2 books for actors and theater people that aren't about acting or theater

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life,  Anne Lamott, 1994

Anne Lamott teaches you how to write, but really teaches you how to be creative in spite of your fears, and how to work on your creative projects a little bit each day.  This book is terrific.

Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life by Paul Ekman, 2003. Paul Ekman is a psychology professor who has studied emotions and facial expressions.  This book is about the roots of emotional response and how emotional responses manifest physically.  A must read.   The photos above illustrate something called the Duchenne smile - the kind of smile that manifests only when one is truly experiencing happiness, and the zygomatic muscles of the cheek and eye contract.  It's a really awesome book.

P.S. JP posted a comment last week!  He's a company member at Porchlight Theatre Company and blogs here.  Thanks JP!