Interview with Imogen Dall, author of Burnout Survival Kit: Instant relief from modern work
Imogen Dall, author of Burnout Survival Kit: Instant relief from modern work, recommends a great selection of books! Before jumping into the interview, please check out Imogen's book:
Review from Book Depository:
Work can leave you frazzled - but it shouldn't.
What you need is some sane advice to get you through.
Your body aches. Your brain feels like a mouldy wrung-out dishcloth. You can barely get anything done and, hang on, why are you even doing this anyway? Is there something wrong with you? Nope. You're just burnt out.
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Tell Me The Truth About Loss: A Psychologist’s Personal Story of Loss, Grief and Finding Hope
Burnout Survival Kit offers practical advice for when things are already bad. There's no mystical magic about unleashing your inner corporate superhero, no weird productivity diagrams, and certainly no crap about working 'smarter'. Instead, this is the calm inner voice that you need, served with good sense and creativity.
As well as helping you to take time to ground yourself, there are brilliant hacks for all the causes of stress and anxiety, from how to approach networking (no one likes it) to practical advice on sleeping better. And the humour helps too. This may not be a cure, but it really does offer instant relief and give you the chance to take a breath. So whether you're just starting to burn or fully scorched to a crisp, rest easy. You've got a Burnout Survival Kit.
Buy On:
Book Depository €9.85
Waterstones £9.99
Wordery $12.92
Q. Do you have a favourite smart thinking book (and why that book)?
There’s is nothing quite like Jeff VanderMeer’s Wonderbook. At its heart it's a brilliant book on how to write fiction, but it’s also a meditation on creativity and what it takes not just to spark ideas but actively build them. The quirky illustrations, author interviews and inspirational prompts make it a fantastic resource to dip into whenever I need a jolt (which is often!)
Review From Book Depository:
Wonderbook has become the definitive guide to writing science fiction and fantasy by offering an accessible, example-rich approach that emphasizes the importance of playfulness as well as pragmatism. It also exploits the visual nature of genre culture and employs bold, full-color drawings, maps, renderings, and visualizations to stimulate creative thinking. On top of all that, the book features sidebars and essays from some of the biggest names working in the field today, including George R. R. Martin, Lev Grossman, Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, and Karen Joy Fowler.
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Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction
For the fifth anniversary of the original publication, Jeff VanderMeer has added an additional 50 pages of diagrams, illustrations, and writing exercises creating the ultimate volume of inspiring advice that is also a stunning and inspiring object.
Buy On:
Book Depository €16.46
Waterstones £18.99
Wordery $19.84
Q. What's the most recent smart thinking book you've read (and how would you rate it)?
William Deresiewicz’s The Death of the Artist is a cold hard look at the modern viability of creative careers — one which busts a lot of the myths I have struggled with in my own work. As we are increasingly expected to deliver more, more quickly, for much less pay or even for free, it’s vital (albeit depressing) to see how our dwindling prospects aren’t personal failings, but massive structural problems that are hollowing out entire creative industries. I rate it five flaming rubbish bins out of five.
Review From Book Depository:
Over the last twenty years, art has become more accessible than ever before. A painter can post their latest creation on Instagram and wait as the likes pile up; a budding filmmaker can shoot a clip on their iPhone, then upload it to YouTube for thousands to view. The digital landscape has fundamentally altered what it means to be creative, as well as how consumers interact with artistic production both economically and curatorially.
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The Death of the Artist: How Creators Are Struggling to Survive in the Age of Billionaires and Big Tech
William Deresiewicz, a leading critic of contemporary culture in America, argues that we are in the midst of an epochal transformation within art. Whereas the nineteenth century considered artists to be craftsmen and the twentieth century treated them as professionals, artists today are uniquely dependent upon themselves. The internet, along with decreases in art funding and the growing prevalence of gig economies, has forced artists to become responsible for every aspect of their work, from conception to promotion, from sales to legacy.
In The Death of the Artist, Deresiewicz profiles those struggling to make a living through the arts, from the twenty-something college novelist with a multi-hyphenated job title to the midlife painter who must utilise social media to stay relevant. Deresiewicz shows what the birth of the "creative entrepreneur" signifies about our evolving society at large and what might be done to keep artists thriving, because we need them.
Buy On:
Book Depository €19.16
Waterstones £21.99
Wordery $24.19
Q. Do you have a favourite childhood book?
Depends what you mean by childhood. As a kid I was very into the folk tales of Anansi the Spider, Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit, Harry Potter and all that. But the first book I really remember changing the landscape for me was Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, which I read at about 14. I’ve read it countless times since and it only ever seems to feel more relevant.
Review From Book Depository:
EVERYONE BELONGS TO EVERYONE ELSE
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Brave New World
Welcome to New London. Everybody is happy here. Our perfect society achieved peace and stability through the prohibition of monogamy, privacy, money, family and history itself. Now everyone belongs.
You can be happy too. All you need to do is take your Soma pills.
Discover the brave new world of Aldous Huxley's classic novel, written in 1932, which prophesied a society which expects maximum pleasure and accepts complete surveillance - no matter what the cost.
Buy On:
Book Depository €8.83
Waterstones £9.99
Wordery $10.85
Q. Do you prefer reading on paper, Kindle or listening to an audiobook?
A year ago I would have said Kindle, hands down, but after all the relentless screentime of the pandemic I love resting my eyes in a real book! I was recently given a hardback copy of Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, which was just a joy from start to finish.
Q. Do you have a favourite bookshop (and why that shop)?
I love Kinokuniya in Sydney and Foyles in London. They’re both kind of obvious and enormous, and perhaps some people would find them soulless for that. But personally I love the cathedral-like atmosphere and the feeling I could spend a day getting lost in the various little sections. Plus they both have cake shops!
Huge thanks to Imogen for recommending a great selection of books! Please don't forget to check out her book Burnout Survival Kit: Instant relief from modern work.
Daryl
Image Copyrights: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (Burnout Survival Kit), Abrams (Wonderbook), Henry Holt & Company Inc (The Death of the Artist), Vintage Publishing (Brave New World).
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