Since the dawn of humankind, our lives have always been deeply connected to those of the animals around us. They have been our most fearsome predators and our closest companions. They have provided nourishment for our bodies and inspiration for our greatest myths and spiritual traditions.
Animal lovers know how beautiful these diverse creatures are, and how much gratitude and respect we owe them. To celebrate animals everywhere and learn some new mind-blowing facts about them, come check out the five remarkable reads below. Oh, and tell your dog we said hi.
The Year of the Puppy: How Dogs Become Themselves
By Alexandra Horowitz
What is it like to be a puppy? The author of the classic Inside of a Dog tries to find out, spending a year scrutinizing her puppy’s daily existence and poring over the science of early dog development. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Alexandra Horowitz, in the Next Big Idea App
How to Speak Whale: A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication
By Tom Mustill
What if animals and humans could speak to one another? A nature documentarian—who went viral when a thirty-ton humpback whale breached onto his kayak—asks this question in his thrilling investigation into whale science and animal communication. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Tom Mustill, in the Next Big Idea App
Beastly: The 40,000-Year Story of Animals and Us
By Keggie Carew
What does it mean when a gorilla tells a joke? Why does a wren sing? Beastly is a gorgeously written, deeply researched, and intensely felt journey into the splendor and genius of animals and the long, complicated story of our interactions with them as humans. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Keggie Carew, in the Next Big Idea App
Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future
By Gloria Dickie
Just eight species of bears remain in our world. In Eight Bears, an acclaimed journalist embarks on a globe-trotting journey to explore their stories, whisking readers from the cloud forests of the Andes to the ice floes of the Arctic; from the jungles of India to the backwoods of the Rocky Mountain West. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Gloria Dickie, in the Next Big Idea App
Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses
By David Scheel
A behavioral ecologist’s riveting account of his decades-long obsession with octopuses: his discoveries, adventures, and new scientific understanding of their behaviors. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author David Scheel, in the Next Big Idea App
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 video 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!
