New Books to Sharpen Your Mind in 2017

In one of the all-time great moments of Family Guy, Peter Griffin tries to weasel his way out of a lie by saying “I read a book about this sort of thing once.” His dog Brian responds dryly, “Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn’t… nothing?”

Reading sharpens our thinking. Although fiction might be ideal for empathy and kids’ learning—not to mention just plain fun—some of our best learning as adults comes from nonfiction. So without further ado, here are the new releases for 2017 that have taught me the most.

 1. Irresistible by Adam Alter (March 7)

So it turns out that I have an addiction and you probably do too. To something online, like your iPhone, Facebook, or a game like Words with Friends or World of Warcraft. Adam is a marketing professor, but he’s not here to sell—he wants to protect you from your digital obsessions. He illuminates how addictive technologies are controlling our lives and offers the tools we need to rescue our businesses, our families, and our sanity.

2. The Power of Meaning by Emily Esfahani Smith (January 10)

If there’s one thing that matters more to people than happiness, it’s meaning. Building on her viral Atlantic article, Emily explores why we lose meaning in our lives and how we find it through belonging, purpose, storytelling, transcendence, and growth. Beautifully written and evidence-based, it’s a welcome departure from the flood of self-help books by gurus promising to unlock the secrets of happiness.

3. The New Urban Crisis by Richard Florida (April 11)

As cities welcome back the young, educated and affluent, they are booming with innovation but also intensifying segregation and inequality. Richard is a leading expert on cities, and he presents a vision for fixing our economic problems and building more inclusive cities that don’t limit prosperity to the privileged.

4. Extreme You by Sarah Robb O’Hagan (April 4)

Out of college she couldn’t get a job at Air New Zealand because she flunked their IQ test, so she launched an ad campaign to convince them to hire her. She moved from there to a position at Virgin, only to get fired. She landed at Atari—and got fired again. But somehow Sarah went on to become the president of Gatorade, where she rejuvenated the brand, and then Equinox. She’s a badass and her book is full of bold ideas to energize you to become one too.

5. There Is No Good Card for This by Kelsey Crowe and Emily McDowell (January 17)

This book has changed how I think about expressing compassion. It’s full of sage advice on how to be a better friend, colleague, and partner to those who are suffering, not to mention wit and humor from empathy cards like these:

6. Own It by Sallie Krawcheck (January 17)

Take it from the most powerful woman on Wall Street: our future depends on women. With courage, charisma, and cold hard facts, Sallie shows that instead of playing by the rules men created, it's time for women to rewrite the rules of innovation and financial freedom.

7. Stretch by Scott Sonenshein (February 7)

Get ready to unleash your inner MacGyver. Scott is a researcher who specializes in resourcefulness, and his debut book tackles how we rarely have as much of anything as we want—but we can learn to do more with what we have.

8. Drop the Ball by Tiffany Dufu (February 14)

As a longtime champion for girls and women, Tiffany offers refreshingly honest, practical suggestions for women to achieve their goals. But what influenced me most was the wisdom she imparts to men about how to be better partners in supporting women’s leadership journeys.

9. Hit Makers by Derek Thompson (February 7)

This book is full of “aha” moments about why some ideas soar and others never get off the ground. Derek picks up where The Tipping Point left off.

10. Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant (April 24)

Reading these books has been a big source of learning for me. So has writing one. After the Facebook COO and Lean In author lost her husband suddenly, we spent a lot of time talking about how resilience is not fixed; it’s a muscle that everyone can build. We combine Sheryl’s personal insights with my research on finding strength in the face of adversity. Our book is about the human capacity to persevere.