I’m excited to introduce a new batch of standout nonfiction—the most compelling and thought-provoking titles scheduled for release in February 2026.
Each of these books has earned a spot on our longlist for Season 29 of the Next Big Idea Club. In the coming months, we will narrow our sights on a smaller pool of finalists. At the end of each season, we will announce the winner and distribute a hardcover (or ebook) copy to our members.
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 February 2026 must-reads…
The People Can Fly: American Promise, Black Prodigies, and the Greatest Miracle of All Time
By Joshua Bennett
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
Award-winning poet and MIT Distinguished Chair of the Humanities Dr. Joshua Bennett combines personal narrative and history to offer a new, more expansive vision of giftedness. View on Amazon
Flourish: The Art of Building Meaning, Joy, and Fulfillment
By Daniel Coyle
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
A science-based, practical blueprint for cultivating a life—at work and at home—full of belonging, joy, and vitality. View on Amazon
The Doom Loop: Why the World Economic Order Is Spiraling into Disorder
By Eswar Prasad
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
An acclaimed economist argues that the forces meant to stabilize the world’s economy are in fact driving global instability. View on Amazon
AQ: A New Kind of Intelligence for a World That’s Always Changing
By Liz Tran
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
You’ve heard of IQ and EQ. But in today’s world, they’re no longer enough. We need the Agility Quotient (AQ). View on Amazon
Your Best Meeting Ever: 7 Principles for Designing Meetings That Get Things Done
By Rebecca Hinds
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
From an organizational expert who has helped Fortune 500 companies fix their fractured collaboration comes a bold, battle-tested blueprint for tackling the workplace’s biggest time-wasters: meetings. View on Amazon
Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives
By Daisy Fancourt
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
An exposé showing how the arts―alongside diet, sleep, exercise and nature―are the forgotten fifth pillar of health. View on Amazon
Smitten: Romantic Obsession, the Neuroscience of Limerence, and How to Make Love Last
By Tom Bellamy
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
A groundbreaking exploration of the psychology of infatuation, how to recognize it, and how to move beyond it towards a healthier experience of love. View on Amazon
I’ll Make Me a World: The 100-Year Journey of Black History Month
By Jarvis Givens
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
On its one-hundredth anniversary, a powerful and essential meditation on the origins, evolution, and future of Black History Month from one of America’s leading historians of Black education. View on Amazon
Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution
By Jonathan Turley
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, law professor and legal analyst Jonathan Turley explores how the unfinished story of the revolution will play out in a rapidly changing world. View on Amazon
How to Live a Meaningful Life: Using Design Thinking to Unlock Purpose, Joy, and Flow Every Day
By Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
A guide to transforming your daily routine into one brimming with joy, purpose, and meaning. View on Amazon
You Could Be Having Better Sex: The Definitive Guide to a Happier, Healthier, and Hotter Sex Life
By Nicole McNichols
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
The definitive guide to a happier, healthier, and hotter sex life, from professor of the largest sex education course in the United States and beloved social media educator, Dr. Nicole McNichols. View on Amazon
The Cost of Quiet: How to Have the Hard Conversations That Create Secure, Lasting Love
By Colette Jane Fehr
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
An empowering, healing guide that reveals the true cost of avoidant behavior in a relationship—disconnection, disengagement, and divorce—and shows how we can instead learn to speak up and start connecting with the ones we love most. View on Amazon
Love’s Labor: How We Break and Make the Bonds of Love
By Stephen Grosz
Publication Date: February 10, 2026
A psychoanalyst shares moving true stories from his practice to explore the central question of our lives: how do we find and keep love? View on Amazon
Bonded By Evolution: The New Science of Love and Connection
By Paul Eastwick
Publication Date: February 10, 2026
A look at the science of attachment and compatibility, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about love and attraction and revealing the real keys to lasting connection and deeper relationships. View on Amazon
Politics Without Politicians: The Case for Citizen Rule
By Hélène Landemore
Publication Date: February 10, 2026
Political theorist Hélène Landemore asks and answers a radical question: What if we didn’t need politicians at all? What if everyday people—under the right conditions—could govern much better? View on Amazon
The Laws of Thought: The Quest for a Mathematical Theory of the Mind
By Tom Griffiths
Publication Date: February 10, 2026
An exploration of the quest to use mathematics to describe the ways we think, from its origins three hundred years ago to the ideas behind modern AI systems and the ways in which they still differ from human minds. View on Amazon
