I'm reading Amy Krouse Rosenthal's book, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, and it is delightful. Writers and creative types can take many lessons from this book:
1. Your life is interesting. (Debunks the myth that you are not interesting.)
2. Pay attention to what interests you. (There are rewards for your obsessions.)
3. Write it down, and don't worry about where it will go or what it will become. (Write it down!)
4. Connect with your impulses and let them lead you. Stop trying to think too much. (You are not in charge. Go with the creative flow.)
Amy's quirky compendium of facts and remembrances will be particularly appealing for those of us who like to capture and scribble down random ideas and thoughts. When you do, you honor those odd items and notions that cling to you no matter how little sense they make. Someday it will all be clear.
Amy struggled for years to come up with a way to bring together her ideas. You'll love the beginning of the book where she outlines her process of creating her encyclopedia.
Okay, and really, the best thing about this book: I was in a bookstore in Steamboat Springs and I picked it up. After reading a paragraph, I was laughing out loud, reading sections to anyone who was nearby and laughing even more. I had proof that I was still capable of laughing out loud, and had not become a smug smirker. Long live laughter and whatever prompts it.
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