A few years ago we started a new Christmas tradition in our house. On We would each buy each other a book – we’d say what we wanted – and on Christmas Eve we’d exchange them and read them in bed with some nice hot chocolate. We turn the lights day, put on some fairy lights, and snuggle up warm under the duvet to read our books, accompanied by our cats. I’m not going to claim originality, The exchange of books is a common tradition in Iceland that inspired the term Jólabókaflóðið, or Yule Book Flood, which refers to the release of new books at this time of year to fuel the demand. The duvet, the lights, and the hot chocolate is inspired by the Danish concept of hygge, its meaning elusive but involves coziness and warm atmosphere.

The problem is, unlike my wife, I have never been an avid reader. It is something I find hard to focus on and get easily distracted and frustrated. For what I can now see as a form of accommodation, I chose a graphic novel the first time round, the first volume of Scott Pilgrim series (I’m a big fan of the film). In 2023, I reached the end of the series and I had to recommend something else. In the last few years I have discovered audiobooks and they have revolutionised my reading habits – I’ve always wanted to read but it just was not accessible for me – I have read more in these past couple of year than I have in the rest of my life. I wanted something to inspire me and my imagination and settled on The Imagination Muscle by Albert Read.

I did not know anything about this book or its author. I was drawn to the title and its promising subtitle of “Where good ideas come from (and how to have more of them)”, which perfectly resonates with my journey of seeking imagination as a skill. At 7 hours and 51 minutes long, I did not consume the whole book on Christmas Eve and it kept me inspired until mid-January whilst I sorted the kitchen and the cats at the end of the day.

I must admit, it did not meet my expectations. But that is not a negative. From the title and the blurb, I was expecting something that would be more of a lifestyle guide, with a stronger focus on the “and how to have more of them” angle. I thought it would be packed with helpful tips and exercises you could do to practice and strengthen that ‘imagination muscle’. This is not that book but I am pleased it was not.

In the book, the author takes us on a deep dive of human imagination, both individual and collective, as it has developed in concert with society – a symbiotic relationship. He weaves this narrative, from the earliest cave paintings to the latest technological developments, showing that society has developed because of imagination and that imagination has developed, and been allowed to flourish, because of the advancement of society. He shows how historical leaps, like the emergence of language and the inventions of the printing press and the internet, born from imagination and building on chains of individual genius, have facilitated great expansions of imagination. The journey Albert Read takes the reader on is enlightening and enriching.

But that is not to say there is not anything helpful in here on how to build your imagination muscle. There are explorations of what made people so imaginative (and what can lead to deterioration of the muscle). For example, Read demonstrates how the ‘beginners mindset’ is fertile ground for imagination and good ideas – that space of uncertainty and needing to learn creating a breeding ground of problem solving. Maybe ADHDers tend to be creative and imaginative because we are always trying something new! Connection with nature, the rhythm of walking, and the power of coffee as both a stimulate and its role in networking are all discussed.

I was very pleased I chose this book. I really enjoyed listening to it and found myself both informed and inspired by the human story of imagination laid out by Read. The imagination as a muscle is a useful metaphor and a different, yet complimentary, way of thinking to imagination being a skill. Both attest to it being something that gets better with practice and advocate for us to make time to do just that.

How would you strengthen your imagination muscle?

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