#81: The Book as a House — A Short Musing on Mindfulness, Narrative Structure, and the Illuminating Nature of Really, Really Good Prose

After a two month hiatus, Always Choose Orange is back with a new episode! But here's the question —  what exactly is it? A quiet manifesto? A book review for three Pulitzer Prize-winning meditations on the human experience? Or, is it merely a Trojan horse I'm using to transport some really great Ursula K, Le Guin quotes into your ears? Whatever it is, come ready to explore a way of reading that brings you deeper into the small, beautiful moments of your own life. Media mentioned in this episode:Paul Harding: A New Way To Think About Writing | How I WriteWhat Makes a Story | Ursula K. Le Guin

We're a little more than halfway through 2025 and it’s time for a six-month reading check-in! In this episode, my brother Andrew joins me to discuss six books that affected us during the first half of the year. We use the following questions as a guide:Which book surprised you the most?What is the most ambitious book you read this year?Which book had the best prose?What is one book that made you cry?Which book impacted your life the most?What was your personal favorite? Beyond simply talking about the books we selected for each category, we also explore larger aspects of both reading and creativity in general. One of the books sends us down a tangent about the role of questions in podcasting and therapy. We also talk about the dangers of emulating popular art without truly understanding what makes it great. I then dismount my high horse and let Andrew fire off some stray shots at the Fourth Wing series before we land on a few things that we think make for an engaging memoir. Material Referenced in the Episode:How J Dilla’s Timefeel ACTUALLY WorksDragon Ball GT: What The Hell Happened? You can purchase Andrew's debut poetry collection here: The Fire of Love: A Compilation of Spiritual Love Poetry: Volume One by Andrew Drake FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com

Andrea Burgay is a visual artist from Syracuse, New York, currently based in Brooklyn. Her practice centers on collage, sculpture, and mixed-media assemblage, often utilizing found and vintage materials to explore themes of transformation, decay, and renewal. Through layering, tearing, and reassembling paper, books, and ephemera, Andrea creates works that reflect the passage of time and the interplay between destruction and rebirth. In addition to her studio practice, Andrea is the founder and editor of Cut Me Up, a participatory collage magazine and curatorial project. Each issue features original artworks intended to be deconstructed and transformed by readers into new pieces, fostering a collaborative and evolving artistic dialogue.In this episode of Always Choose Orange, Andrea and I explore her creative rituals (including the reason she makes sure to start each day decisively), her approach to building series like Requiems and Reliquaries, and how she structures her studio environment so that she doesn't experience creative block. Andrea also shares some great entry points for people to dip their toes into the incredible world of modern collage. To top it all off, we talk about a few of the wildest and most experimental Cut Me Up submissions as well as some "inside baseball", including the type of glue Andrea uses to keep her pieces together. Website: https://www.andreaburgay.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreaburgay/Cut Me Up Magazine: https://www.cutmeupmagazine.com FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com

Dr. Deirdre Barrett is a renowned psychologist, author, and dream researcher affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Serving as a Lecturer in Psychology within the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance, she teaches courses on dreaming to undergraduates, psychiatry residents, and psychology interns.Dr. Barrett's research explores dreams, hypnosis, and evolutionary psychology. She has authored several books, including The Committee of Sleep, Supernormal Stimuli, Waistland, The Pregnant Man & Other Cases from a Hypnotherapist’s Couch, and Pandemic Dreams, which explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dreaming.In addition to her writing, Dr. Barrett serves as Editor-in-Chief of Dreaming: The Journal of the Association for the Study of Dreams and has held leadership roles as Past President of both the International Association for the Study of Dreams and the American Psychological Association’s Division 30, The Society for Psychological Hypnosis.Her work has garnered attention from major media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, and Newsweek, and she has appeared on programs such as Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, and the BBC. Beyond academia, Dr. Barrett creates digital dream-inspired artwork, which has been featured in National Geographic and exhibited internationally.In this episode, Dr. Barrett shares how her childhood experience of dreams led her to a career in psychology and dream research. She talks about the role dreams have played throughout history in problem solving and gives specific, mind-blowing examples from her research where students or colleagues solved word problems in a dream, sometimes in startling ways. Dr. Barrett also provides a step by step breakdown of a technique called “dream incubation” that she finds to be a more effective tool for creativity than lucid dreaming. Many people say they don’t remember their dreams. If that’s you, don’t worry, we end the conversation with some practical steps you can take to increase your dream recall.Website: www.deirdrebarrett.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/deirdre_barrett_dreams/ FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com

Alex Eckman-Lawn is a Philadelphia-based artist and illustrator known for his intricately layered, hand-cut paper collages. His work explores themes of control, psychological complexity, and the hidden architecture of the human body. Alex’s distinctive visuals have appeared across a wide spectrum of media, including comic books, album and book covers, music videos, t-shirts, and gig posters. He has collaborated with bands such as Afterbirth, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Imperial Triumphant, and his illustrations have been featured in acclaimed comics like Swan Songs, Awakening, Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, and the Eisner Award-winning Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream. In this week's episode, Alex and I talk about the influence that the city of Philadelphia has on his art. We also discuss Alex's experience in art school and the power of artist communities (as well as a few ideas on how to find or create one). He then revisits the moment where he first stumbled upon his layered collage style and forever changed the trajectory of his career. Aside from sharing a first name, the two of us also share a lot of the same taste in art. As a result, we spend some time nerding out about what Alex learned through studying legendary artists like Frank Frazetta and Dave McKean, as well as some thoughts on how A.I. is affecting newer illustrators. At one point, Alex even pries open his vault and shares the valuable websites where he sources his collage material.Website: https://www.alexeckmanlawn.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexeckmanlawn/ FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com

