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 24! Without further ado, the new books we’re most excited about right now are…
Says Who?: A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words
By Anne Curzan
With lively humor and deep humanity, a renowned linguist reveals how the way we use language can be a powerful force for equity and personal expression. For proud grammar sticklers and self-conscious writers alike, Says Who? makes nerding out about language fun. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Anne Curzan, in the Next Big Idea App
Irreplaceable: How to Create Extraordinary Places that Bring People Together
By Kevin Ervin Kelley
Irreplaceable provides a comprehensive roadmap for creating human experiences that have the power to bring friends, neighbors, and strangers together in prosocial environments—in ways that digital replacements can’t replicate. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Kevin Ervin Kelley, in the Next Big Idea App
The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality
By Amanda Montell
From the bestselling author of Cultish and host of the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, a delicious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores our cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages, and highlights of magical thinking. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Amanda Montell, in the Next Big Idea App
The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing
By Adam Moss
Weaving conversations with some of the most accomplished artists of our time together with the journal entries, napkin doodles, and sketches that were their tools, a former New York magazine editor breaks down the work—the tortuous paths and artistic decisions—that led to great art. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Adam Moss, in the Next Big Idea App
Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout
By Cal Newport
From the aggressive rethinking of workload management, to introducing seasonal variation, to shifting your performance toward long-term quality, Slow Productivity reveals how to escape overload and arrive at a more timeless approach to pursuing meaningful accomplishment. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Cal Newport, in the Next Big Idea App
The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions
By Michael Norton
Drawing on a decade of original research, a Harvard Business School professor shows that rituals play a role in healing communities experiencing a great loss, marking life’s major transitions, driving a stadium of sports fans to ecstasy, and helping us rise to challenges and realize opportunities. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Michael Norton, in the Next Big Idea App
Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality
By Venki Ramakrishnan
A Nobel Prize winner takes us on a riveting journey to the frontiers of biology, asking whether we must be mortal. Covering the recent breakthroughs in scientific research, he examines the cutting edge of efforts to extend lifespan by altering our physiology. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Venki Ramakrishnan, in the Next Big Idea App
The Ancient Art of Thinking for Yourself: The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized Times
By Robin Reames
A University of Illinois at Chicago professor breaks down the major techniques of rhetoric, pulling back the curtain on how politicians, journalists, and “journalists” convince us to believe what we believe—and to talk, vote, and act accordingly. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Robin Reames, 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!
