I’m excited to introduce a new batch of standout nonfiction, the most compelling and thought-provoking titles scheduled for release in August 2026.
As always, we invite longlisted authors to create a “Book Bite”—a fifteen-minute audio recording where they share five big ideas from their book. Picture striking up a conversation with someone at a neighborhood block party…only they happen to be a brilliant nonfiction author.
So, without further ado, here are the August 2026 must-reads…
Personal Development
- How to Grow Up Without Becoming a Grown-Up: Big Lessons from Little Kids by Julian Shapiro-Barnum. View on Amazon
- Too Sensitive: Rejection, Resilience, and the Science of Feeling Deeply by Sasha Hamdani. View on Amazon
- A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving: Lessons on Love, Care, and Survival: A Memoir by Virginia Eubanks. View on Amazon
- Q: The Hidden Power of Questions in a World That Wants Answers by Lani Watson. View on Amazon
- What If Anger Is the Answer?: A Harvard Marine’s Guide to Shaping Aggression by Mike LeBlanc. View on Amazon
Health & Wellness
- Brain Defenders: Harness the Power of Your Immune Cells to Protect Your Brain for Life by David Perlmutter. View on Amazon
- Lasting Wellbeing: Science-Based Practices for Tranquility, Authenticity, Meaning, and Joy by Matt Bloom. View on Amazon
- Aligned: The Data-Driven Guide to Performance, Recovery, and Human Potential by Kristen Holmes. View on Amazon
- It Could Be Otherwise: Science in the Age of Uncertainty by Stuart Firestein. View on Amazon
- The Vanishing Earth: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Extraction by James Crawford. View on Amazon
Career & Habits
- Young Money: A Field Guide to Wealth and Purpose in Your Twenties by Jack Raines. View on Amazon
- Don’t Be Evil: Bad Bosses, Fake Promises, and My Escape from Big Tech by Claire Stapleton. View on Amazon
- Disposable Workers: The Transformation of Employment by Paul Osterman. View on Amazon
- Solving Procrastination: The Science of Why We Put Things Off and How to (Finally!) Stop by Itamar Shatz. View on Amazon
- Are They Dead Yet?: The Art of the Obit by Sam Roberts. View on Amazon
Psychology & Science
- Think Before You Think: Understanding and Mastering Executive Function by Adrian Owen. View on Amazon
- The Genius and the Impostor: The Neuroscience of Unlocking Human Potential by Josh Turknett. View on Amazon
- The Only Cure: Freud and the Neuroscience of Mental Healing by Mark Solms. View on Amazon
- Animate: How Animals Shape the Human Mind by Michael Bond. View on Amazon
- Unfaithful Minds: The Science and Psychology of Infidelity by Glenn Hutchinson. View on Amazon
Politics & Culture
- Depraved: The Story of Dangerous Art by Daisy Dixon. View on Amazon
- What Happened to Liberal Democracy?: Remaking a Politics of Shared Prosperity by Daron Acemoglu. View on Amazon
- Inner Propaganda: Leading Hearts and Minds Through Turbulent Times by Owen Fitzpatrick. View on Amazon
- United States of Oligarchy: How America’s Wealthiest Ally with Dictators, Weaken the U.S., and Destroy Democracy by Casey Michel. View on Amazon
- The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time―and How to Fix It by Annie Lowrey. View on Amazon
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