Book Recommendation #5: How To Be Interesting by Jessica Hagy
In 10 Simple Steps.
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I accidentally found How To Be Interesting while reading a story about a student who gave the novelist and short story writer Barry Hannah her story for honest criticism.
She gets her story back with a note, “This just isn’t interesting.”
The student, a whiner, complained, “What can I do to make it interesting?”
Barry Hannah, looked long and hard at the student, decided that she was earnest about becoming a better writer and told her the truth, “Try making yourself an interesting person.”
This led me to conclude ‘being an interesting person’ is imperative for writers.
The usual image of a writer is that of someone in pajamas, sitting behind a desk with piles of paper around her, diligently typing away in a dark room.
I personify that image minus the dark room. Normally I am pretty happy doing that. But recently, when my life got too monotonous, I decided to go on a hunt for ways to be an interesting person.
Google gave me several ideas. A benign list included:
Read
Travel
Volunteer
Be curious.
Ask people open-ended questions.
Pursue a new activity like yarn bombing or rock climbing.
Develop a desire to know and understand yourself and others.
But these made me fall asleep. I needed something to ignite the fire in me.
I continued going deeper and deeper, where no one goes, sixth and seventh page of Google searches. It was then I found that Jessica Hagy had written a whole book about it called, How To Be Interesting (In 10 Simple Steps).
Why Be Interesting?
Well, according to Jessica Hagy, one should be interesting:
to limit your regrets
banish boredom
so you can respect yourself
so that you can leave a mark, not a blemish.
and most of all, because you can.
She gives ten ideas, each one exciting and enticing:
Go exploring
Share what you discover
Do something, anything
Embrace your weirdness
Have a cause
Minimize the swagger
Give it a shot
Hop off the bandwagon
Grow a pair
Ignore the scolds
According to Jessica Hagy, being interesting is about taking chances. It is also about taking daily vacations.
About being childlike, not childish.
It’s about ideas, creativity and taking risks.
It’s about trusting your talents and doing only what you want — but having the courage to get lost and see where the path leads.
Because it’s what you don’t know that’s interesting.
About Jessica Hagy
Jessica Hagy is an artist and a writer who uses charts and graphs to tell stories, jokes, and truths. She tackles serious topics in playful ways and addresses playful topics earnestly.
She is best known for my Webby award-winning blog, Indexed.
She has written other books: How to be Fearless (2021), The Art of War Visualized ( 2015), and The Humanist's Devotional: 366 Daily Meditations from Some of the World's Greatest.
She uses a style of visual storytelling that allows readers to draw their own conclusions and to actively participate in each piece of my narratives. She sees sentence structures as pliable objects and can turn any verbal concept into a visual depiction: a form of translation that adds layers of content to any statement. She believes that there is humor embedded into even the darkest topics, and that there is gravity built into even the silliest occurrences.
How To Be Interesting is a great little book and it is for anyone wanting to interesting.
I loved it particularly as I am writing a graphic diary.
Go grab it.
P.S.: This post contains affiliate links.
Each week, I share a book I’m reading. I know you’re an avid reader too. Have you been reading something that you want to recommend. Please share it in the comments section so that I can put it on my reading list.
As always, thanks for reading.
See you next week.
I couldn't agree more with the idea that being interesting is about living a life with fewer regrets. It's so easy to get stuck in a rut and miss out on all the amazing experiences the world has to offer. Thanks for this insightful post – it's a great reminder to "minimize the swagger" and approach life with a sense of wonder and openness. I hope more people read this book.
Neera, I really liked #9 - Grow a pair lol. That sounds like something I'd say!
This is a great list.