Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity

Pretty much only for fans of David Lynch, this book is a collection of short thoughts/chapters focusing on how David uses transcendental meditation (TM) to improve his creative processes. I read it in about a half hour as each chapter was about a page or less (on Kindle, anyway). But I can see this book being akin to a religious text where you are perhaps meant to read it multiple times, or to pick certain chapters to read when you need them; it is not a novel and anyone looking for juicy tidbits about his movies or television shows will be disappointed. It really is all about how David Lynch has used TM since the 70’s to ‘expand his container’ and allow himself to dive deeper where he catches the larger, far more interesting fish that he’s presented his entire career. An absolute must-read for Lynch fans!

Short essays from a talented director on - just what the title says. I'm so sad David Lynch passed and we won't see anymore movies or other work from him. If you are a fan then I suggest you pick this up.

For all of those who complain that this is neither an in-depth autobiography nor a detailed instructional manual on how to practice Transcendental Meditation - well, it's a bit silly to think such a small book would be a comprehensive ANYTHING. With that said, this little gem reads like you're having a short but intense one-on-one chat with Lynch. Its style is genuine, colloquial, and conversational. More a series of interview high-points than a structured beginning-middle-end journey. He is brutally honest about how he sees himself, how he sees the world, and what he thinks of each of his own artistic endeavours. I take off one star because there are multiple chapters that are literally ONE SENTENCE. Which, frankly, is a bit off-putting and results in a lot of wasted paper. But it's a quick, enjoyable read, and I'd still recommend it to anyone who enjoys Lynch not just as a director or artist, but as a person. It's almost impossible to read the book without hearing it in his voice... which is lovely.

Perfecto

This is a strikingly slim book that is also pretty light on content. That being said, there is still some value here, depending on your expectations. Pros: Covers a wide variety of topics that are likely of interest to those exploring meditation, their own creativity, the nature of ideas, David Lynch or all of the above. It fits on any bookshelf and would make a nice gift for an aspiring artist or someone who is just a fan of David Lynch's art/films and philsophy. The binding itself and paper stock is of nice quality. Cons: Remarkably little actual "content" or depth to any of the topics. Many of the "chapters" are no more than a single sentence or two. Few are longer than a couple of pages. Although the description says 192 pages (and that is technically true) most of the pages are blank or only have a few paragraphs, at most. This seems to be a "less is more" stylistic choice made by Lynch and/or the publisher. Keeping in mind that this is a physically small book to begin with, this ends up barely scratching the surface of any topic it touches on. Beyond that, there is not a single photo or illustration to be found in this book, outside of the one on the back cover of Lynch that appears to be his professional headshot. Quite simply, there isn't very much here and one could easily read the entire book inside of an hour. BUY IT IF: You are a BIG fan of David Lynch and/or transcendental meditation, creativity or where artistic ideas come from and don't need a firm answer or comprehensive resource on any of these subjects. You are looking for supplementary reading material, light "food for thought" or just want to add something "Lynchian" to your library and you already have (or plan to read) "Room to Dream," Lynch's biography/memoir. DON'T BUY IT IF: You are looking for an in-depth book on any topic or a biography of Lynch's work or a deep look into how his mind works. Much of this is very understated...in some cases to an extreme degree.

Divino libro de Davis Lynch Preciosa edicion

This is an insightful, inspiring and motivating book. If you have a creative pull and want to delve into how to tap into it well this book is for you. Lynch talks about his inspirations and how he fishes ideas and nurtures them into something he can express. This is a must read for creatives of all fields and interest.

This book is a strange mix of super-short essays on life, art, film and transcendental meditation. It doesn't deliver tons of depth on any of those topics, and if you're a big Lynch fan, you've probably read many of the anecdotes before, but Lynch's quirkiness and folksy charm is always welcome. He pushes the transcendental meditation pretty hard, but it's obviously a big part of his life and very important to his creative proces. I'm a big David Lynch fan, so I enjoyed this book, though I'm not sure I got much out of it. If you're not a Lynch fan, this book may leave you just scratching your head.

Ótimo

Un buon complemento per chi ama l'arte di David Lynch e vuole scoprire di più sulla sua visione del mondo e la sua poetica. Il prodotto è maneggievole e di facile lettura. L'impostazione in micro-capitoli rende la lettura più leggera.

I like the format: small chapters with a specific content or idea or point to make, sometimes only one page long. It shows the author's evolution in his creative process, the questions he asked himself, and how meditation helped him during all these years. The author is not trying to teach or convince, he just shares his life experiences. I liked this approach very much, and found it inspiring.

Estaba entre ésta edición en pasta dura o la de aniversario con contenido extra pero me agradó mucho ésta en pasta dura, es una edición muy bonita y no puedo hacer más para leerlo.

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