Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide

By John Cleese

The legendary comedian, actor, and writer of Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, and A Fish Called Wanda fame shares his key ideas about creativity: that it’s a learnable, improvable skill.

“Many people have written about creativity, but although they were very, very clever, they weren’t actually creative. I like to think I’m writing about it from the inside.”—John Cleese

You might think that creativity is some mysterious, rare gift—one that only a few possess. But you’d be wrong. As John Cleese shows in this short, practical, and often amusing guide, creativity is a skill that anyone can acquire.

Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, Cleese shares his insights into the nature of creativity and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing. What do you need to do to get yourself in the right frame of mind? When do you know that you’ve come up with an idea that might be worth pursuing? What should you do if you think you’ve hit a brick wall?

We can all be more creative.

John Cleese shows us how.

 

The Ashokan Way: Landscape’s Path into Consciousness

By Gail Straub, Stephen Cope (Foreword by)

The natural world has the power to awaken, restore, and transform us, and nowhere are these capacities more evident than in the thirty-six luminous essays that make up The Ashokan Way. Written in the form of journal entries that take place over the course of a year, the essays explore both the outer landscapes of the awe-inspiring Ashokan Reservoir, a vast open space surrounded by the ancient blue stone peaks of the Catskill Mountain Watershed, and the equally awe-inspiring inner landscapes of our own most personal terrains.

Each of the book’s evocative entries describes a walk along the ever-changing reservoir, illuminating the natural world as a portal to self-understanding, restoration, and meaning. Some walks take us deep inside to trek the hills and valleys of our aspirations and sorrows, our joys and confusions. Others offer a profound antidote to an interior landscape that has become crowded with distraction and over-stimulation. Still others seem to seem usher us into the realm of the mystical.

As surely as we would perish without the water and air that the earth provides, we are at risk of perishing without the spiritual sustenance that the natural world provides through its ability to stir and astonish us. In a world that is ever faster, noisier, and busier, The Ashokan Way is a balm, an inspiration, and an invitation to discover greater intimacy with inner and outer landscapes alike.

 

Mondays Moves: Daily Office Stretches for Feeling Good and Working Well

By Ami Gosalia, Lina Cordero (Illustrator)

Mondays Moves is a fun and informative guide to help you turn your Office Space into your Happy Place. Our illustrated workplace wellness routine provides a simple yet powerful five-minute movement practice designed to relieve stress, increase focus, and ease the aches and pains of daily working life.

Of the 28,000 days we spend on this planet, most of us will spend 10,000 of them working. Whether you are working from home, in an office, or elsewhere, Mondays exists to help you feel good while working well. For everyone who’s ever had a case of the Mondays, this book will help get you moving and elevate your day.

Join us on the journey to a healthier and happier professional life.

 

Brain Wash: Detox Your Mind for Clearer Thinking, Deeper Relationships, and Lasting Happiness

By David Perlmutter, MD, Austin Perlmutter, MD, Kristin Loberg (With)

Fight back against a modern culture that is rewiring our brains and damaging our health with this practical, doctor-approved plan for healing that includes a ten-day boot camp and forty delicious recipes.

Contemporary life provides us with infinite opportunities, along with endless temptations. We can eat whatever we want, whenever we want. We can immerse ourselves in the vast, enticing world of digital media. We can buy goods and services for rapid delivery with our fingertips or voice commands. But living in this 24/7 hyper-reality poses serious risks to our physical and mental states, our connections to others, and even to the world at large.

Brain Wash builds from a simple premise: Our brains are being gravely manipulated, resulting in behaviors that leave us more lonely, anxious, depressed, distrustful, illness-prone, and overweight than ever before.

Based on the latest science, the book identifies the mental hijacking that undermines each and every one of us, and presents the tools necessary to think more clearly, make better decisions, strengthen bonds with others, and develop healthier habits. Featuring a 10-day boot camp program, including a meal plan and 40 delicious original recipes, Brain Wash is the key to cultivating a more purposeful and fulfilling life.

 

To order your copy of one of Oblong’s recommended wellness books visit oblongbooks.com/wellness

To browse Oblong’s full collection online visit oblongbooks.com