creatives. So I can safely say that a lot of this advice is akin to that of those other books. Such as, “keep your day job”, “nobody really cares”, and my favorite, “sing in your own voice”. But one thing that separates MacLeod’s advice from that of offers is his willingness to be authentic. Not the type of “authentic” that involves lots of crude language and harsh advice, but the kind that is truly real. He breaks his concepts down into digestible bits, and he discusses them as if he is having a conversation with his readers. By no means does he sugarcoat his advice, but he also doesn’t make it sound bitter. He acknowledges that living and striving as a creative individual is not going to be easy, but it does have it’s sweet points, and that’s the way life is. He also makes a point that he tried to keep each piece of advice as close to his original blog post as he possibly could. Meaning, he tried to keep the writing and advice in this book as genuine as when he wrote it for a smaller, more intimate audience. This leads me to believe that this advice is as genuine and heartfelt as it gets from a stranger’s book.
In terms of visual design, this book does miss the mark just a little bit. It’s not designed to be aesthetically pleasing or experimental. It is designed to function as a book that is to be read, and not just looked at. That being said, the sans serif type used for body copy is awkward and is leaded way too much for comfortable reading. At times the lines are tracked too close making it difficult to separate words. But don’t get me wrong, it’s still readable, and with each piece of advice being a succinct narrative, it’s easy to take breaks while reading. I do have to say that I enjoy the inclusion of his personal comics alongside each piece of advice. They’re not awkwardly pieced and blended together which allows for the reader to comprehend both without each other compromising one another. It appears as if they just threw the comics in wherever there was free space, but to be honest, I’d rather that than some overly thought-out, and over-designed layout. In the end, this book is about the advice, not so much the comics.
Overall, I think this is an okay book. I was content while reading it, but I didn’t love reading it, but I also didn’t hate reading it. This book was quick and I finished it in a couple of hours. I think this book would be good for anyone who is looking for a quick read during a challenging time where they don’t want to invest too much time or energy on reading something, while also searching for a nugget or two of wisdom. This would also be a good book for bloggers who are just starting out and are looking for some sample content to read and learn some basic blog writing.