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The Invisible Mentor Weekly Newsletter: Brain Food Wednesdays Number 114: How to Pair and Group Books to Expand Your Knowledge
Dear Reader,
Today is Day 18 of The 100-Day Project. I’m doing 100 days of book recommendations. The books I recommend, I’m turning my notes into Bookish Notes. A section of each Bookish Note is book groupings and pairings. I’ve mentioned a few times that some of the groupings are obvious, and at other times they’re not so obvious.
I don’t have a formula to give you to pair or group books. However, I offer a few tips in the ASk Avil section. The process started for me when I was intentional about connecting new information to what I knew. Because I love reading so much, I also developed the habit of connecting information, even if it was by a single thread. When you do this consistently, it becomes easier and you see connections everywhere.
If I think it will be difficult to find a pairing for a book, I’ll take a break. But before I break, I turn things over to my subconscious mind. For instance, I immediately knew to connect Zarrella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness to Hooked by Nir Eyal and Contagious by Jonah Berger. But for Believe in Yourself by Dr Joseph Murphy, I took a break, and quickly realized that it made a great complement to Lead the Way by Earl Nightingale.
You can join the Art of Learning Leadership Academy to get access to Bookish Notes and a lot of book pairings and groupings.
The membership fee for the Art of Learning is low right now as I build out the content, and as I identify more benefits to add to support your success. Gift yourself a membership. You’re worth it.
In the Ask Avil section of this newsletter, I provide tips and strategies to get started on your book pairing and grouping journey. On another note, I started a reading challenge in my Facebook group. Fee free to join.
Join my Facebook group Reading Rocks: Read a Book, Discover Solutions, Change the World.
In the News
Here are some podcasts I have appeared on and magazines I’ve been featured in. They’re packed with a lot of information. I’ll also be appearing on a few podcasts, so I’ll let you know when I’ve done them.
Leaders Must be Readers (Here’s the link to the article http://magazine.diversityprofessional.com/publication/?i=735345&ver=html5&p=66)
208: Have You Been Reading Books Wrong? https://elkinsconsulting.com/sarahs-blog-podcast/2021/12/21/208
Ellevate Network: http://ow.ly/s8pR50GCBTy
Envision2BWell: https://blog.envision2bwell.io/post/1157/envisionwell-podcast-invisible-mentors
313 Challenge with Ryan Foland: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/avil-beckford-read-and-get-new-ideas/id1484382840?i=1000523572323
I would appreciate your support in growing my YouTube channel.
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Ask Avil
How to Pair and Group Books to Expand Your Knowledge
The world of books can be a daunting one. There are so many to choose from, and it can be hard to know where to start. But once you get started, you’ll find that there are all sorts of ways to expand your knowledge by reading. It’s important to read different types of books.
You may already know that the Dewey Decimal System is a classification system for books that was created by Melvil Dewey in 1876. The system has 10 main categories, which are divided into 100 smaller groups. By pairing and grouping books together, you can expand your knowledge of a variety of topics. You can pair or group books together to get a variety of information and perspectives. This can be a great way to explore different topics and learn more about them.
For example, you can read a fiction book and then read a nonfiction book about the same topic to get a better understanding. And it can also be a way to explore the same topic more deeply. You can read two different books on the same topic to see how different authors approached the subject.
The benefits of book pairings and groupings:
It’s important to read widely to gain new knowledge. However, reading can be scary, especially if you’re trying to read about a topic you know nothing about. To make reading more manageable is to pair and group books together. This will help you to expand your knowledge of a variety of topics.
One of the great things about being a reader is that there are no rules when it comes to reading. You can read whatever you want, whenever you want, and in any order you want. If you read a book, you can finish it. If you don’t finish it, that’s okay too. The first benefit of pairing and grouping books is that you never know where some books will take you. Another benefit of pairing books is that you will be exposed to a variety of writing styles, themes, and subjects.
You might read books that deal with similar subjects and themes, but treat them in different ways. You might read books by the same author about completely different subjects. If you are interested in learning more about history, for example, you can read a book about Ancient Greece and then read a book about the American Revolution.
And another benefit of book pairing is that you will become more familiar with other authors’ writing styles. You will be able to tell when an author is writing naturally and when she is trying to reach for a particular effect.
And a final benefit is that when you read two books with the same theme or issue, you will be able to compare them and find some similarities and differences that you didn’t notice before. There is a lot of good information out there, so I recommend that you try to read at least five books on the same topic.
How to pair books:
If you’re like most people, you probably think of reading as a solitary activity. But what if you could use books to connect with other people and learn new things? By pairing and grouping books together, you can explore a variety of topics and expand your knowledge. Here’s how to get started.
Choose a topic that interests you. It could be anything from history to cooking to fashion. Once you’ve decided on a topic, start reading books about it. Here are some other suggestions:
- Find books that complement each other. This is the easiest way to pair and group books, as it’s based on what you like. So go to your bookshop or library and find books on similar topics.
- Find books that you like and that complement each other. If you like one, read it again and then look for books that are similar. What if you don’t like the second book? You can always find something else.
