Self-help · Similar reads
Books like Steal Like an Artist
The best books like Steal Like an Artist are Show Your Work!, Bird by Bird, and Big Magic. Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon is about creativity, influence, creative work. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- Show Your Work!
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Austin Kleon · Self-help
Show Your Work!
Shares creativity and creative work with Steal Like an Artist.
Read the summary → - Bird by Bird
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Anne Lamott · Self-help
Bird by Bird is Anne Lamott's guide to writing and the creative life, grown from a course she taught at UC Davis and developed over years of writing novels, essays, and journalism.
Shares creativity and craft with Steal Like an Artist.
Read the summary → - Big Magic
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Elizabeth Gilbert · Self-help
Big Magic is Elizabeth Gilbert's manifesto for living a creative life — not as a professional artistic career but as an orientation toward existence.
Shares creativity and creative work with Steal Like an Artist.
Read the summary →
- The Creative Habit
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Twyla Tharp · Self-help
The Creative Habit is legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp's account of how creativity works in practice — not as inspiration but as habit, discipline, and preparation.
Shares creativity and creative work with Steal Like an Artist.
Read the summary → - The War of Art
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Steven Pressfield · Self-help
The War of Art is Steven Pressfield's short, blunt manual for anyone who creates — or wants to create — and finds themselves blocked, procrastinating, or unable to start.
Shares creativity and creative work with Steal Like an Artist.
Read the summary → - Turning Pro
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Steven Pressfield · Self-help
Turning Pro is Pressfield's follow-up to The War of Art, taking the Professional/Amateur distinction and developing it into a full examination of what the shift actually looks like — and what it costs.
Shares creativity and craft with Steal Like an Artist.
Read the summary → - Chronicles: Volume One
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Bob Dylan · Memoir
Chronicles: Volume One is the first installment of what Dylan announced as a multi-volume memoir, and it is one of the stranger and more rewarding books any major artist has written about their own formation.
Shares creativity and influence with Steal Like an Artist.
Read the summary → - On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
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On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Stephen King · Memoir
On Writing is Stephen King's memoir of the writing life combined with a practical toolkit for writers.
Shares creativity and craft with Steal Like an Artist.
Read the summary → - Do the Work
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Steven Pressfield · Self-help
Do the Work is Steven Pressfield's shortest and most directly operational book about creative resistance.
Both dig into creative work.
Read the summary → - Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within
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Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within
Kenny Werner · Self-help
Effortless Mastery is jazz pianist Kenny Werner's account of what he calls "the space" — a state of relaxed, fearless attention that produces music of genuine quality, and that most musicians, including Werner himself for much of his early career, never reliably access.
Both dig into creativity.
Read the summary → - Hyperfocus
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Chris Bailey · Self-help
Hyperfocus is Chris Bailey's second book, narrowing in on the attention piece of his earlier productivity triad.
Both dig into creativity.
Read the summary → - Keep Going
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Austin Kleon · Self-help
Keep Going is Austin Kleon's third book in his series on creative practice, following Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work.
Both dig into creativity.
Read the summary →
Books like Steal Like an Artist: quick answers
What are the best books like Steal Like an Artist?
The best books like Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon are Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Steal Like an Artist, such as creativity, influence, creative work.
What should I read after Steal Like an Artist?
A natural next read after Steal Like an Artist is Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon. Shares creativity and creative work with Steal Like an Artist. Other strong choices are Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp.
What books are similar to Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon?
Steal Like an Artist centers on creativity, influence, creative work. Books with a similar feel include Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
