Every season, the Next Big Idea Club editorial team reviews dozens of upcoming books to curate a selection of the most exciting, must-read nonfiction titles. We start with a broad pool of nominees from which we identify a small handful of finalists and, ultimately, an official season selection.
Today, it’s our pleasure to share our list of five finalists for Season 29! Without further ado, the new books we’re most excited about right now are…
The Way of Excellence: A Guide to True Greatness and Deep Satisfaction in a Chaotic World
By Brad Stulberg
Publication Date: January 27, 2026
A practical guide to realizing our potential amid the chaos of modern life and learning how to reconnect to ourselves, our work, and each other by focusing on the pursuit of excellence. View on Amazon
Why We Click: The Emerging Science of Interpersonal Synchrony
By Kate Murphy
Publication Date: January 27, 2026
Why do you immediately click with some people while others just as inexplicably turn you off? Do people emit vibes? Is it possible to read a room? Are bad habits contagious? Kate Murphy answers these and other fascinating questions. View on Amazon
The Other Side of Change: Who We Become When Life Makes Other Plans
By Maya Shankar
Publication Date: January 13, 2026
A revelatory exploration of the ways we can find meaning in the tumult of change, from a renowned cognitive scientist. View on Amazon
A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness
By Michael Pollan
Publication Date: February 24, 2026
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 Live a Meaningful Life: Using Design Thinking to Unlock Purpose, Joy, and Flow Every Day
By Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
A groundbreaking guide to transforming your daily routine into one brimming with joy, purpose, and meaning. View on Amazon
Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose
By Jennifer Breheny Wallace
Publication Date: January 27, 2026
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
Flourish: The Art of Building Meaning, Joy, and Fulfillment
By Daniel Coyle
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
A science-based, practical blueprint for cultivating a life—at work and at home—full of belonging, joy, and vitality. View on Amazon
Intentional: How to Finish What You Start
By Chris Bailey
Publication Date: January 6, 2026
A productivity expert distills a decade of deep research on productivity to deliver a profound, practical, and counterintuitive road map to getting things done. View on Amazon
The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us
By Rebecca Newberger Goldstein
Publication Date: January 13, 2026
Drawing on biology, psychology, and philosophy, Goldstein argues that this need to matter―and the various “mattering projects” it inspires―is the source of our greatest progress and our deepest conflicts. 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 two months, we select a new nonfiction book as the must-reads of the season. We then send a hardcover copy 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 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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