Build a reading list and plan
A curated reading path on a topic or author, ordered for learning.
The prompt
Build me a reading plan.
Topic, field, or author: [WHAT I WANT TO UNDERSTAND]
Why: [GOAL — e.g. career switch, deep understanding, pleasure]
My current level: [what I've already read]
Time available: [e.g. one book a month]
Preferences: [books, papers, essays, audiobooks; academic vs. popular]
Create a 3-phase plan — foundations, depth, frontier — with 3–5 items per phase. For each: title, author, why it's in this position, and what to focus on while reading. Include one contrarian or critical work so I see the debates.
Only recommend works you're confident exist; if unsure, say so. Finish with 3 questions to reflect on after each phase.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Learning & Teaching prompts
What to fill in
- WHAT I WANT TO UNDERSTAND
- GOAL — e.g. career switch, deep understanding, pleasure
- what I've already read
- e.g. one book a month
- books, papers, essays, audiobooks; academic vs. popular
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the Few-Shot structure (Few-shot prompting). A few-shot prompt includes one or more worked examples of the input and the output you want, so the model can copy the pattern instead of guessing it.
Related prompts
- Build a 20-minute-a-day practice plan for a work skillA personalized plan of short daily sessions that fits your schedule and builds a specific work skill through practice.
- Turn my mistakes at work into lessons and a practice planAnalyzes what went wrong without blame, finds the pattern behind your mistakes, and builds habits and practice to prevent repeats.
- Create an apprentice training plan toward journeyman licensureA structured on-the-job training plan that tracks required hours, skills, and classroom work for an apprentice in my trade.
- Plan annual HIPAA and OSHA training for clinic staffA role-based yearly compliance training plan covering privacy, security, bloodborne pathogens, and hazard communication, with tracking and documentation.