Gail's Share: Top books for work & life
- Nov 10, 2025
- 2 min read
On radio national programme This Working Life ( 17 October 2025) Lisa Leong chats with panio Gianopoulos, the co-founder and editorial director of ‘The Next Big Idea Club’. The club focuses exclusively on non fiction books that are ‘ big and ground-breaking’.
The first ( of three) books that he introduces is ‘The Work of Art how something comes from nothing’ by Adam Moss.
I don’t have a creative cell in my body and find art something of a black box. My late sister spent her life in the performing arts, initially as a performer then became a festival director and her last job was programme director at the Opera House. In pondering the legacy my sister left, and after hearing from the many artists (musicians, graphic artists, dancers and actors) who acknowledged her support and encouragement of their work, I was fascinated to hear about this book which is a collection of essays describing in depth interviews the author conducted with various artists ( including dancers, chefs, filmmakers, painters, poets, photographers and writers) about their creative journeys and processes.
The lightbulb moment for me was hearing the interviewee explain that the book really takes the reader behind the art and shows the messiness of the creative process. He explains that recurring patterns about the emotional journey emerged in the interviews; from the initial spark of an idea and the excitement of starting, through the stumbles and confusion that can ensue, the despair which can sometimes result in the art being discarded, and then by persevering and sticking at it the whole cycle resumes and the work is completed. It sounded like a process model for all projects to me - and made me think that I have too often failed to persevere, giving up far too early in some projects which I abandoned.
The interviewee is a fiction writer himself and said the book had changed how he works and left him with hope and a renewed appreciation of the creative process.
Thank you for sharing this podcast Gail! It’s a great way to find out about book, having 2 people talk about what they loved about them and how they apply them.
Thank you also for sharing your story. Very beautiful and moving ❤️