No matter our circumstances, happiness is always an option—but this is easier said than done. Is it true that we just need to grin and bear it? Fake it till we actually feel a flicker of joy ignite? When it comes to happiness, there is no one way to find it, but there is a science to what makes us shine from within. Be it grief, burnout, or cynicism, these books about happiness offer brilliant advice for finding your way out of the darkness and into an inspired, content, happy way of life.
Every season, our curators Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Daniel Pink, and Adam Grant pick two exciting reads to share with Next Big Idea Club members. The rankings below, however, are based on the popularity of “Book Bite” audio summaries in the Next Big Idea App. In other words, they are among 2024’s best happiness books, according to our thousands of app users. Read on to find joy in our complicated reality.
24. Other People’s Words: Friendship, Loss, and the Conversations That Never End
By Lissa Soep
How language can nurture life amid the wreckage of grief. We carry within us the language of loved ones who are gone, and their words can be portals to other times and places. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Lissa Soep, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
23. MicroSkills: Small Actions, Big Impact
By Adaira Landry & Resa Lewiss
Every big goal, complicated task, healthy habit, and even what we think of as character traits, can be broken down into small, learnable, skills that can be practiced, and incorporated real-time. These are MicroSkills. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by c0-authors Adaira Landry and Resa Lewiss, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
22. Good People: Stories From the Best of Humanity
By Gabriel Reilich & Lucia Knell
Embrace—and share—the transformative power of kindness through stories of more than one hundred good people, brought to you by Upworthy, the beloved social media platform where millions find inspiration, joy, and daily affirmation. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-authors Gabriel Reilich and Lucia Knell, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
21. Shine: How Looking Inward Is the Key to Unlocking True Entrepreneurial Freedom
By Gino Wickman & Rob Dube
It’s possible to be a driven entrepreneur and have inner peace. With 10 simple disciplines, this guide will help you make a bigger impact while increasing your freedom and creativity. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Gino Wickman, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
20. Secure Relating: Holding Your Own in an Insecure World
By Sue Marriott & Ann Kelley
Finding hope, connection, and empowerment amidst the many barriers to emotional closeness awaits in this comprehensive approach to understanding and transforming all kinds of relationships into more secure and satisfying bonds. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-authors Sue Marriott and Ann Kelley, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
19. How to Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days
By Kari Leibowitz
A blend of mindset science, original research, and cultural insights for cultivating a positive wintertime mindset, to vanquish winter blues and find joy and comfort in dark times year-round. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Kari Leibowitz, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
18. The Inner Clock: Living in Sync with Our Circadian Rhythms
By Lynne Peeples
How the groundbreaking science of circadian rhythms can help you sleep better, feel happier, and improve your overall health. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Lynne Peeples, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
17. LIT: Life Ignition Tools: Use Nature’s Playbook to Energize Your Brain, Spark Ideas, and Ignite Action
By Jeff Karp
Radically simple experimental tools to help anyone tap into a high-energy brain state to fire up innovative potential and shape their lives with intention—by the founder of a Harvard biomedical engineering innovation lab. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jeff Karp, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
16. Burnout Immunity: How Emotional Intelligence Can Help You Build Resilience and Heal Your Relationship with Work
By Kandi Wiens
An essential guide everyone needs to protect themselves from burnout by learning to develop and master key emotional intelligence skills. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Kandi Wiens, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
15. The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions
By Michael Norton
A renowned social psychologist demonstrates the power of small acts—and how a subtle turning of habits into rituals can add purpose and pleasure to life. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Michael Norton, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
14. How to Think Like Socrates: Ancient Philosophy as a Way of Life in the Modern World
By Donald Robertson
As a practicing cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, Robertson uses his expertise to reveal many parallels between the evidence-based concepts and techniques of modern psychology and the philosophy of Socrates. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Donald Robertson, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
13. New Happy: Getting Happiness Right in a World That’s Got It Wrong
By Stephanie Harrison
Well-being expert and social media sensation Stephanie Harrison of @newhappyco reveals the counterintuitive secrets to happiness and provides a practical guide to help us all learn how to live a happy life. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Stephanie Harrison, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
12. Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness
By Jamil Zaki
A Stanford psychologist argues that to beat back cynicism we must engage in hopeful skepticism. Far from being naïve, hopeful skepticism is a precise way of understanding others that can rebalance our view of human nature and help us build the world we truly want. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jamil Zaki, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
11. The Joy You Make: Find the Silver Linings–Even on Your Darkest Days
By Steven Petrow
Joy is always present—in our everyday routines, in ties to those we care about, even in our grief. It may be easier to see and feel it during the good times, but we can learn to find joy even in the darkest days. All we need is a road map—and now we have one. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Steven Petrow, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
10. The Happy High Achiever: 8 Essentials to Overcome Anxiety, Manage Stress, and Energize Yourself for Success―Without Losing Your Edge
By Mary Anderson
A game-changing road map for ambitious people to transform chronic stress and anxiety into sustainable happiness and success. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Mary Anderson, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
9. Languishing: How to Feel Alive Again in a World That Wears Us Down
By Corey Keyes
The Emory University sociologist who coined the term languishing—low-grade mental weariness that affects our self-esteem, relationships, and motivation—explores the rise of this phenomenon and presents a comprehensive guide to flourishing in a world that demands too much. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Corey Keyes, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
8. Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There
By Tali Sharot & Cass Sunstein
A groundbreaking new study of how disrupting our well-worn routines, both good and bad, can rejuvenate our days and reset our brains to allow us to live happier and more fulfilling lives. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Tali Sharot, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
7. Think Remarkable: 9 Extraordinary Habits that will Transform Your Life and Illuminate the World
By Guy Kawasaki & Madisun Nuismer
Learn how to make a difference to just one life, or the world, by embracing what makes people remarkable. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Guy Kawasaki, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
6. Practical Optimism: The Art, Science, and Practice of Exceptional Well-Being
By Sue Varma
A practical program rooted in optimism to help you live fully and joyfully in an imperfect, turbulent world. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Sue Varma, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
5. Rewire: Break the Cycle, Alter Your Thoughts and Create Lasting Change (Your Neurotoolkit for Everyday Life)
By Nicole Vignola
Change your mind to change your life—discover the neuroscience of a better you from neuroscientist and online sensation Nicole Vignola that teaches you how to rewire your brain to achieve peak mental wellbeing. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Nicole Vignola, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
4. The Second Fifty: Answers to the 7 Big Questions of Midlife and Beyond
By Debra Whitman
Through her extensive investigation into the economics and biology of aging, Whitman shows that Americans over fifty are a boon to their country and have plenty left to enjoy. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Debra Whitman, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
3. The Art of the Interesting: What We Miss in Our Pursuit of the Good Life and How to Cultivate It
By Lorraine Besser
Living a good life has traditionally been seen as the outcome of obtaining happiness and meaning. Now, the greatest advancement in many lifetimes adds a third dimension: the interesting. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Lorraine Besser, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
2. Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts
By Oliver Burkeman
Looking beyond the challenges of time management to the most fundamental questions about how to live, Burkeman offers a powerful new way to take action on what counts: a guiding philosophy of life that he calls “imperfectionism.” Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Oliver Burkeman, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon
1. Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection
By Charles Duhigg
A fascinating exploration of what makes conversations work—and how we can all learn to be supercommunicators at work and in life. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Charles Duhigg, in the Next Big Idea App or view 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 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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