I’m excited to introduce a new batch of standout nonfiction—the most compelling and thought-provoking titles scheduled for release in December 2025.
Each of these books has earned a spot on our longlist for Season 28 of the Next Big Idea Club. In the coming months, we will narrow our sights on a smaller pool of finalists. At the end of each season, we will announce the winner and distribute a hardcover (or ebook) copy to our members.
As always, we invite longlisted authors to create a “Book Bite”—a fifteen-minute audio recording where they share five big ideas from their book. Picture striking up a conversation with someone at a neighborhood block party…only they happen to be a brilliant nonfiction author.
So, without further ado, here are the December 2025 must-reads…
Evergreen: The Trees That Shaped America
By Trent Preszler
A sweeping natural history of the most valuable trees on earth that have quietly transformed our economies, cultural traditions, and collective imagination for millennia. View on Amazon
Smartphone Nation: Building Digital Boundaries When Offline Isn’t an Option
By Kaitlyn Regehr
A transformative guide to setting boundaries and establishing healthier habits around tech will help us all live better—both online and off. View on Amazon
The Great Heist: China’s Epic Campaign to Steal America’s Secrets
By David Shedd & Andrew Badger
An exposé of how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has carried out the largest-scale theft of intellectual property, technology, and data in history—reshaping the global balance of power and redrawing the geopolitical map for decades to come. View on Amazon
Frostlines: A Journey Through Entangled Lives and Landscapes in a Warming Arctic
By Neil Shea
A sweeping exploration of the Arctic—and how it’s being transformed by climate change—from National Geographic writer Neil Shea. View on Amazon
Why Do I Keep Doing This?: Unlearn the Habits Keeping You Stuck and Unhappy
By Kati Morton
Leading mental health advocate and licensed marriage and family therapist, Kati Morton, explores our common struggle and contradiction with control in ourselves and relationships, giving readers the ability to not only ask themselves why do I keep doing this, but have the insight to find a real answer. View on Amazon
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