The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Some years ago, I came across Neil Gaiman. A lot of people seemed to like his works and his books also seemed right up my alley. So I read Neverwhere - and wasn't too impressed.

Sure, it's nicely written. It's also a bit of a page-turner, in that you want to know how it ends. So I guess in a way, that's all you can expect from a book? That it makes you want to read it, and read it to the end. However, it left me without the desire to read it again or even read anything else from that author.

Fast-forward a few years. I've become a loyal follower of Amanda Palmer, who happens to be married to that same Neil Gaiman. So, inevitably, there's some crossover. I still don't follow @neilhimself on Twitter, but @amandapalmer often retweets some of his stuff and his Tumblr ended up in my list of RSS feeds, since I like his thoughtful replies to fans about what it takes to be an author.

So I felt it was time to give him another chance. I've read his latest book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I try not to post spoilers.

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger

Why do some ideas seemingly spread overnight, while others disappear? is one of the questions asked on the cover of Contagious. It's questions like this that Jonah Berger explores in this book.

If this sounds familiar then you may have read Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath, who explored similar territory. It isn't a coincidence either, since Chip Heath is author Jonah Berger's mentor.

impro - Improvisation and the Theatre by Keith Johnstone

I noticed that when looking into the topics of creativity and innovation, two fields are often mentioned that I know very little about: Jazz - and Improvisation Theatre. So I decided to read the classic book "impro" by Keith Johnstone to see if it would help me understand not only improvisation theatre but also how it's related to creativity and what I could possibly learn from it.