Never have I felt more grateful to authors than today. Aside from using their work for mine (and citing them), I also use it for inspiration when I feel discouraged or unmotivated. There are thousands of new books getting published everyday (on Amazon) and millions from the past. There's no shortage of them. So where do books come from?
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Reading is extremely useful for writing. You can conduct interviews (this will be challenging for me now after the pandemic happened), watch documentaries, and use Google search for the information you need, but reading books is, for me, the best way to pick an expert's brain.
The heartwarming book, Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, was written and completed through an interview on Tuesdays...with the author's mentor and lifelong friend, Morrie.
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert was born out of the author's sudden love for gardening and interviewing an expert on plants.
The Oak Papers by James Canton (this book I'm currently reading) is based on experiences meditating under an ancient oak tree, respectfully called Honywood Oak, plus researching the history and significance of the tree to humankind.
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So where do books come from? From people and other books! They don't come from an original idea, nor a special formula. It's a collection of ideas, thoughts, histories, studies, anecdotes. Books are born out of one's curiosity and putting relevant stories together.
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Speaking of books, on this page, I have a list of my all-time favorite books which I mention in most of my blog posts and Medium articles, and a link to my book list which I update every week or so after I finish a book. I also update my Goodreads account regularly.