The Gift

I don't often blog about books, which is actually surprising, since I'm a total bookworm, and obsessively collect craft books. I rarely buy new books, I find them far too expensive, and there's almost too much choice! A strange complaint, I know, but I find most bookshops, like yarn shops, overwhelming. (I love finding a good book in a charity/secondhand shop, it makes the find so much more special, when you find it amongst trashy fiction!). So, I though I'd start writing about the books that have influenced me the most, either directly, as in a practical craft books, or indirectly inspiring!

 

I've just started reading this book, pictureed above, The Gift by Lewis Hyde. (Bought new, because it looks like a gem, and would be too hard to find secondhand). I'm only a few pages in, but I find it fascinating already. I am very interested in anthropology, the characteristics of human beings, and especially the human need to create, adorn, colour and reflect. This book was first published in 1983, but seems very relevant today. According to the blurb its...

"...a modern classic, The Gift is a brilliantly orchestrated defense of the value of creativity and of its importance in a culture increasingly governed by money and overrun with commodities. Widely available again after twenty-five years, this book is even more necessary today than when it first appeared. An illuminating and transformative book, and completely original in its view of the world, The Gift is cherished by artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers. It is in itself a gift to all who discover the classic wisdom found in its pages".

I shall let you know how I get on...