Standout Nonfiction Titles for This Month: Already Smarter and Finish What Matters
Already Smarter by Jeffrey Bergin
Published by Fast Company Press
World Rights Available
Learning is the bridge that takes us from where we are today to where we want to go tomorrow.
In today’s rapidly changing world, learning can be a powerful asset. Learning how to learn can help you acquire new skills, change your thinking, and advance your dreams. Already Smarter offers research-informed guidance to help you become a more confident, effective, and efficient learner.
Written in a clear, actionable style for professionals, students, and lifelong learners, this book offers more than one hundred practical strategies to help you demystify the learning process and accomplish more. You’ll find:
strategies drawn from neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and educational psychology that are organized into twenty overarching themes;
examples that demonstrate how mixing, matching, and combining strategies can amplify your success;
opportunities to reflect on your own learning and design personalized plans and practices.
By providing a holistic view of the most effective ways to learn, Dr. Jeffrey Bergin offers a valuable resource for anyone looking for the tools to build lasting habits that fuel personal and professional growth. Whether you’re trying to boost your productivity, sharpen your mind, or achieve something big, this book will guide you on your learning journey—and into your future.
Reviews
“This enjoyable book presents a rich tool kit of techniques to help any reader become an effective, lifelong learner. Concrete examples, research findings, and the author’s experiences coalesce into a seamless road map for forging productive mindsets, increasing motivation, establishing fruitful habits, adopting effective learning strategies, and creating supportive learning environments. All learners will find something of value here.” —Mark McDaniel, PhD, coauthor, Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning; professor emeritus and research scientist, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences; director, Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education (CIRCLE), Washington University
“Based on cognitive science, neuroscience, and the learning sciences, this book is a valuable manual of practical, personal strategies for increasing your learning abilities.” —Chris Dede, PhD, coeditor, The 60-Year Curriculum: New Models for Lifelong Learning in the Digital Economy; senior research fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Education
“Already Smarter offers sage guidance for anyone who wants to learn anything at any stage of life. Jeff Bergin draws on a wide range of research, theory, practice, and his own experience as a teacher and learner to offer concrete, focused strategies for effective learning. He helps readers understand that learning is not just a cognitive activity; it also involves affect—emotions and feelings that can foster or hinder learning. The key to success is a growth mindset—believing that we are capable of learning new skills and knowledge.” —Duane Roen, PhD, coauthor, The McGraw‑Hill Guide: Writing for College, Writing for Life; professor emeritus, Arizona State University
Dr. Jeffrey Bergin believes deeply in the power of learning to change lives. He is a researcher, educational leader, and learning and leadership coach. He has held a variety of senior leadership roles at educational institutions and learning companies and has served as a mentor, instructor, and leadership development facilitator. In addition to Already Smarter, he is the author of numerous articles about learning and education and has coedited a volume of articles on student success. Dr. Bergin holds a PhD from Arizona State University, an MA from Northern Arizona University, and a BA from the University of Wisconsin, as well as numerous coaching credentials.
Finish What Matters by David Kadavy
Independently Published
World Rights Available
Finish What Matters is the third and final book in the Getting Art Done trilogy.
If you have too many ideas and start project after project, never finishing any, this book is for you. It may not be a personality flaw or lack of discipline: creative projects are uniquely difficult to finish because of the uncertain nature of creative work, and creative success. The world doesn't prepare us to tame the wild horses of our curiosity.
Finish What Matters will help you embrace the true nature of the creative process, allocate your time and energy when outcomes are uncertain, and learn to harness your unique motivational style to push through even that toughest last 10%.
David Kadavy presents hard-won insights from decades as an independent creator, woven together with findings from psychology, and surprising examples from mathematics, art history, and interviews and surveys with the over 10,000 readers on his email list.
More than a motivational pep talk, this book will make you grapple with questions about how to decide what "matters" when your resources are limited, and how to do bold, unapologetic work, even in the face of criticism.
Reviews
"The Heart to Start is solid advice from David Kadavy. It's not too late." —Seth Godin
"Here's the thing. You need to start something, and you already know what it is. But you're afraid. You don't have enough time. You can think of a million reasons to not do this. And that's what this book will help you overcome. Read it, then share it with a friend. I loved it." —Jeff Goins, bestselling author of Real Artists Don't Starve
"I wish this was the book I started with. I desperately needed it. Fortunately, I can start again. By reading this book!" —James Altucher, entrepreneur and bestselling author of Choose Yourself
“Kadavy's Mind Management, Not Time Management bursts with practical strategies for establishing work habits attuned to the workings of the creative mind, all laid out with clarity and persuasive power.”
—The BookLife Prize
David Kadavy is a bestselling author whose books help people be productive when creativity matters. He was design advisor for behavioral scientist Dan Ariely’s productivity app, Timeful, where David’s “mind management” principles were applied to features now used by millions – in Google Calendar. He lives in Medellín, Colombia.
