If you stop to think about it, the human mind is truly a bottomless marvel. He composes symphonies, falls in love and struggles with the mysteries of the universe, but how? For the latest scientific findings on how your mind really works, check out the five remarkable books below.
Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, and Overly
By Jenn Granneman and Andre Solo
A groundbreaking look at a long underestimated but hugely beneficial personality trait, from the creators of the world’s largest community for highly sensitive people. Listen to our summary of Book Bite, read by co-author Andre Sólo, in the Next Big Idea app
Psych: The Story of the Human Mind
By Paul Bloom
Was Freud right to say that we are all tormented by forbidden sexual desires? What is the function of emotions such as disgust, gratitude and shame? A renowned psychologist answers these questions and more in this fascinating new book on the science of the mind. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Paul Bloom, in the Next Big Idea app
Why We Forget and How to Remember Better: The Science Behind Memory
By Andrew E. Budson and Elizabeth A. Kensinger
This book gives you the knowledge you need to remember better, whether you’re a student looking to ace your next exam, a professional preparing for a presentation, or a medical professional needing to memorize the 600+ muscles of the human body. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-authors Andrew E. Budson and Elzabeth A. Kensinger, in the Next Big Idea app
The body am I: the new science of self-awareness
By Moheb Costandi
How the way we perceive our body plays a vital role in how we perceive ourselves. A science writer explores this idea through stories of phantom limbs, rubber hands, anorexia, and other phenomena. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Moheb Costandi, in the Next Big Idea app
Facial language: stories of its unique expressive characteristics
By Franck Gonzalez-Crussi
A vast and fascinating cultural history of physiognomy, exploring how the desire to guess a deeper meaning from our appearance has compelled humans for millennia. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Frank Gonzalez-Crussi, in the Next Big Idea app
Key ideas in 15 minutes
“If you want to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books,” Roald Dahl once said. The only problem is that reading a single book cover to cover takes hours – and you might not have many hours to spare.
But imagine for a moment: what if you could read a revolutionary new book every day? Or even better, what if you could invite a world-renowned thinker into your headphones, where they would personally describe the 5 key points of their work in just 15 minutes?
With the Next Big Idea App, we turned this fantasy into reality. We’ve partnered with hundreds of top authors to create “Book Bites”, short audio summaries of the latest non-fiction that are curated and read aloud by the authors themselves. Discover cutting-edge leadership skills, productivity hacks, the science of happiness and well-being, and more, all in the time it takes to drive to work or walk the dog.
Go further with a Next Big Idea Club membership
The Next Big Idea app is free for everyone and if you like it, we invite you to become an official member of the Next Big Idea Club. Membership gives you unlimited access to Book Bites and unlocks ad-free preview episodes of our podcast in partnership with LinkedIn. You also gain access to our private online discussion group, where you can discuss great ideas with other club members and participate in 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 their season’s must-haves. We then send hard copies straight to your door, or eBook versions to your favorite digital device. We also partner with selected book authors to produce original reading guides and premium video online courses, 50-minute masterclasses that take you step-by-step through their most impactful ideas. And yes, everything is 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 accompany your morning coffee. Then dive into one of our challenges, hand-picked collections of bite-sized books that form crash courses on topics like communication, motivation, and career acceleration. Later, watch the reading of an interview with American surgeon general Vivek Murthy, Stanford psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt or philosopher John Kaag. And be sure to check out the “Events” tab in the app, so you can join an upcoming live Q&A and chat personally with the next featured thought leader.
If you hope to grow as a person or as a professional, we hope you’ll join us and the tens of thousands of others enjoying the next big idea. Get started by downloading the app today!
