Daily Rituals is proof that YouTube and Pinterest didn’t invent the concept of rabbit-holes of stories that suck you in and spit you out two hours later, not well fed and feeling a bit like you listened to a gossipy great aunt while eating too many cupcakes.
The book is interesting, and useful, and I’ll go back and mark it up. I kept turning pages even when I didn’t want to. I want to know the rest of the story, and that’s not what this book is about.
As an artist, I cry “balogna” on the idea that some of these practices are actually “rituals,” per se; or that they were as invariant as might be presumed from the title. I wish the book contained consistent “who’s who” and “who created what” paragraphs; you’re on your own for some of the featured artists. (That could be a flaw in the review copy and if the post-publication version contains this info, forgive me.)
Heavens, the drinking… how did they keep it up? And the wives (usually), running life in the background making it all possible.
I just kept turning the pages… even when I wanted to go to bed. And that’s a pretty good book.
