Many books’ value comes from the new answers they provide to old questions—like how to climb the corporate ladder, for example, or how to improve your love life.
But a few books are so unique, so original, that their value comes from not only new answers, but also new questions. Check out the five quirky new books below to discover entire lines of inquiry and ways of thinking that you’ve never considered before.
The Language of the Face: Stories of Its Uniquely Expressive Features
By Frank Gonzalez-Crussi
A broad and riveting cultural history of physiognomy, exploring how the desire to divine deeper meaning from our looks has compelled humans for millennia. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Frank Gonzalez-Crussi, in the Next Big Idea App
Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains the World
By Ha-Joon Chang
A bestselling author and economist makes challenging economic ideas delicious by plating them alongside stories about food from around the world, using the diverse histories behind familiar food items to explore economic theory. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Ha-Joon Chang, in the Next Big Idea App
A Hacker’s Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society’s Rules, and How to Bend them Back
By Bruce Schneier
A legendary cybersecurity expert takes hacking out of the world of computing and uses it to analyze the systems that underpin our society: from tax laws to financial markets to politics. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Bruce Schneier, in the Next Big Idea App
Culture: The Story of Us, From Cave Art to K-Pop
By Martin Puchner
An acclaimed author, professor, and public intellectual takes us on a breakneck tour through pivotal moments in world history, providing a global introduction to the arts and humanities in one engaging volume. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Martin Puchner, in the Next Big Idea App
The One: How an Ancient Idea Holds the Future of Physics
By Heinrich Päs
Blending physics, philosophy, and the history of ideas, The One is an epic, mind-expanding journey through millennia of human thought and into the nature of reality itself. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Heinrich Päs, 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!
