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Daily Rituals
- How Artists Work
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
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Daily Rituals
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Summary
Franz Kafka, frustrated with his living quarters and day job, wrote in a letter to Felice Bauer in 1912, "time is short, my strength is limited, the office is a horror, the apartment is noisy, and if a pleasant, straightforward life is not possible then one must try to wriggle through by subtle maneuvers."
Kafka is one of 161 inspired - and inspiring - minds, among them, novelists, poets, playwrights, painters, philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians, who describe how they subtly maneuver the many (self-inflicted) obstacles and (self-imposed) daily rituals to get done the work they love to do, whether by waking early or staying up late; whether by self-medicating with doughnuts or bathing, drinking vast quantities of coffee, or taking long daily walks.
Thomas Wolfe wrote standing up in the kitchen, the top of the refrigerator as his desk, dreamily fondling his "male configurations..."
Jean-Paul Sartre chewed on Corydrane tablets (a mix of amphetamine and aspirin), ingesting ten times the recommended dose each day...
Descartes liked to linger in bed, his mind wandering in sleep through woods, gardens, and enchanted palaces where he experienced "every pleasure imaginable."
Here are: Anthony Trollope, who demanded of himself that each morning he write three thousand words (250 words every fifteen minutes for three hours) before going off to his job at the postal service, which he kept for thirty-three years during the writing of more than two dozen books...Karl Marx...Woody Allen...Agatha Christie...George Balanchine, who did most of his work while ironing...Leo Tolstoy...Charles Dickens...Pablo Picasso...George Gershwin, who, said his brother Ira, worked for twelve hours a day from late morning to midnight, composing at the piano in pajamas, bathrobe, and slippers...
Here also are the daily rituals of Charles Darwin, Andy Warhol, John Updike, Twyla Tharp, Benjamin Franklin, William Faulkner, Jane Austen, Anne Rice, and Igor Stravinsky (he was never able to compose unless he was sure no one could hear him and, when blocked, stood on his head to "clear the brain").
Brilliantly compiled and edited, and filled with detail and anecdote, Daily Rituals is irresistible, addictive, and magically inspiring.
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What listeners say about Daily Rituals
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Truan Mathias
- 07-06-15
A remarkable to help make sense of my own brain
Amazing to hear the variations and similarities in people's work habits, which gives me faith to continue on the journey to my ideal, offbeat routine.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- O. Earle
- 11-11-16
Creativity and its channeling thru artists
All routines described in this book are fascinating. It is clear that each artist had some sort of internal resistance for the muse to realise itself thru their work. It was mostly a painful experience. Each artist had developed a routine, taboos, rituals and processes to overcome this internal hurdle to keep creating.
I really enjoyed the narration by Adam Vernet, it was very captivating. Overall this book made me feel more human and humble.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Patrik
- 02-06-15
A coffee table audio book.
Really nice to have in the background while doing errands. However I wouldn't list it as a favourite. Didn't have me riveted but it made for some interesting conversation starters around friends.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Mark Lancaster
- 11-10-17
Would make a great coffee table book imo.
On first listen I had to stop because it got a bit dull, in a people watching way. Like endless pictures of friends meals on FB. Came away thinking that there was no special way for encouraging creativity by schedule only that many prodigious persons self medicated with various types of intoxicating or stimulating consumptions.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MR B.
- 29-08-24
Great read and good listen
I've read and listened to this book multiple times. When listening, my interest in its content overcomes a slightly monotone narration, which also includes some occasionally mildly annoying pronunciation. I always thought 'Chopin' is pronounced 'Chopan', not 'Chopon', and 'Wodehouse' should not be pronounced as it's spelled, but 'Woodhouse'', as if it had a double 'o'. (At least that's how the English pronounce it).
Overall, though it's still my most listened-too audiobook, so the narration isn't that bad. As for my 5 stars for the 'story'? Well it clearly doesn't have one... it's rather like a dictionary: the plot's hard to follow, even though it's explained throughout!
A definite recommendation.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jonathan Bell
- 08-05-21
My favourite audio book.
I’ve listened to this more than any other audio book. It’s well written and well read. I’m an artist myself and it’s nice to be able to listen to something you can relate to. It’s fascinating.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- d
- 11-02-14
A peek into the mystery of creative lives
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
The book gives a fascinating snap shot of the lives of diverse creative people. It feels a bit like a cut and paste job but nonetheless interesting and at times, inspiring.
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
There are many howlers in terms of the pronunciation and French words are read like a caricature. I'm not sure why they can't have some quality control there.
Was Daily Rituals worth the listening time?
Each piece can be brief and they fly by when you listen so as an audiobook it doesn't entirely work. It's a book which would be good to browse now and then.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Elizabeth Finney
- 03-12-22
A personal favourite
I've listened to this one so many times, absolutely love these little snippets of moments from some of the greats.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 15-10-23
Great kaleidoscope of rituals
Unbelievable how the habits of so many artists were distilled down into, usually, just a few sentences about each one.
Even more surprising is how different those rituals are. And this shows one, very important thing: there's no "one" way to achieve things, to get creative work done. Every one needs to experiment and find one's own way. Sometimes it will be close to what we usually think - wake up early, get some sunlight, move a bit, focus for a long time. But for some it will be creative chaos that will work the best.
The book shows it great, how everyone is different.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Daddy
- 19-08-17
Inspiring stuff!
A great listen for any aspiring artist who feels there aren't enough hours in the day! This book will make you realise all you need is to discover the routine that is suited to your personality and daily habits. Has helped me to push my composition time from 10 hrs to 30 hrs per week.
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