Magic Hours Paperback – March 20, 2018

I'm fascinated with creativity and how it works. Always have been. I love to hear how people create, how they struggle with it, how inspiration (or a lack of inspiration) is harnessed to create something new, and so on.That is exactly what Bissell taps into in this collection of distinct but thematically-linked essays.From film to writing and more, the author explores how some of our favorite works of entertainment came to be and, more importantly, the struggles of the people who came up with the ideas that led to them. Writers writing about writing is a pretty major cliche, but Bissell avoids the cliches, the self-aggrandizing, and (to be frank) the narcissism that often accompanies that sort of introspection. This isn't a work of, "Oh, it's so difficult to be a writer. Ordinary people don't know my struggles!" Rather, it's a look into the eclectic and often eccentric lives of creative people.As with previous works, such as Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter, this book is as funny as it is informative. Bissell has a good sense of humor, taking his subject matter seriously without treating it like untouchable gospel taken down from the mountaintop. It's good stuff.If you have any interest at all in what makes creative people tick, you need to add this book to your list.

I believe my favorite essay in this book is "Writing about writing about writing." Why? Because it most resembles what I thought this book was -- a guide to becoming more creative and better at the writing craft. That being said that particular essay goes beyong my expectations and shares a lot of wisdom with the audience. The first essay "Unflowered Aloes" is pretty depressing for a hopeful writer to read. But it is honest. All his essays are honest and full of detail only a great nonfiction writer could glean from interviews. I enjoyed reading "A Simple Medium" about Chuck Lorre and the American Sitcom. After reading it I feel I understand Lorre a little bit and am very impressed with the work that goes into an episode of "The Big Bang Theory." He writes about documentary films. He writes about a very strange film I have no interest seeing called "The Room." That had to be a weird interview he had with the man behind that film! I enjoyed reading about Lorre's vanity cards -- those are hilarious. I've never noticed them. I"ll notice them now. Bissell's writing sounds conversational. If you like to read nonfiction essays then you'll like this book. You will glean some information about many creative fields but you won't glean any tips on how to get better in your own creative field. That's not what this book is for.

This is a reissued, reprinted book just with a new cover. Not that I'm complaining. Good to repackage yourself. A collection of essays. Some are brilliant, some very long and draggy. No matter the content, the author's voice shines through. Tom Bissell knows what he likes and what he doesn't like and he's not afraid to share those opinions. Liked how the essays were arranged in the book.

The only downside to reading this updated edition of Bissell's 2012 collection of essays is the realisation that he hasn't written enough of them in the past half decade to fill a totally new book.Of course he HAS been busy what with many other projects. Not least of which was not only co-authorinng the definitive bio of Tommy Wiseau, "The Disaster Artist", but also, in the process, convincing us that there was a need FOR the definitive bio of Tommy Wiseau!But, that's what much of Bissell's writing is about, not only the ACT of creating, but the many, very different, meanings of creating, and the importance of each and every one in all of our lives.Before I go to far and make this sound ponderous or even, heaven forbid, inspiring, let me stress how brilliantly written and sardonically funny many of these essays are (well, they're ALL marvelously written but not ALL are sardonically... I've gotten myself in a hole! I'll stop digging now!)Suffice to say Bissell is easily one of today's best essayists especially on the creative process. Read him

I've been a fan of Tom Bissell for almost 15 years now. This updated version of Magic Hours, originally published, 6 years ago, does not disappoint, especially for the essays that focus on writers and the challenges of being a writer. As a former book editor, Bissell writes about the role of luck and caprice in a writer's career and publication success. He writes about how the passing moods and volatile discussions of publishers can make or break a writer, regardless of the writer's merits. Bissell calls these "unliterary accidents." He addresses his role in launching Paula Fox's masterpiece novel Desperate Characters, which didn't get proper attention till decades after its original publication, and he writes that Moby-Dick did not become "literature" till after 76 years after its original publication.In his essay "Grief and the Outsider," he characterizes writers as misfits and address the tormented writer John Kennedy Toole of the cult classic A Confederacy of Dunces. Much of this essay describes what Bissell calls the "ULA," the Underground Literary Alliance, which Bissell describes as "The ghastliest group of no-talent writers to have ever walked the earth."The best essays capture the torment and permanent outsider status of the writer and separate great writers from others. As Bissell quotes the critic Robert Hughes: "The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize."