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 of finalists and, ultimately, two official season selections.
Today, it’s our pleasure to share our list of eight finalists for Season 22! Without further ado, the new books we’re most excited about right now are…
Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most
By Adam Alter
Whether you’re muddling through a midlife crisis, wrestling writer’s block, trapped in a thankless job, or trying to remedy a fraying friendship, Anatomy of a Breakthrough is the roadmap we all need to escape our inertia and flourish in the face of friction. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Adam Alter, in the Next Big Idea App. Or view the book on Amazon
Everyday Utopia: What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life
By Kristen Ghodsee
A University of Pennsylvania professor offers a radically hopeful vision for how to build more contented and connected societies, alongside a practical guide to what we all can do in the meantime to live the good life each and every day. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Kristen Ghodsee, in the Next Big Idea App. Or view the book on Amazon
Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing—Including You
By Brad Stulberg
A revelatory book on rethinking change and creating a rugged and flexible mindset amidst life’s intensifying flux, from expert on sustainable excellence, coach, and bestselling author of The Practice of Groundedness. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Brad Stulberg, in the Next Big Idea App. Or view the book on Amazon
Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic—And What We Can Do About It
By Jennifer Breheny Wallace
Drawing on interviews with families, educators, and an original survey of nearly 6,000 parents, an award-winning reporter reveals how the pressure for students to perform is not a matter of parental choice, but baked in to our larger society. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jennifer Breheny Wallace, in the Next Big Idea App. Or view the book on Amazon
Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World
By Henry Grabar
From a Slate staff writer comes an entertaining, enlightening, and utterly original investigation into one of the most quietly influential forces in modern American life—the humble parking spot. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Henry Grabar, in the Next Big Idea App. Or view the book on Amazon
The Perennials: The Megatrends Creating a Postgenerational Society
By Mauro F. Guillén
A Wharton professor explores how a new postgenerational workforce known as “perennials”—individuals who are not pitted against each other by age or experience—will level the playing field so that everyone has a chance at living a rewarding life. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Mauro F. Guillén, in the Next Big Idea App. Or view the book on Amazon
Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well
By Amy Edmondson
A revolutionary guide that will transform your relationship with failure, from a pioneering researcher of psychological safety and award-winning Harvard Business School professor. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Amy Edmondson, in the Next Big Idea App. Or view the book on Amazon
Your Future Self: How to Make Tomorrow Better Today
By Hal Hershfield
Many of us view the future as incredibly distant, making us more likely to opt for immediate gratification that disregards our health and well-being in the years to come. People who are able to connect with their future selves, however, are better able to balance living for today and planning for tomorrow. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Hal Hershfield, in the Next Big Idea App. Or view the book 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 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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