Every season, the Next Big Idea Club editorial staff reviews dozens of upcoming books to identify the most exciting, must-read nonfiction titles. We start with a broad pool of nominees, and then share them with our curators—Adam Grant, Susan Cain, Daniel Pink, and Malcolm Gladwell—to identify a small handful finalists and, ultimately, two official season selections.
Today, it’s our pleasure to share our list of seven finalists for Season 20! Without further ado, the new books we’re most excited about right now are…
Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity
By Gloria Mark
It takes 25 minutes to bring our attention back to a task after an interruption—and we interrupt ourselves more than we’re interrupted by others. In Attention Span, a renowned psychologist reveals these and more surprising results from her decades of research into how technology affects our attention. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Gloria Mark, in the Next Big Idea App
Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life
By Dacher Keltner
From a leading expert on the science of emotions and consultant to Pixar’s Inside Out comes a groundbreaking and essential exploration into the history and science of awe. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Dacher Keltner, in the Next Big Idea App
The Creative Act: A Way of Being
By Rick Rubin
From legendary music producer Rick Rubin, a master at helping people connect with the wellsprings of their creativity, comes a beautifully crafted book many years in the making that offers that same deep wisdom to all of us. View on Amazon
The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness
By Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz
What makes for a happy life, a fulfilling life? A good life? According to the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted, the answer to these questions may be closer than you realize. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-authors Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz, in the Next Big Idea App
How Do We Know Ourselves?: Curiosities and Marvels of the Human Mind
By David Myers
These forty remarkable essays offer fresh insight into our sometimes bewildering but ever-fascinating lives. Subjects range from why we so often fear the wrong things to how simply going for a walk with someone can increase rapport and empathy. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author David Myers, in the Next Big Idea App
Portable Magic: A History of Books and Their Readers
By Emma Smith
A history of one of humankind’s most resilient and influential technologies over the past millennium—the book. Portable Magic will charm and challenge literature lovers of all kinds as it illuminates the transformative power and eternal appeal of the written word. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Emma Smith, in the Next Big Idea App
Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon
By William Cohan
In Power Failure, an acclaimed financial journalist punctures the myth of GE, exploring in a rich narrative how a once-great company wound up broken and in tatters—a cautionary tale for the ages. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author William Cohan, 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!
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