A review by cursed_sapphire
Conversations with My Puppet: a Professional's Guide to Playful Creativity by Savy Leiser
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
[Review originally posted on Goodreads]
I absolutely blew through this book. The writing was charming and whitty, and the content was overall very informative and offered actionable advice and creative prompts.
Before I continue, I have to admit that I'm a fan of the author's YouTube channel, and could hear every word in this book in her voice. But with that being said, I still found this book was entertaining and useful.
The titular conversations with the puppet were definitely a highlight for me, as they offered humerous breaks between chapters, and exemplified the concept of the book, as Leiser often had revelations or ideas while talking to Shawn (the puppet).
I will state for anyone considering reading this book that it is largely based on anecdotes. If you are looking for a book that discusses scientific studies on play and adulthood creativity, this is not the book for you. Those things are sometimes touched upon in this book, but are not the focus.
The anecdotes themselves were told well and supported the ideas of the book. They illustrated the way that Leiser found play helpful to her as both a business woman and as a creative person, and they were entertaining as well. The book is also short, which works in its favor, as little feels drawn out and anecdotes do not overstay their welcome.
However, I do have a few small complaints with the book.
First, I felt that familiarity with the author was almost necessary. Leiser often says something like "if you watch me on YouTube, you'll already know X." And while that's fine to bring up, occasionally I felt like whatever she referenced was not well explained in the book, relying on audience familiarity with the author. One example I vividly remember is, in an earlier chapter, Leiser starts making many references to Tyler. I know from her channel that Tyler is her husband, but when I was reading I didn't see her introducing him anywhere (although it is possible I missed it). While a reader could figure out that Tyler is the author's husband through context clues, he should have been more properly introduced to readers.
My only other real complaint is that sometimes the book felt too much like a tutorial. Some of the anecdotes went into great detail about the process of making things or setting things up. Specifically, chapter 3 started feeling more like a book on how to customize an American Girl doll, which was only tangentially related to the topic at hand. That section went on a bit long, and could have easily been simplified.
But overall I really enjoyed my time with this book. I found some of the advice very helpful, and even a bit inspiring. I'm already a bit of a dol/toy collector, and reading this book made me want to grab all of my dolls and start playing with them like I did witn my kelly collection when I was six. If you’re looking for an entertaining read that has funny anecdotes or advice on how to spark creativity, I can definitely recommend this book. However, be warned, it might tempt you to go out and spend all your money buying awesome toys!
I absolutely blew through this book. The writing was charming and whitty, and the content was overall very informative and offered actionable advice and creative prompts.
Before I continue, I have to admit that I'm a fan of the author's YouTube channel, and could hear every word in this book in her voice. But with that being said, I still found this book was entertaining and useful.
The titular conversations with the puppet were definitely a highlight for me, as they offered humerous breaks between chapters, and exemplified the concept of the book, as Leiser often had revelations or ideas while talking to Shawn (the puppet).
I will state for anyone considering reading this book that it is largely based on anecdotes. If you are looking for a book that discusses scientific studies on play and adulthood creativity, this is not the book for you. Those things are sometimes touched upon in this book, but are not the focus.
The anecdotes themselves were told well and supported the ideas of the book. They illustrated the way that Leiser found play helpful to her as both a business woman and as a creative person, and they were entertaining as well. The book is also short, which works in its favor, as little feels drawn out and anecdotes do not overstay their welcome.
However, I do have a few small complaints with the book.
First, I felt that familiarity with the author was almost necessary. Leiser often says something like "if you watch me on YouTube, you'll already know X." And while that's fine to bring up, occasionally I felt like whatever she referenced was not well explained in the book, relying on audience familiarity with the author. One example I vividly remember is, in an earlier chapter, Leiser starts making many references to Tyler. I know from her channel that Tyler is her husband, but when I was reading I didn't see her introducing him anywhere (although it is possible I missed it). While a reader could figure out that Tyler is the author's husband through context clues, he should have been more properly introduced to readers.
My only other real complaint is that sometimes the book felt too much like a tutorial. Some of the anecdotes went into great detail about the process of making things or setting things up. Specifically, chapter 3 started feeling more like a book on how to customize an American Girl doll, which was only tangentially related to the topic at hand. That section went on a bit long, and could have easily been simplified.
But overall I really enjoyed my time with this book. I found some of the advice very helpful, and even a bit inspiring. I'm already a bit of a dol/toy collector, and reading this book made me want to grab all of my dolls and start playing with them like I did witn my kelly collection when I was six. If you’re looking for an entertaining read that has funny anecdotes or advice on how to spark creativity, I can definitely recommend this book. However, be warned, it might tempt you to go out and spend all your money buying awesome toys!
Content Warnings
Minor: Excrement