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The origin of this list is the 74 books on the Learning Guild's 2021 List of Favorite Books from L&D Practitioners. (Learning Guild members can download a copy of the report at https://www.learningguild.com/insight..., which explains the value of each book.)
Additional books valued by instructional designers, trainers, and presenters on Goodreads have been added as well.
Additional books valued by instructional designers, trainers, and presenters on Goodreads have been added as well.
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
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e-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 473 ratings
score: 183,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 2 |
|
Analyzing Performance Problems: Or, You Really Oughta Wanna--How to Figure out Why People Aren't Doing What They Should Be, and What to do About It
by
4.20 avg rating — 176 ratings
score: 169,
and
2 people voted
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| 3 |
|
Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning
by
4.16 avg rating — 22,035 ratings
score: 167,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 4 |
|
Performance-Focused Smile Sheets: A Radical Rethinking of a Dangerous Art Form
by
4.28 avg rating — 50 ratings
score: 158,
and
2 people voted
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| 5 |
|
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery
by
4.05 avg rating — 14,706 ratings
score: 155,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 6 |
|
Principles of Instructional Design
by
3.94 avg rating — 94 ratings
score: 153,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 7 |
|
Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences
by
Nancy Duarte (Goodreads Author)
4.11 avg rating — 5,569 ratings
score: 148,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 8 |
|
Show Your Work
by
3.90 avg rating — 41 ratings
score: 144,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 9 |
|
The Accidental Instructional Designer: Learning Design for the Digital Age
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 237 ratings
score: 137,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 10 |
|
The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
by
4.04 avg rating — 74,428 ratings
score: 131,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 11 |
|
The Design of Everyday Things
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4.15 avg rating — 46,918 ratings
score: 128,
and
2 people voted
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| 12 |
|
The Non-Designer's Design Book
by
4.10 avg rating — 4,882 ratings
score: 122,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 13 |
|
Visual Design Solutions: Principles and Creative Inspiration for Learning Professionals
by
3.93 avg rating — 46 ratings
score: 115,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 14 |
|
Badass: Making Users Awesome
by
4.18 avg rating — 1,182 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 15 |
|
Beyond Learning Objectives
by
4.36 avg rating — 11 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 16 |
|
Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School (Book & DVD)
by
John Medina (Goodreads Author)
4.01 avg rating — 34,308 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 17 |
|
The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology)
by
R. Keith Sawyer (Editor)
4.21 avg rating — 78 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 18 |
|
Change: How to Make Big Things Happen
by
4.05 avg rating — 903 ratings
score: 96,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 19 |
|
Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity
by
4.06 avg rating — 355 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 20 |
|
Community Building on the Web : Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities
by
3.68 avg rating — 101 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 21 |
|
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science
by
4.28 avg rating — 51,963 ratings
score: 93,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 22 |
|
Consulting in Uncertainty: The Power of Inquiry
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
score: 92,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 23 |
|
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
by
4.16 avg rating — 184,243 ratings
score: 91,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 24 |
|
Design for How People Learn
by
Julie Dirksen (Goodreads Author)
4.26 avg rating — 1,972 ratings
score: 90,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 25 |
|
Design for Real Life
by
4.32 avg rating — 423 ratings
score: 89,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 26 |
|
Designing Accessible Learning Content: A Practical Guide to Applying best-practice Accessibility Standards to L&D Resources
by
Susi Miller (Goodreads Author)
4.36 avg rating — 14 ratings
score: 88,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 27 |
|
Designing Effective Instruction 5e
by
3.49 avg rating — 235 ratings
score: 87,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 28 |
|
Destination Facilitation: A Travel Guide to Training Around the World
by
Donna Steffey (Editor)
0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
score: 86,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 29 |
|
Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art
by
4.24 avg rating — 242 ratings
score: 85,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 30 |
|
Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
by
Steve Krug (Goodreads Author)
4.24 avg rating — 30,485 ratings
score: 84,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 31 |
|
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
by
Greg McKeown (Goodreads Author)
4.06 avg rating — 128,019 ratings
score: 82,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 32 |
|
Evidence-Informed Learning Design: Creating Training to Improve Performance
by
4.17 avg rating — 54 ratings
score: 81,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 33 |
|
Go
by
4.11 avg rating — 1,955 ratings
score: 80,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 34 |
|
Graphic Design For Everyone: Understand the Building Blocks so You can Do It Yourself
by
4.23 avg rating — 204 ratings
score: 79,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 35 |
|
Graphic Design: The New Basics
by
3.95 avg rating — 2,251 ratings
score: 78,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 36 |
|
How People Learn: Designing Education and Training that Works to Improve Performance
by
4.37 avg rating — 106 ratings
score: 77,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 37 |
|
Idea Mapping: How to Access Your Hidden Brain Power, Learn Faster, Remember More, and Achieve Success in Business
by
3.68 avg rating — 151 ratings
score: 76,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 38 |
|
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
by
3.68 avg rating — 141 ratings
score: 75,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 39 |
|
Learning Analytics: Measurement Innovations to Support Employee Development
by
4.12 avg rating — 8 ratings
score: 74,
and
1 person voted
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| 40 |
