6 Books To Read In 2020

The word business is often seen as “dirty” within the creative industries. It’s associated to making money and the many pointless abbreviations people use when trying to persuade you that starting your own company is complicated. Cast those aside immediately. Making money puts food on the table and allows you to scale your ambitions; and business doesn’t need to be complicated.

But business does need to be structured. Business for Bohemians is a brilliant introduction on what to watch out for when creating a business.

The value of the creative industries is not easy to make a case for. Our government struggles to understand it, cutting back on the funding that we depend on. This trickles down into our education and upbringing. It’s likely you’ve come across this bias in conversations that contain any of the following words: “real jobs”, “no money in it”, “oh, that’s nice”.

The Empathy Instinct, written by the former Chair of Arts Council, Sir Peter Bazalgette – is a brilliant take on why creativity matters and its financial and societal impact on us. Sir Peter makes a clear and thrilling case made all the better by accessible language and real-world examples.

If you really wanted to hammer the point home, you could include the Arts Dividend by Darren Henley, the current CEO of the Arts Council. Which develops the subject further and is an equally thrilling read.

Death isn’t the first thing that comes to mind during the Christmas season; actually, it’s a subject we like to ignore and cast aside. Yet, knowing there is an end can inspire us to make the most of the time we have been given.

Being Mortal is in no way related to the creative industries; but is a necessary insight into our mortality by a surgeon who enriches his thoughts with personal stories. It helps define what matters most to you by reminding us all that time is finite and should be respected.