5 Creativity-Boosting Reads to Kick Off 2026
As 2026 approaches, I always find myself building a fresh stack of books. I look for titles that spark something, shift my thinking, or nudge me back into a more intentional creative life. This year, I’ve handpicked five to help me start the new year with clarity and curiosity. Each one opens a different doorway into making, noticing, and exploring, which feels like the right energy to carry into January.
Here’s a closer look at all five. Let’s get reading. 📚
1. Daily Rituals by Mason Currey
A quiet reminder that there is no single path into creative work.
Currey gathers the daily routines of artists, philosophers, architects, and composers, and the effect is grounding. Some creators thrive in disciplined structure, while others float through a kind of beautiful chaos. The lesson is simple but liberating: creativity isn’t precious. It shows up inside whatever rhythm you’re actually living. For anyone navigating a studio practice, this book softens the pressure and widens the possibilities.
2. The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker
A field guide to waking up your senses.
Walker offers small, playful prompts that sharpen your ability to observe, the real engine behind any art form. Whether you’re traveling or simply walking your neighborhood, noticing becomes a practice in presence. This book nudges you to look longer, look differently, and look again. It’s a lovely reset when your creative energy feels dull around the edges.
3. A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit
Where wandering becomes its own form of clarity.
Solnit’s writing blends history, travel, and personal reflection in a way that explores the idea of the unknown. The book considers those in-between moments when direction isn’t fully clear, but curiosity pulls you forward. For makers exploring new forms or creative directions, this perspective feels especially relevant. Getting lost, it suggests, can be part of the work.
4. Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
A permission slip to remix, reinterpret, and evolve.
Kleon explores the idea that creativity doesn’t come from inventing everything from scratch, but from absorbing, filtering, borrowing, and layering influences into something personal. For artists who draw inspiration from travel, history, architecture, or nature, this book offers a reassuring perspective that influence can be a source of strength, not a flaw.
5. Range by David Epstein
A clear case for having many interests (which is very much me).
This book leans more intellectual, but it’s especially relatable for anyone whose work spans multiple disciplines. Epstein argues that drawing from a wide range of experiences, from travel and design to heritage and craft, can lead to more original and thoughtful ideas. For artists who sometimes feel spread thin, Range positions that range as a real advantage.
On Beginning Again
Creativity isn’t a straight line. It bends, loops, stretches, and recalibrates as you live, move, travel, notice, and return to the work. Books like these don’t hand you answers. They widen your frame, offering new ways to think, feel, and approach whatever you’re making.
Sometimes all you need is a small opening. A spark. A shift into seeing differently.
I’ll report back after I read each one. And if you end up picking up any of these too, let me know. I’d love to chat, compare notes, or just bounce ideas together.
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