|
Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide
by
3.73 avg rating — 371 ratings
score: 73,
and
1 person voted
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| 41 |
|
Long Story Short: The Only Storytelling Guide You'll Ever Need
by
3.80 avg rating — 1,458 ratings
score: 72,
and
1 person voted
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| 42 |
|
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
by
3.98 avg rating — 98,418 ratings
score: 71,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 43 |
|
Map It: The hands-on guide to strategic training design
by
4.45 avg rating — 216 ratings
score: 68,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 44 |
|
Measurement Demystified: Creating Your L&D Measurement, Analytics, and Reporting Strategy
by
4.65 avg rating — 17 ratings
score: 67,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 45 |
|
Microlearning: Short and Sweet
by
3.83 avg rating — 71 ratings
score: 66,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 46 |
|
Millennials, Goldfish & Other Training Misconceptions: Debunking Learning Myths and Superstitions
by
3.91 avg rating — 82 ratings
score: 65,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 47 |
|
Neuroscience for Learning and Development: How to Apply Neuroscience and Psychology for Improved Learning and Training
by
4.24 avg rating — 68 ratings
score: 64,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 48 |
|
Now That's a Good Question!: How to Promote Cognitive Rigor Through Classroom Questioning
by
Erik M. Francis (Goodreads Author)
3.63 avg rating — 38 ratings
score: 63,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 49 |
|
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
by
Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
4.34 avg rating — 313,352 ratings
score: 62,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 50 |
|
Practice and Feedback for Deeper Learning: 26 evidence-based and easy-to-apply tactics that promote deeper learning and application (Deep Learning Series Book 2)
by
Patti Shank (Goodreads Author)
4.29 avg rating — 7 ratings
score: 60,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 51 |
|
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
by
David Epstein (Goodreads Author)
4.13 avg rating — 77,610 ratings
score: 57,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 52 |
|
Rapid Video Development for Trainers: How to Create Learning Videos Fast and Affordably
by
3.94 avg rating — 18 ratings
score: 56,
and
1 person voted
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| 53 |
|
Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community
by
4.05 avg rating — 93 ratings
score: 55,
and
1 person voted
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| 54 |
|
Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems
by
Steve Krug (Goodreads Author)
4.14 avg rating — 4,357 ratings
score: 53,
and
1 person voted
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| 55 |
|
Short Sims: A Game Changer
by
4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings
score: 52,
and
1 person voted
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| 56 |
|
Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics
by
3.70 avg rating — 743 ratings
score: 50,
and
1 person voted
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| 57 |
|
Stone Work: Reflections on Serious Play and Other Aspects of Country Life
by
4.06 avg rating — 79 ratings
score: 49,
and
1 person voted
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| 58 |
|
The Systematic Design of Instruction
by
3.81 avg rating — 268 ratings
score: 48,
and
1 person voted
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| 59 |
|
Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom
by
4.45 avg rating — 12,531 ratings
score: 47,
and
1 person voted
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| 60 |
|
Teaching Today: A Practical Guide
by
4.12 avg rating — 174 ratings
score: 46,
and
1 person voted
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| 61 |
|
The Art of Explanation - Making Your Ideas, Products and Services Easier to Understand
by
3.89 avg rating — 1,392 ratings
score: 44,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 62 |
|
The Art of Visual Notetaking: An Interactive Guide to Visual Communication and Sketchnoting
by
Emily Mills (Goodreads Author)
4.01 avg rating — 303 ratings
score: 43,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 63 |
|
The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures
by
Dan Roam (Goodreads Author)
3.96 avg rating — 15,815 ratings
score: 42,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 64 |
|
The Business of Expertise: How Entrepreneurial Experts Convert Insight to Impact + Wealth
by
4.31 avg rating — 688 ratings
score: 41,
and
1 person voted
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| 65 |
|
The Compass and the Nail: How the Patagonia Model of Loyalty Can Save Your Business, and Might Just Save the Planet
by
3.84 avg rating — 69 ratings
score: 39,
and
1 person voted
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| 66 |
|
The Discussion Book: 50 Great Ways to Get People Talking
by
3.86 avg rating — 59 ratings
score: 37,
and
1 person voted
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| 67 |
|
The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain
by
4.04 avg rating — 3,226 ratings
score: 36,
and
1 person voted
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| 68 |
|
The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization
by
3.93 avg rating — 35,873 ratings
score: 35,
and
1 person voted
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| 69 |
|
The ID. Casebook: Case Studies in Instructional Design
by
3.52 avg rating — 94 ratings
score: 34,
and
1 person voted
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| 70 |
|
The Power of Intuition: How to Use Your Gut Feelings to Make Better Decisions at Work
by
3.87 avg rating — 499 ratings
score: 32,
and
1 person voted
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| 71 |
|
The Social Life of Information
by
3.84 avg rating — 1,066 ratings
score: 31,
and
1 person voted
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| 72 |
|
To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others
by
Daniel H. Pink (Goodreads Author)
3.87 avg rating — 26,178 ratings
score: 30,
and
1 person voted
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| 73 |
|
Universal Principles of Design
by
4.16 avg rating — 5,864 ratings
score: 29,
and
1 person voted
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| 74 |
|
Visual Design
by
3.93 avg rating — 56 ratings
score: 28,
and
1 person voted
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| 75 |
|
Beyond Bullet Points: Using PowerPoint to tell a compelling story that gets results
by
3.82 avg rating — 49 ratings
score: 26,
and
1 person voted
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| 76 |
|
Instructional Story Design: Develop Stories That Train
by
4.28 avg rating — 50 ratings
score: 25,
and
1 person voted
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76 books ·
2 voters ·
list created December 7th, 2021
by Carolyn Fitzpatrick (votes) .
Anyone can add books to this list.
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