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The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
I know this came out in 2023, but I am three books behind my measly eight-book reading challenge goal for 2024 on Goodreads, so this is the best I could do. I borrowed this book from the library and then had to purchase it for myself to add to my personal library. It now sits on my coffee table where I can pick it up, flip to any page, and gain some inspiration. Rick Rubin is a music producer and put together a collection of words of wisdom and inspiration for not only sparking up your creativity as an artist, but as a human being. -Jessica Bernard
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Yes, I know this didn’t come out in 2024. But it’s the book that had the biggest impact on my life this year. The first title in N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy drops you into a darkly magical world that feels so lived-in, it simply must have always existed in another plane somewhere. Following an orogene—someone with the power to manipulate the energy of the earth—The Fifth Season is heart-wrenching and life-affirming. It rebukes derivative tropes and fatalistic writing (looking at you, George R.R. Martin), and I simply will not stop recommending to anyone who asks me about books. -V.S. Wells
Peggy by Rebecca Godfrey with Leslie Jamison
Victoria-based author Rebecca Godfrey (Under the Bridge) died in 2022 while working on the manuscript for Peggy, a novel about heiress and art collector Peggy Guggenheim. Celebrated American writer (and friend of Godfrey) Leslie Jamison was tapped to finish the project, which was released in August of this year. The result is a cohesive, richly written reimagining of a woman who ignored what people thought of her in pursuit of dizzying greatness. Both a mesmerizing portrait of Guggenheim and a heart-achingly beautiful swan song for Godfrey, Peggy is a testament to the power of a woman’s vision. -Sara Harowitz
Rebel Girl by Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna is the frontwoman for Bikini Kill, an all-female fronted punk band from the ‘90s that I first learned about in university and subsequently never forgot. Hanna’s memoir recounts an era in punk when women faced incredible scrutiny, misogyny, and harassment in their pursuit to create music that was, perhaps for the first time, angry, vengeful, and empowered. Hanna also reflects on the whiteness of the Riot Grrrl movement, as well as the evolution of punk today. Fun fact: Hanna inspired Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. More on that when you purchase your copy. -Angela Vannatter
See the rest of our 2024 picks here.
This post was originally published on here
