Notes
Thoughts & Goings-Ons
Book Notes: We Need Your Art
Book
We Need Your Art: Stop Messing Around and Make Something
Author
Aime McNee
Read
February 2026
Buy:
https://bookshop.org/a/17533/9780593833001
My Short Summary
An extended manifesto on the benefits of making art for its own sake, even when (especially when) modern society dismisses it as frivolous and unimportant.
My Short Take
I think I’d have enjoyed this well-intended but repetitive pep talk as a blog post (or even a YouTube video) rather than a 200+ page book.
Some Rambling
I fast-tracked this book way up my TBR list thinking it was exactly what I needed to read right now, and … was …not disappointed, exactly. It just wasn’t what I’d hoped for. That’s probably on me. I think I need to go into books with fewer expectations. This is the second book I’ve read this year, and I’m two for two in being so excited by the premise and then the execution not being what I was looking forward to.
I really like McNee’s voice: it’s down to earth, a little irreverent, fresh, modern, etc. But the content itself just wasn’t there for me mostly because it felt incredibly repetitive. The full title of this book is We Need Your Art: Stop Messing Around and Make Something. The 200+ pages pretty much just say that … over and over. I lost count of the times I had the thought, “Didn’t she just say that?”
There was an overall vagueness that made it hard for me to connect and feel inspired, both in the language and the advice. When she talks about her own experiences (she’s a novelist) she’s extremely specific and entertaining, which makes me think perhaps this book would have been more impactful had she leaned into writing a memoir.
But the advice portion, which is most of the book, felt like the type of suggestions we hear for any endeavor, not just artistic ones. Advice like: start with small achievable goals, don’t compare yourself to others, don’t be a perfectionist…
I’m not knocking these suggestions! They’re good! ! I was just really hoping for more, I don’t know … art? Inspiration? I wanted to hear more stories people creating music, photography, videos, web design, sketching, watercolor, abstract oils, sculpture, candle-making, recipe creation, floral arrangement … I dunno. I was really wanted something to sort of sink my creative teeth into, and didn’t find it here.
And this is where the personal “it’s not you, it’s me,” really comes in, but I think given my current mindset right now, I was hoping for a bit more encouragement on the idea that creating and art doesn’t have to be a novel, a painting, a drawing, playing piano, or any of the traditional “arts.” I wanted to be reminded that making anything, whether it’s making your favorite quote look pretty using Canva or spending or learning the art of exquisite quiche can count as art. This isn’t that book, and that’s fine. Maybe I should write it.
I did really appreciate the few pages on saturated markets; I hadn’t thought about the market in that light before, and found it quite helpful. “Art is not toaster” will stick with me!
I also liked the paragraph where she reminds us that we’re allowed to have boundaries when it comes to sharing our work online. That’s a big hang-up for me, so I really appreciated the reminder.
Ultimately: I don’t think I was the intended audience for this book, or perhaps it’s just not what I was expecting. It was a fast and easy read, I just never really felt moved, changed, or inspired. But that very well could have been my headspace, as this book otherwise gets overwhelming positive reviews from people who found it really helpful, and I’m thrilled, because despite this book not being a home fun for me, I whole heartedly agree:
We need your art.
Note
Many of the book’s pages are taken up with large hand-written reminders/quotes. I quite liked this given that it’s a book about art, but if you’re one of those people who feels like such things are “filler” to pad a book’s page count, you’ve been warned.
And you should also be prepared that a decent chunk of each chapter is taken up with extensive journal prompts. As an avid journaler, I like this in theory, but if it’s journal prompts you’re after, I love Wilde House Paper’s Open Journal Digital Library.
Recommended For
If you already know the precise art medium your soul is yearning to create, is but have never picked up the brush/pencil or stared down the black page, etc and need a pep talk, McNee makes a fantastic cheerleader!
If you have any previous creating experience, or are looking to unlock blocked/undiscovered avenues of creativity, I’d recommend the following:
Book Notes: The Secret Life of Plants
My Short Summary
A recounting of various experiments on plants exploring unusual phenomena and the possibility of plants being sentient.
My Short Take
Interesting and thought-provoking, but unconvincing and a bit of a slog to get through.
Some Rambling
I was really looking forward for this book, but by the end, I have to say I was mostly ready to be done with it. The introduction had me all excited about these new-to-me “discoveries” on plants, but I wasn’t aware when I added it to my wish list that it was published in the 70s. Which isn’t bad in and of itself, but I opened it thinking that it was going to be the latest and greatest on plant studies. Not so much. More “experiments from 50 years ago that had some interesting results.” And it became pretty clear even within the span of the book (to say nothing of the half century that’s passed) that many of the results were largely unrepeatable.
In that way, the book read more like lore than science, and yet … the book is also heavy on the “science talk,” as well as heavy on the details about the scientists themselves, which for me, frankly was boring. I pride myself in being an experienced reader of “dry” books, but I definitely found myself skimming, or wishing I could just read a summary of what experiment’s results, non the backstory of the scientist or detailed descriptions of the equipment used.
Because actually, the results were interesting, if not always convincing. I just thought there was a lot of unnecessary information that wasn’t really relevant to the reason I picked up the book in the first place: plants.
As I described it to my husband: I couldn’t quite figure out who this book was written for. It felt too technical for the layperson, and yet I couldn’t find anything about this book changing the modern scientific community’s understanding of plants beyond “there may be some things we don’t yet know about them?” All that said, I did find it thought-provoking, and I don’t think I’ll ever look at our house plants quite the same way again. But in more the spooky X-Files-esque “The Truth is Out There” kind of way, less “I know a lot of facts about plants now.”
Recommended For
People who love plants (or at least find them interesting) have an aptitude and tolerance for reading a scientific style of writing on a pseudo-science topic.
