Creativity

By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,

Book cover of Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention

Book description

ā€œAlthough the benefits of this study to scholars are obvious, this thought-provoking mixture of scholarly and colloquial will enlighten inquisitive general readers, too.ā€ ā€”  Library Journal (starred review)

The classic study of the creative process from the bestselling author of Flow.

Creativity is about capturing those moments that make lifeā€¦

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

3 authors picked Creativity as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book will capture your imagination and dazzle your senses with deep scholarship.

Deep exploration of creative outputs at their maximum states, the state of ā€œflowā€, condensing Csikszentmihalyiā€™s thirty years of research and nearly one hundred interviews with exceptionally creative people, spanning science, business, and art, in all of their dimensions. Creativity in art, technology, and science, perceived by many as being different types of creativity, revealed, at its core, to be the same.

Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi tackles a colossal question in Creativity: how do people come up with new ideas?

I love the scope of this book, which journeys from breakthroughs in science to experimentation in jazz. I love the myths the author debunks, including the out-of-nowhere ā€œahaā€ moment: Ideas donā€™t just burst into consciousness, they emerge from a lifetime of knowledge and experience that comes before them.

And I love that Csikszentmihalyi concludes his book with a chapter about how we, his readers, can enhance our own creativity. Key takeaways: cultivate curiosity; look for surprises in the ordinary; allow yourself toā€¦

Written by my mentor for many years, Mihaly ā€œMikeā€ Csikszentmihalyi, this is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what it means to be truly creative and what is required to be able to generate important insights and contributions in any field.

You will learn about the habits of creative people and their complex personalities as well as understand which professional fields that are easy or difficult to make creative contributions in.

I would urge you to read very carefully what Mike writes about the complex personality of creative people and try to rebuild yourself in that manner.    

If you love Creativity...

Ad

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctorā€”and only womanā€”on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route upā€¦

Want books like Creativity?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Creativity.

Browse books like Creativity

Book cover of Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise
Book cover of The Bell Jar
Book cover of An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

2,009

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

šŸ“š If you like Creativity, you might also like...

Book cover of Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

Traumatization and Its Aftermath by Antonieta Contreras,

A fresh take on the difference between trauma and hardship in order to help accurately spot the difference and avoid over-generalizations.

The book integrates the latest findings in brain science, child development, psycho-social context, theory, and clinical experiences to make the case that trauma is much more than a clusterā€¦

Book cover of Activating Our 12-Stranded DNA: Secrets of Dodecahedral DNA for Completing Our Human Evolution

Activating Our 12-Stranded DNA by Ruslana Remennikova,

In this vibrant guidebook, sound healer and former corporate scientist Ruslana Remennikova reveals how, through vibration and intention, you can shapeshift DNA from the standard double helix to its 12-stranded, dodecahedral formā€”unlocking your spiritual potential and opening the way for deep healing of the past, the present, and the futureā€¦

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in creativity, jazz, and psychology?

Creativity 147 books
Jazz 137 books
Psychology 1,997 books