We hear a lot about how writers find their inspiration. But how about other creative artists? The Guardian surveyed contemporary musicians, dancers, directors, and architects to find out where they got their creative inspiration. Much of their advice is unexpected, yet would be useful to writers as well.
Here’s a sampler:
Guy Garvey, musician: Spending [...]

Today we have a simple but striking DIY gift idea: a picture frame made from a hardcover book. Maybe you’ve got an old book with unreadable pages but an intact cover, or maybe you found a gorgeous old hardcover at a used bookstore that could use a new lease on life (hello, Illustrated Cheeses [...]

We’ve already looked at some posters to encourage kids to read, but what about adults? Take a peek at these amazing vintage-y reading posters. There’s the “Be Kind to Books Club” poster above, as well as several reminding you to read each month, like this one for March:
How great would these look over [...]

If you’re not a geek (and I use that term as a positive term), you may not know who Mark Frauenfelder is.  But you need not be a geek to learn from his recent post on LifeHacker.  Frauenfelder is editor of DIY-geek-tech MAKE Magazine, and two of his tips on accomplishing more in the day [...]

Here’s a gift for a young reader in your life—or any reader who is young at heart and has a little wall space to fill. Remember those “Give a hoot–read a book” posters at the public library when you were a kid? Here’s a roundup of newer, cooler versions to spruce up a [...]

Caroline Preston’s fourth novel, The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt, recreates the rush of standing in a dusty corner of a used bookstore, flipping through a shoebox of old photos, and finding something that seems to tell a secret story.

In her sixth novel, State of Wonder, Ann Patchett delivers an adventure story that still rests comfortably on the shelf of Literary Fiction. Researcher Marina Singh leaves her Minnesota lab for the Amazon to investigate a coworker’s death and evaluate the research of a field team deep in the jungle.

Am I the only one that does spring cleaning in the fall?  Maybe it’s the cold, rainy weather that makes me want to brighten up my house and settle down with a good book and a cup of tea.
Should you, too, find yourself simultaneously wishing to spruce up your digs and get some reading done, [...]

Kid-and-design blog OhDeeDoh pointed me to these beautiful, minimalist posters of children’s stories by artist Christian Jackson. Here are a few more:
What I love most about these—aside from the obviously amazing graphic design—is the way each poster strips the story down to its most basic elements. It’s the visual version of the old [...]

Artist and author John Sokol creates portraits of artists out of lines from their own works. Here’s another of his stunning “word portraits”—this is William Faulkner as The Sound and The Fury:
Visit Sokol’s Facebook page to see more of his portraits, and should you wish to buy one to inspire you at your [...]