The Dozen New Idea Books to Read This Fall

How I spent part of my summer vacation: reading a slew of new books that come out this autumn. Here are my top 13* picks for thinking differently about work and life.

1.    Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee (September 4)

Joy is the most basic building block of happiness, and this mesmerizing book reveals where to find it—and how to create it. A former IDEO portfolio director shows us how to redesign the aesthetics of our schools, hospitals, homes, and workplaces. Warning: reading this book may cause unexpected bouts of joy.

2.    The Person You Mean To Be by Dolly Chugh (September 4)

Finally: a lively, evidence-based book about how to battle biases, champion diversity and inclusion, and advocate for those who lack power and privilege. An unusually thoughtful psychologist makes a convincing case that being an ally isn’t about being a good person—it’s about constantly striving to be a better person.

3.    Farsighted by Steven Johnson (September 4)

Our biggest regrets in life revolve around situations in which we made the wrong predictions about the future. A popular science and history writer illuminates why we’re so vulnerable to poor long-term decision-making, combining behavioral science with riveting stories ranging from the raid on bin Laden to Darwin’s dilemma about whether or not to marry.

4.    The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt (September 4)

On college campuses across the U.S., too many students are stressed and depressed and too many voices are silenced. A First Amendment specialist and a prominent social psychologist examine the mistakes that parents and educators are making in shielding children from ordinary setbacks and offer a road map for giving them the freedom to play, explore, and debate.

5.    Rule Makers, Rule Breakers by Michele Gelfand (September 11)

A fascinating book that offers a fresh way of making sense of cultural differences. A leading expert on the psychology of culture reveals how political divides, happiness and suicide rates, and the coexistence of crime and creativity can all be traced to a fundamental but neglected dimension of social norms.

6.    The Personality Brokers by Merve Emre (September 11)

This is a sparkling biography—not of a person, but of a popular personality tool. An English professor and literary critic deftly exposes the hidden origins of the MBTI and the seductive appeal and fatal flaws of personality types. Ultimately, she reveals that a sense of self is less something we discover, and more something we create and revise.

7.    Imagine it Forward by Beth Comstock (September 18)

This book is full of insights about how to thrive in a bureaucracy—and then transform it into an innovation machine. An effective, admired executive tells the engrossing inside story of how she rose to the upper echelons of GE and spearheaded a sea of change.

8.    Wisdom at Work by Chip Conley (September 18)

An engaging, timely exploration of how to bring more wisdom from elders into our work lives. This entrepreneur-turned-Airbnb-executive has lived it, and he tackles strategies for thriving in mid-career, combating ageism, and coaching and learning from Millennials.

9.    AI Superpowers by Kaifu Lee (September 25)

Instead of replacing humanity, what if artificial intelligence embraced our humanity? That’s the question at the heart of this book by one of China’s most influential technology investors, who previously did pioneering artificial intelligence work at Google, Microsoft, and Apple. He presents an exciting vision of how the next wave of technology could actually improve our jobs and prevent them from taking over our lives.

10. Thirst by Scott Harrison (October 2)

This book does for the soul what water does for a parched throat. Scott Harrison shares his extraordinary transformation from party animal into the visionary leader of charity:water, one of the world’s most creative charities. His story will inspire you to think bigger, feel deeper, and give more.

11. Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh (October 9)

The manual on how to grow a company rapidly—and when that’s even worth trying in the first place. The LinkedIn cofounder and venture capitalist teams up with a longtime Silicon Valley collaborator to share lessons from the trenches, vivid cases, and actionable advice.

12. The Job by Ellen Ruppel Shell (October 23)

A masterful book about the fundamental role of work in our lives: why it matters, why it’s broken, and how we can fix it. In the tradition of Studs Terkel and Mike Rowe, a journalist for The Atlantic guides us on a stirring tour of how our jobs define us and what it will take to change them for good.

13. Becoming by Michelle Obama (November 13)

The First Lady’s long-awaited memoir hasn’t been released for early reads, so I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us on race, gender, work, health, parenting, and leading a life of dignity.

*Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Dan Pink and I are reading some of these books right now for consideration for the Next Big Idea Club fall box.

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Adam is the New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg, and the host of the TED podcast WorkLife. He shares new ideas in GRANTED, his free monthly newsletter on work and psychology: www.adamgrant.net