- Know your genres. Genres are a huge part of what you read as adults. It’s important to know the genre you like and your preferences. You can also find books that are similar to the ones you’ve read.
- Find books that have a strong female character. Many of us love strong female characters and we enjoy reading about them. But we also love reading about strong female characters with flaws and who don’t always make wise decisions. We want to know that the women we are reading about in our books are human and can be hurt, can make mistakes, and still overcome their problems.
- You can also pair books by theme. For example, if you are interested in the history of art, you may want to pair a book about the Renaissance and another about Impressionism. Another way to pair books is by subjects and themes.
I mostly pair and group books together based on a common topic. As I’m reading a book, I’m scanning my memory bank to connect the new information to what I know. What I’ve come to realize is that when I do this, I expand and deepen my knowledge of a topic, while absorbing multiple perspectives and points of view from the authors.
In the training program I run to help executives become leadership readers, participants have grouped very different books, yet found a way to tie the books together based on a common thread. The more books you read, the more this will happen to you.
Final Thoughts: the benefits of book pairing and grouping.
In conclusion, by pairing and grouping books together, you can open yourself up to a wealth of knowledge and information. Not only will this help you grow as a person, but it can also help you in your professional life. It will also help you to read more extensively and cover more topics. And explore the topics in more depth. You can find books that have similar themes or subjects. You can also group books by genre or author. This will give you a variety of perspectives on the same topic.
So, the next time you are looking for a new book to read, don’t be afraid to try something new – group and pair books together to expand your horizons! By following the tips in this article, you can create a personalized reading plan that will help you learn more about the subjects that interest you most. So get started today and start expanding your knowledge!
Reading List
The 100-Day Project challenge has started. Each week, I’ll drop the book recommendations for that week here.
- Day 1: Never Stop Learning, Bradley R. Staats
- Day 2: Big Little Breakthroughs, Josh Linkner
- Day 3: Make Your Own Cheese, Imad DeirAtany (This book is a response to Who Moved My Cheese)
- Day 4: The Strangest Secret: Earl Nightingale
- Day 5: The Luck Factor, Dr. Richard Wiseman
- Day 6: Improv Wisdom, Patricia Ryan Madson
- Day 7: Our Iceberg is Melting, John Kotter and Holger Rathbeger
- Day 8: The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy
- Day 9: Believe in Yourself, Dr Joseph Murphy
- Day 10: How We Learn, Benedict Carey
- Day 11: Anything You Want, Derek Sivers
- Day 12: Digital Zettelkasten, David Kadavy
- Day 13: Limitless, Jim Kwik
- Day 14: Learning How to Learn, Barbara Oakley et al
- Day 15: Zarrella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness, Dan Zarrella
- Day 16: How to Set Goals with Kaizen and Ikigai, Anthony Raymond
- Day 17: Lead the Field, Earl Nightingale
- Day 18: Unlock Your Photographic Memory, Brian Spencer
The Invisible Mentor Blog/Articles Written
Blog Posts
How to Read Nonfiction Books to Problem Solve
How the 100 Day Project Can Help You Achieve Your Goals
The One Problem
I’ve published 47 podcast episodes already. How time flies. You can also find these on my YouTube channel.
- Rosie Yeung, Founder and President Changing Lenses
- Nancy Ynchaustegui, Health and Fitness Coach
- Carol Walkner, Life Guide, Energy Healer, and Clairvoyant
- Mariett Ramm, Founder, the Powerful Woman, International Bestselling Author
- Sarah Elkins, Storytelling and StrengthsFinder Coach
- Debbie McKiver, Founder of the Strong and Healthy Temple
- Hedieh Safiyari, Founder, Prompt Health, Healthcare Solutions
- Benita Lee, Trade Consultant, Founder, Benita Lee Professional Corporation
- Jenny Siede, Chief Design Thinker, Green Neurons
- Pamela Jeffery, Founder, The Prosperity Project & Women’s Executive Network
- Alta Odendaal, Financial Coach and Consultant
- Larissa Russell, Founder and CEO Queer Voicez and Creative U Business
- Glain Roberts-McCabe, Founder, the Roundtable, Group Coach Academy
- Dr Marsha Carr, Professor, University of North Carolina, Wilmington
- Gabriella O’Rourke, Business Consultant, Borden Ladner Gervais
- Stefanie Booker Atchison, Wisdom Coach & Motivational Speaker
- Michelle Griffin, Founder Brandthority, Building Your Personal Brand
- Donna Knutson, Founder of Write Journeys
- Sophie Gray, Founder of DiveThru: Being Disconnected from Yourself
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Product Alert
7 Day Reading Makeover Challenge
This is an affordable program to get started on leadership reading. Leaders read to learn what they need to know. You’ll also learn how to synthesize information.
Art of Learning Membership Site
How would you like to access the best, most useful information I have, that’s better than book summaries? Buy monthly access to the Bookish Note that’s behind my paywall. I group Bookish Notes together by a common theme, turning them into a course. Imagine reading themed Bookish Notes and starting to lay the foundation for a new skill.
Until Next Week,
Avil Beckford, Founder, The Invisible Mentor!