December 2024 books

I feel like I finished strong in December. Those who've been following all year will know I've had a few months where only 2 or 3 books were read. I feel I should point out that two of these books are very short reads but maybe that doesn't matter? I dunno...

The Creative License, Danny Gregory

This isn't the first time Danny Gregory has made an appearance here on my blog and I ended the year adding a few more of his books to my collection. This book is a mix of useful tips and exercises and more general thoughts about creativity in general, all designed to give you a boost and get working on your art. Ironically, I read this just at the point where I decided to wind down for Christmas so this will be one I return to again in 2025.

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

I don't know why but it's become a bit of a Christmas tradition for me to give this book a read. I've read it every December for the last four or five years now and it's becoming something that feels wrong if I don't do it, like not listening to Christmas tunes or putting up decorations. Part of my reason to read this year was with a mind to really start thinking about how it might be adapted into a comic. An idea I've been toying with for a couple of years but despite it's size as a book, a comic adaptation would be a fairly sizeable project, if done right. I'll probably start thinking about this adaptation again towards the end of 2025...

The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse, Charlie Mackesy

I'd seen this book on various shop shelves over the last few years and was always drawn to the cover but I kept putting off picking up a copy. Well, this year I took the plunge and bought it, took it home and read it in about 15 minutes flat, it's not a difficult read at all. It's the kind of book that you'll want to keep by your desk, filled with all sorts of positive messages that give you a bit of a lift. Once my new studio is built in a couple of weeks, this will always be within arms length.

An Illustrated Life, Danny Gregory

Another entry from Danny Gregory this month. This book isn't like his other books I've read so far in the sense that it's mostly artists writing about their own sketchbook habits. What tools they use, how they approach their sketchbooks, what the sketchbooks mean to them etc, along with many, many example pages from each artist. It's one of those books that now I've read once cover-to-cover, I probably won't do that again, but I will go back, flick through and read about a particular artist again in future.

Draw!, Brett Bean

I've been a fan of Brett Bean since he took over the art duties on I Hate Fairyland, one of the books appeared back in May, so when he announced this book, I wanted to get myself a copy. There were a few sections of this book which was treading old ground for me personally, such as walking through how perspective works, but the book includes a lot of drawing exercises which I'll be looking at in 2025 as I try to improve my own abilities as an artist. Overall, this book still has some gems even for an experienced artist but also works well for artists who are starting out on their journey.

Ok, so that's it for another year! 50 books read by my count, which is probably the most I've read in a single year... ever. I've started the Goodreads Reading Challenge again for 2025 and, like last year, I've set a target of 30 books. Feels manageable and if I overshoot by 20 books again, that's just a bonus!

Rather than doing a monthly round-up for 2025, I might take some inspiration from Si Jobling and just write a short post each time I finish a book. I'm aware my rate of updates has subsided quite a lot recently so maybe it'll get me back into the habit of writing a bit more often.