A single sentence at the start of a book can set the tone for everything that follows. In this week's episode, we dip our toes into the mysterious and powerful world of epigraphs — the quotes or passages that open some of our favorite stories. We explore the many purposes of epigraphs, from foreshadowing and framing to adding emotional or intellectual depth. We examine how they can elevate a work (and occasionally distract from it) and why some writers swear by them while others avoid them entirely. Whether you're a novelist, screenwriter, poet, or creative in any field, we end the episode with practical tips for using epigraphs to sharpen your storytelling and leave a lasting impression. FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com

Jon Guerra is a singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas, renowned for his distinctive style of devotional music. Jon describes his work as "less Sunday morning worship music and more Monday morning prayer music." His critically acclaimed albums — including Keeper of Days (2020), Ordinary Ways (2023), and most recently, Jesus (2025) blend poetic lyricism with minimalist instrumentation. Beyond his solo work, Jon collaborates with his wife, Valerie in the musical duo Praytell, and has contributed to film scores, notably composing additional music for Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life (2019).In this week's episode, Jon and I spend some time digging into his new album Jesus and the two-year journey to finish the project. We then talk about some practical ways to hone your musical instincts and Jon shares a powerful example of him not going with his first idea and allowing a song to evolve beyond his initial vision for it. We go on to discuss the importance of taking the time needed to make your best possible work rather than getting a project done just to get it done. If you're interested in songwriting and/or creating beauty that, in Jon's words, "puts people in contact with invisible things," there's a good chance, you'll enjoy this episode! Website: https://www.jonguerramusic.comInstagram: http://instagram.com/iamjonguerraDevotional Songwriting Masterclass: https://www.jonguerramasterclass.com/start FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com

Tara Sellios is a Boston-based artist whose monumental photographs highlight the beauty of the grotesque. She creates still life vignettes from organic materials including animal bones, insect specimens, and dried flowers which she photographs using a large format 8 x 10 camera. Tara's imagery takes inspiration from Christian devotionals including illuminated manuscripts, altarpieces, and stained glass windows while engaging with historical traditions of still life painting, particularly Dutch vanitas paintings. Her series, Ask Now the Beasts, which is exhibiting at the Fitchburg Art Museum in Massachusetts until January 18, 2026, takes its name from the Book of Job and explores concepts of the harvest and the apocalypse. In this new work, Tara considers the cyclical nature of Earth, intertwining symbols of death and references to life with the beauty of decay.In this week's episode, we talk about it all — from the a-ha moment in art school when Tara first discovered her photographic direction, to the impact her strict religious upbringing had on her work. We also explore the ways in which she uses symbolism, the way she lights her photographs, and what it took to get her first solo exhibition up and running. Website: https://www.tarasellios.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarasellios/ FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com

Caroline Shaw is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. She often works in collaboration with others, as producer, composer, violinist, and vocalist. Shaw is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Music, an honorary doctorate from Yale, five Grammys, and a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. She has written and produced for iconic artists and ensembles across the musical spectrum, including Rosalía, Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Tiler Peck, Kanye West, Nas, the LA Phil, the NY Phil, and others. Her recent TV/film/stage scoring projects include “Leonardo Da Vinci” (Ken Burns/PBS), “Fleishman is in Trouble” (FX/Hulu), and “The Sky Is Everywhere” (Josephine Decker/A24). Her favorite color is yellow, and her favorite smell is rosemary.In this week’s episode, Caroline shares the background behind her Ringdown project (a collaboration with her partner Danni Lee) and talks about what it’s like for her to make music with someone she loves. Ringdown’s debut album Lady on the Bike comes out on May 9, 2025 and we talk about the heartwarming story that inspired the album name. From there, we dive into Caroline’s creative process and she outlines a fun exercise called “voice memo roulette”, describes how she builds her songs starting with the harmony first, and the two of us wax poetic on the benefits of Rhymezone.com for lyrical inspiration. To top it all off, we discuss the relationship between environment and creativity, the magic of old, janky instruments, and what Caroline listens for when she’s revising one of her works-in-progress.Website: https://carolineshaw.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolineadelaideshaw/ FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com

In the conclusion to our five-episode series on enjoyment, we examine the relationship between understanding and sharing. Using the coffee taster's flavor wheel, the Studio Binder YouTube channel, and Scott McCloud's books on comic-making, we look at the way developing a vocabulary helps us process and understand a sensory experience. And to wrap things up, we'll use a probably-apocryphal Albert Einstein quote to reiterate the importance of teaching others what we've learned. FOR EXCLUSIVE CREATIVITY TIPS, MUSINGS, AND EXERCISES, SUBSCRIBE TO THE ALWAYS CHOOSE ORANGE NEWSLETTER: https://www.alwayschooseorange.com