How to Feel Loved: The Five Mindsets That Get You More of What Matters Most
By Sonja Lyubomirsky & Harry Reis
Publication Date: February 10, 2026
A renowned happiness scientist and a top relationship researcher draw on the science of happiness, love, and human connection to offer a powerful framework to help readers appreciate and nurture what makes them feel truly loved. View on Amazon
Time’s Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature
By Robert Hazen & Michael Wong
Publication Date: February 10, 2026
A distinguished geoscientist and rising-star astrobiologist offer a stunning new theory upending 150 years of established science―and an inspiring new vision of our universe. View on Amazon
Marked by Time: How Social Change Has Transformed Crime and the Life Trajectories of Young Americans
By Robert Sampson
Publication Date: February 10, 2026
A leading sociologist’s three-decade study challenges outdated views of crime and character, revealing that traditional risk factors alone poorly predict children’s futures. View on Amazon
The Balancing Act: Creating Healthy Dependency and Connection Without Losing Yourself
By Nedra Glover Tawwab
Publication Date: February 10, 2026
A guide to understanding healthy dependency—to bring our relationships back into balance. View on Amazon
Feed the People!: Why Industrial Food Is Good and How to Make It Even Better
By Jan Dutkiewicz & Gabriel Rosenberg
Publication Date: February 17, 2026
Why Wendell Berry, Michael Pollan, and other slow-food-loving locavores are wrong about food in America—and why Waffle House can save us all. View on Amazon
Becoming Martian: How Living in Space Will Change Our Bodies and Minds
By Scott Solomon
Publication Date: February 17, 2026
How living in space will affect future generations—and what the potential unintended consequences of space settlements are. View on Amazon
Why I Am Not an Atheist: The Confessions of a Skeptical Believer
By Christopher Beha
Publication Date: February 17, 2026
National Book Award–longlisted author Christopher Beha recounts his struggle with these questions while making an earnest appeal for readers to seek out answers of their own. View on Amazon
The Powerful Primate: How Controlling Energy Enabled Us to Build Civilization
By Roland Ennos
Publication Date: February 17, 2026
A captivating journey through humanity’s relentless quest to harness and control physical power, fueling groundbreaking innovations while leaving a profound impact on our planet. View on Amazon
Traversal
By Maria Popova
Publication Date: February 17, 2026
From the Marginalian creator and bestselling author Maria Popova, a bold exploration of what makes a meaningful life. View on Amazon
Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing
By Leslie John
Publication Date: February 24, 2026
A book on the surprising potential of revealing more of ourselves to others, from a celebrated Harvard Business School professor and expert on the psychology of self-disclosure decisions. View on Amazon
The Brain Never Sleeps: Why We Dream and What It Means for Our Health
By Karen van Kampen
Publication Date: February 24, 2026
We all dream, but do we know why we dream? Discover what goes on behind our eyelids and what it means for our health. View on Amazon
From Mistakes to Meaning: Owning Your Past So It Doesn’t Own You
By Michael Lynton & Joshua Steiner
Publication Date: February 24, 2026
From two authors who made life-defining mistakes, a profound and entertaining exploration of mistakes, and the transformative power of confronting them. View on Amazon
I Told You So!: Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled, and Imprisoned for Being Right
By Matt Kaplan
Publication Date: February 24, 2026
An energetic and impassioned work of popular science about scientists who have had to fight for their revolutionary ideas to be accepted―from Darwin to Pasteur to modern day Nobel Prize winners. View on Amazon
Picky: How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History
By Helen Zoe Veit
Publication Date: February 24, 2026
An eye-opening investigation into why American kids no longer eat broadly and with gusto. View on Amazon
The Science of Second Chances: A Revolution in Criminal Justice
By Jennifer Doleac
Publication Date: February 24, 2026
A fresh approach to criminal justice reform, revealing how small-scale interventions can reduce people’s chances of reoffending and break the incarceration cycle. View on Amazon
This Is the Door: The Body, Pain, and Faith
By Darcey Steinke
Publication Date: February 24, 2026
Acclaimed author Darcey Steinke explores the world of pain for those who suffer and those who love them. View on Amazon
Plastic Inc.: The Secret History and Shocking Future of Big Oil’s Biggest Bet
By Beth Gardiner
Publication Date: February 24, 2026
An exposé of the industry flooding our world with plastic—and now ramping up to make more than ever. View on Amazon
A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness
By Michael Pollan
Publication Date: February 24, 2026
A panoptic exploration of consciousness—what it is, who has it, and why—and a meditation on the essence of our humanity. View on Amazon
Download the Next Big Idea App to enjoy “Book Bite” summaries of hundreds of groundbreaking books like these:
When you buy through our Amazon links, the Next Big Idea Club may earn an affiliate commission.