2025 Reading List
Below is a list of books I read in 2025.
I’ve been on a philosophy and biography kick for years now … I can’t get enough! Though this year I mixed in some history and a few others as well, but am still solidly in my nonfiction era.
Most of the links below are affiliate links to Bookshop.org, which I prefer to Amazon because it supports local bookstores, and one of my favorite things in the world is visiting small towns and immediately seeking out their local book shop.
My top two books of the year are in bold.
What I read in 2025
Million Dollar Weekend, Noah Kagan
Buy on Bookshop.org
Entrepreneurship, Business
The Fourth Turning is Here, Neil Howe
Buy on Bookshop.org
Politics, Current Affairs
Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper, Allen Roland
Buy on Bookshop.org
History
The Vietnam War: A Military History, Geoffrey Wawro
Buy on Bookshop.org
History
The Ode Less Travelled, Stephen Fry
Buy on Bookshop.org
Poetry, Education
Montaigne, Stefan Zweig
Buy on Bookshop.org
Philosophy
Titan, Ron Chernow
Buy on Bookshop.org
Biography
Wisdom Takes Work, Ryan Holiday
Buy on Bookshop.org
Philosophy
Living a Quiet Life, Vanessa Marie Dewsbury
Buy on Amazon (unfortunately, not available on Bookshop.org)
Self-growth
Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot, Jim Stockdale
Buy on Bookshop.org
Philosophy
The Sailing of the Intrepid, Montel Williams & Davis Fisher
Buy on Bookshop.org
History
Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott
Buy on Bookshop.org
Memoir, Education
Remembrance of Things Paris, [edited by] Ruth Reichl
Buy on Bookshop.org
Food Memoir, Anthology, Travel
Here’s the entire list on Bookshop.org, minus Living a Quiet Life, as the author opted to limit availability to Amazon.
Book Notes: Remembrances of Things Paris
Edited by Ruth Reichl
My Short Summary
A collection of short essays about Paris by editors of Gourmet magazine, ranging from 1930s to modern day.
My Short Take
Delightful and diverting, particularly if you love Paris and/or food.
Recommend
Yes, particularly to foodies and anyone who loves Paris.
Some Thoughts
Our friend Andrew bought this for us a couple years ago because he knows how much we adore Paris, and I confess it found itself onto a spot on our bookshelf that’s got sort of a Bermuda Triangle energy; whenever I went to decide on my next read, I just didn’t see it.
But for some reason in December, it snagged my eye. I’ve read a bunch of thick, chunky books this year, and really enjoyed them, but I was in the mood for something pretty during the holiday season.
This book absolutely delivered. I’m rather new to memoir reading, and I’m very new to any sort of “travel essays,” being a homebody at heart without much of a travel bug. But as mentioned, I have a soft spot for Paris, and with each turn of the page of this book I found myself eagerly anticipating our next trip.
Given that it’s from writers of Gourmet magazine, I expected it to be entirely food focused, and that’s certainly the common thread, though it’s really more of a love letter to Paris itself.
One of the most surprising—and rewarding—parts of the reading experience was experiencing the different “voices” of the writers. There are a couple of one-off essays, but many of the names became familiar over the course of the book, and by the end I could tell who’d written what without seeing their names.
As someone who’s heart’s been crying out for a chance to write something something other than fiction, I was fascinated at the way two writers could write about the exact same restaurant or or experience, and create such vividly different pictures of the experience.
Would I read this again? I’m not sure I need to. But I’ll remember it fondly.
Reading Notes: Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott
Read: December 2025
My Short Summary
A funny, quirky book that’s part memoir, part “how-to” guide for fiction writers.
My Short Take
Funny and well-written, but I wasn’t expecting this to be so focused on novel writing, and I don’t know if I’d have picked it up if the word novel or fiction had been mentioned anywhere in the book’s description. I felt a bit tricked.
I think maybe I just picked up this book at the wrong time. As a published novelist myself who’s trying to spread my wings beyond fiction, I wasn’t I wasn’t particularly needing or wanting so much specific advice as: “plot grows out of character,” or “dialog that is written in dialect is very tiring to read.”
That said, I do understand why it’s so cherished. I loved the introduction, and liked the rest. I don’t know that it’ll ever be a favorite, but I can see myself picking it up in the future to read a few passages that stood out.
Recommended For
Beginning writers who want to write a novel, or for people who just enjoy reading unique, well-developed voices.
Reading Notes: The Sailing of the Intrepid
Read: December 2025
One-Sentence Summary
A short and easy-reading history of the United States aircraft carrier the Intrepid, with a focus on its first combat voyage in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor.
My Review
So far my favorite read of 2025, and since I’m writing this in mid-December, there’s a good chance it will be the favorite. I have very little knowledge or interest of the navy or ships, so I was surprised how much I was not only riveted by this, but moved. I found myself inexplicably teary-eyed, and not just at the sad war parts. I just felt bizarrely connected to … a boat?
Who I’d recommend it for
I would have thought I’d be recommending it to navy/military/ship buffs, but I actually wonder if they wouldn’t find it a touch simplistic. This seems to be very much written with civilians who don’t know anything about the navy or ships or war time.
Anyone who wants to dip their toe into non-fiction but don’t want anything too meaty. This was one of the shorter books I’ve read this year, and very readable. It read more like a fictional adventure than it did dry history book (and this comes from someone who likes dry history books…)
Caveat
The Intrepid is docked just a few blocks away from my apartment in NYC, so I’ve walked/run by it hundreds of times over the past decade. It’s possible that’s why I felt so attached/interested in the book. But I still maintain that it’s a good read whether or not you’ve ever seen the actual ship!