A new year always brings a surge of bold ideas, and 2026 is no exception. These 11 books kick off the year with fresh thinking, big questions, and urgent insights. We’ll be watching closely—and giving you the scoop—as the rest of 2026’s standout titles come into view.
Intentional: The Science of Finishing What You Start
By Chris Bailey
To reach your goals, you must structure your daily actions around what’s most important to you—and let go of the rest. This way, getting things done becomes second nature. View on Amazon
The Other Side of Change: Who We Become When Life Makes Other Plans
By Maya Shankar
A revelatory exploration of the ways we can find meaning in the tumult of change, from a renowned cognitive scientist. View on Amazon
Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose
By Jennifer Breheny Wallace
A landmark book that introduces a transformative new framework to confront the loneliness, burnout, and lack of purpose so many of us face today. View on Amazon
Why We Click: The Emerging Science of Interpersonal Synchrony
By Kate Murphy
Publication Date: January 27, 2026
From the bedroom to the boardroom and beyond, Murphy reveals how our instinct to sync with others drives much of our behavior, and how our deepest desires are so often thwarted in modern life. View on Amazon
Flourish: The Art of Building Meaning, Joy, and Fulfillment
By Daniel Coyle
A science-based, practical blueprint for cultivating a life—at work and at home—full of belonging, joy, and vitality. View on Amazon
Bonded By Evolution: The New Science of Love and Connection
By Paul Eastwick
A look at the science of attachment and compatibility, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about love and attraction and revealing the real keys to lasting connection and deeper relationships. View on Amazon
A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness
By Michael Pollan
A panoptic exploration of consciousness—what it is, who has it, and why—and a meditation on the essence of our humanity. View on Amazon
How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay: Tips and Tricks That Kept Me Alive, Happy, and Creative in Spite of Myself
By Jenny Lawson
Jenny Lawson, aka the Bloggess, shares humorous, heartfelt, and genuine tools and tricks that she relies on to keep her going even when her brain isn’t working properly due to depression, anxiety, and ADHD. View on Amazon
The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness
By Arthur Brooks
An account of how the modern world sets us up to fail at finding meaning—and a plan for finding what you seek. View on Amazon
Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better
By David Epstein
Epstein reveals how boundaries create breakthroughs, and how setting the right constraints can help you become the most creative, productive, and satisfied version of yourself. View on Amazon
Protocols: An Operating Manual for the Human Body
By Andrew Huberman
An essential guide to improving brain function, enhancing mood and energy, optimizing bodily health and physical performance, and rewiring your nervous system to learn new skills and behaviors that can transform your life. View on Amazon
The Key Ideas in 15 Minutes
“If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books,” Roald Dahl once famously said. The only trouble is, reading even one book from cover to cover takes hours—and you may not have many hours to spare.
But imagine for a moment: What if you could read a groundbreaking new book every day? Or even better, what if you could invite a world-renowned thinker into your earbuds, where they personally describe the 5 key takeaways from their work in just 15 minutes?
With the Next Big Idea App, we’ve turned this fantasy into a reality. We partnered with hundreds of acclaimed authors to create “Book Bites,” short audio summaries of the latest nonfiction that are prepared and read aloud by the authors themselves. Discover cutting-edge leadership skills, productivity hacks, the science of happiness and well-being, and much more—all in the time it takes to drive to work or walk the dog.
Go Deeper with a Next Big Idea Club Membership
The Next Big Idea App is free for anyone to try—and if you love it, we invite you to become an official member of the Next Big Idea Club. Membership grants you unlimited access to Book Bites and unlocks early-release, ad-free episodes of our LinkedIn-partnered podcast. You also gain entry to our private online discussion group, where you can talk big ideas with fellow club members and join exclusive live Q&A sessions with featured authors.
For a more focused learning experience, we recommend a Hardcover or eBook Membership. Every few months, legendary authors and club curators Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink select two new nonfiction books as the must-reads of the season. We then send hardcover copies straight to your doorstep, or eBook versions to your favorite digital device. We also collaborate with the authors of selected books to produce original reading guides and premium e-courses, 50-minute master classes that take you step by step through their most life-changing ideas. And yes, it’s all available through the Next Big Idea App.
Learn Faster, from the World’s Leading Thinkers
Whether you prefer to read, listen, or watch, the Next Big Idea is here to help you work smarter and live better. Wake up with an always-fresh Idea of the Day, the perfect shot of inspiration to go with your morning coffee. Then dive into one of our Challenges, hand-picked collections of Book Bites that form crash courses in subjects like communication, motivation, and career acceleration. Later, watch the playback of an interview with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Stanford psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt, or philosopher John Kaag. And be sure to check the “Events” tab in the app, so that you can join an upcoming live Q&A and personally chat with the next featured thought leader.
If you’re hoping to grow as a person or as a professional, we hope you’ll join us and tens of thousands of others who enjoy the Next Big Idea. Get started by downloading the app today!
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