How to Navigate Life: The New Science of Finding Your Way, In School, Career, and Beyond
By Belle Liang, Ph.D., and Timothy Klein, LCSW, 2022
The pressure on teens as they enter the last years of high school has reached a high not seen in earlier generations. Even parents begin to feel the pressure for their students to compete academically. Drawing on years of counseling experience, the authors of How to Navigate Life show there’s a better way forward for families. Readers will find the balance between performance expectations, exploring passions and tapping into purpose in this book.
Learn Like a Pro: Science-Based Tools to Become Better at Anything
By Barbara Oakley, Ph.D., PE and Olav Schewe
Coming in at less than 125 pages, this is a quick, easy read with a substantial impact. Readers of all ages will find tips backed by scientific data, as well as real world examples of how to be more successful in mastering new skills. This book promises readers can improve their ability to do anything. Looking for another reason to pick up this book? The simply written format also contributes to an easy read. Each chapter ends with a digestible key takeaway summary that’s useful as a quick reference, so readers can always find the motivation they are looking for.
Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead, and Live Without Barriers
By Jo Boaler, 2019
Learning does not have to stop once we are no longer in school, and assumptions about our strengths or weaknesses for certain subjects growing up do not have to follow us into adulthood. Readers will find in Boaler’s book research proves our brains are not fixed organs but have the ability throughout an entire lifetime to change, grow, adapt and rewire. Learning can change who we are and widen the barriers for what we can achieve.
Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy
By Daniel T. Willingham, Ph.D., 2023
Did you know that our brains fool us into believing we know more than we do? According to this book, that’s one of the reasons why learning something new can be so hard. Willingham offers more than 90 tips on how to learn more effectively to outsmart your own brain. Though written with a focus on school students and educators, any reader will still find plenty of valuable insights for setting up good habits that will aid in making any type of learning easier.
How We Learn: Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine...for Now
By Stanislas Dehaene, 2020
Our brains have an extraordinary ability to process information and while childhood is the time when our brains are the most malleable, it’s been proven that our brains can be reprogrammed and enhanced at any age. Interested readers will explore “the four pillars of the brain’s learning algorithm:” attention, active engagement, error feedback and consolidation. Focusing on these key areas will increase anyone’s learning potential.
Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning
By Tom Vanderbilt, 2021
Through his personal account of a yearlong quest to learn new skills as a response to feeling in a mid-life rut, Vanderbilt looks to answer why we often stop learning for personal accomplishment as adults. He finds that approaching new activities with a fresh sense of curiosity leads him to unexpected happiness. Readers seeking inspiration to start something new at any age will find Vanderbilt’s book a motivating companion.
