What’s a Mind Map?
Mind maps are visual diagrams that represent ideas & information using a combination of words & images using lines to draw relationships between topics. The central topic sits in the middle with related topics branching out from it. Ideas are further broken down and extended until you’ve fully explored each branch of your map.
Writing Books Using Mind Maps
In the past, the Mindjet blog has shared some examples where authors have written books using mind maps (e.g. How to Write a Book With MindManager, Author Uses MindManager to Write Award-Winning Novel, “The Echo Maker”). Roger C. Parker offers a lot of mind mapping resources to help writers map out and author books.
Reviewing Books Using Mind Maps
Yesterday, Leslie S. Russell shared on Twitter a link to several book summaries made with mind maps. His link inspired this post.
Why review a book and create a mind map?
- Organize information in ways that make sense to you
- Capture the essence with keywords instead of superfluous words
- Add symbols and diagrams to illustrate key concepts
- Review maps quickly, focusing on the parts you need to remember
- Recall maps easily as they leverage your visual memory
9 Hand-drawn Book Reviews
Austin Kleon is a ‘writer who draws’. He posts his work on his self-titled blog, Austin Kleon. Here are some great examples of hand drawn book reviews:
- Schulz and Peanuts by David Michaelis
- Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
- The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
- The Gift by Lewis Hyde
- Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks
- Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton
- Deer Hunting with Jesus by Joe Bageant
- The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
- Design Humor by Steven Heller
9 MindManager Book Reviews
Luciano Passuello has created an excellent mind mapping resource blog, Litemind, to explore his fascination for the mind. Check out some his great mind map book reviews:
- Brain Rules by Dr. John Medina (map by Johan D’Haeseleer)
- How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael Gelb
- The Medici Effect by Frans Johansson
- Journaling to the Self by Kathleen Adams
- Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton
- The Now Habit by Neil Fiore
- One Small Step Can Change Your Life by Robert Maurer
- Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz
- A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
Have you mapped out a book?
Add links to your mind map in the comments section or send me a copy for a future posting here on the Mindjet blog.
About the Author: Michael Deutch is Mindjet’s Chief Evangelist, content contributor for the Mindjet Blog and the Mindjet Connections newsletter. Get more from Michael on Twitter.
#1 by Michael Deutch at April 20th, 2009
Thanks for the comments Mark & Cliff! And Craig, thanks for the link to your book summary. I was totally impressed with Marshall at the GTD Summit. I haven’t read his book yet but can see how valuable it is by reading through your map! Thanks for sharing.
Michael
#2 by Craig Kennedy at April 20th, 2009
I’ve posted MindManager Book Summaries for the books Execution by Ram Charan and Larry Bossidy, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith.
They can be found at http://www.realcoaching.com
#3 by Cliff Spicer at April 19th, 2009
With a couple of kids I don’t get enough time to read but I listen to audiobooks all the time in the car. It is so much better than the radio and traffic doesn’t seem to bother me as much when I am learning something new. The only problem is that I can’t annotate the audiobook like I do with a hard copy and I look for people who create these mindmap summaries as a way to refresh what I have learned. I really appreciate all the work these people do and I am grateful they share these mindmaps with the rest of us.
Cliff
http://www.cliffspicer.com
#4 by Mark Mosher at April 15th, 2009
Great post.I mindmap book summers as well. Nice to know lots of other people are also doing the same thing.
#5 by Michael Deutch at April 15th, 2009
Thanks Phil! We could all put them up on BiggerPlate or somewhere like that to have a single place to share!
#6 by Phil Godden at April 14th, 2009
Good post. Whenever I come across a book that looks interesting, I do a quick search to see if anyone has already posted a map. It is amazing how many times you can find a good summary.