I’m excited to introduce a new batch of standout nonfiction, the most compelling and thought-provoking titles scheduled for release in July 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 July 2026 must-reads…
Psychology & Health
- Head in the Clouds: How the Weather Affects Our Minds and Mental Health by Trevor Harley. View on Amazon
- The 12 Levers: The Complete Psychological Toolkit For Improving Your Life by Spencer Greenberg & Jeremy Stevenson. View on Amazon
- The Small Stuff: How to Lead a More Gratifying Life by Ian Bogost. View on Amazon
- Think Less, Sleep More: From Panic & Perfectionism to Stress-Free Sleep by Stephanie Romiszewski. View on Amazon
- Why We Fight: A Transformative Road Map to Healing Conflict in Any Relationship by Kim Polinder. View on Amazon
Career & Motivation
- You Can Just Do Things: How High-Agency People Get What They Want Out of Life by Cate Hall. View on Amazon
- Easy Discipline: An Unconventional Way to Achieve Ambitious Things by Jia Jiang. View on Amazon
- The Price of Becoming: The Compounding Practices of High Performance by Ryan Hawk. View on Amazon
- Tryhard: A Cautionary Tale of Clocking In and Spinning Out by Laura Mayer. View on Amazon
Memoir & Culture
- The Savage Landscape: How We Made the Wilderness by Cal Flyn. View on Amazon
- The Frenchmen: Or, My Life in Theory by Emily Eakin. View on Amazon
- The Cure at Walden Pond: A Guide to Recovering Our Humanity by Thomas Moore. View on Amazon
- Unsayable: A Life in Writing by Michael Cunningham. View on Amazon
Technology & Design
- Data Empire: The Power of Information to Organize, Control, and Dominate by Roopika Risam. View on Amazon
- Biological War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen. View on Amazon
- Human Raised: Nurturing Connection, Curiosity & Lifelong Learning in the Age of AI by Dana Suskind. View on Amazon
- Man-Made: How We Designed a World That Leaves Women Out, and How We Can Make It Right by Karen Korellis Reuther. View on Amazon
History & Politics
- Country of Lords: Neo-Aristocrats, Social Darwinists, Tech Utopians, and the Long Fight against Equality in America by Kim Phillips-Fein. View on Amazon
- They Stole a City: Wilmington’s White Supremacist Coup and the Families Who Live with Its Legacy by Lauren Collins. View on Amazon
- Aging Out: An Exploration of Caregiving, Community, and How Americans Grow Old by Lucy Schiller. 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.
