The Spring Books to Stretch Your Mind

Great books don’t just give us new answers—they lead us to ask new questions. My favorite releases this spring are filled with fresh insights to inspire your curiosity about how to resolve conflicts, navigate adulthood, promote fairness, manage change, and think more clearly.

CONFLICTING

1. High Conflict by Amanda Ripley (April 6)

A few years ago, I read an article that fundamentally changed the way I think, write, and talk about contentious issues. The star journalist who wrote it has delivered a book that’s even more illuminating. Amanda takes us around the world to understand how people learn to stop demonizing the other side and start agreeing to disagree productively. I think it should be required reading for everyone in politics and the media—and for anyone who’s had a squabble with a colleague or a blowup at a family gathering.

2. Conflicted by Ian Leslie (February 23)

An astute writer, radio comedy host, and podcaster goes behind the scenes with some of the world’s best hostage negotiators, divorce mediators, diplomats, therapists, and police interrogators to reveal how we can communicate better and find common ground. It’s a gripping book on how to resolve the conflicts in our lives.

3. Mine! by Michael Heller and James Salzman (March 2)

Many of our toughest disputes are over ownership—nations go to war over land, businesses and governments clash over digital privacy, and people fight over parking spaces. Two law professors have written a fascinating book about why we claim things as ours and whether you have the right to recline your airplane seat.

(My $0.02: airplane seats should never recline. Whatever tiny comfort you’ve gained from leaning back is easily outweighed by the countless hours of productivity I’ve lost by being forced to bend my laptop screen to an acute angle and type with my arms in T-Rex position. And yes, conflict with strangers makes me so uncomfortable that I just sit there in misery instead of politely asking you not to be a selfish jerk.)

ADULTING

4. Your Turn by Julie Lythcott-Haims (April 6)

As the dean of freshmen at Stanford, she rescued students from helicopter parents who were constantly hovering and snowplow parents who prepared the path for their kids instead of preparing their kids for the path. Now, one of America’s wisest thought leaders has given us another gift: she normalizes the struggles of being in our twenties (and thirties… and forties) and offers sage advice for navigating uncertainty, stress, and responsibility.

5. A Visual Learner’s Guide to Being a Grown-Up by Matt Shirley (April 6)

This is a brilliant, hilarious portrait of the realities of being an adult. IMHO, Matt makes the cleverest charts on Instagram, and his book might be my favorite thing to emerge from the dumpster fire of 2020 that doesn’t rhyme with ‘Maxine’.

EQUALIZING

6. You Are Your Best Thing edited by Tarana Burke and Brené Brown (April 27)

The founder of the #MeToo movement and the renowned vulnerability researcher have assembled a powerhouse group of Black leaders and thought leaders to explore the dynamics of resilience in the face of shame. This anthology is a moving window into the barriers to vulnerability that Black women and men face—and a stirring call for us all to build structures and cultures that promote physical and psychological safety.

7. Just Work by Kim Scott (March 16)

Too many workplaces undervalue talented women and people of color while promoting mediocre white men. As a tech exec, entrepreneur, and CEO coach, Kim has zero tolerance for injustice. Her book tackles serious issues with clarity and humor to highlight smart steps that we can all take to combat discrimination and promote fairness.

CHANGING

8. Remote Work Revolution by Tsedal Neeley (March 30)

Long before the pandemic forced entire industries to go remote, this Harvard Business School professor was studying how to make remote work work. This is the guide you’ve been waiting for on how to lead, collaborate, stay productive, maintain well-being, and juggle work and life from home.

9. Subtract by Leidy Klotz (April 13)

Combining his training in architectural engineering and behavioral science, a University of Virginia scholar pinpoints a gaping hole in our mental math: we’re constantly adding tasks, commitments, and possessions to our lives while neglecting to subtract any. If the defining word of your life is ‘more,’ this book is for you.

THINKING

10. The Scout Mindset by Julia Galef (April 13)

We know a lot about how flawed human reasoning is, but surprisingly little about how to repair it in our daily lives. Thankfully, an expert on applied rationality is here to change that. With insights that are both sharp and actionable, this book will teach you to think more clearly, see yourself more accurately, and be wrong a little less often.

11. Useful Delusions by Shankar Vedantam (March 2)

You know the dangers of self-deception, but what if there are times when it works to your advantage? The Hidden Brain host brings his inquisitive, reflective lens to examine when fooling yourself might be adaptive—and when it prevents you from adapting to the world around you.

12. The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell (April 27)

On Revisionist History last season, he turned much of what I thought I knew about the end of World War II upside-down. In his first history book, he goes deep into one of the most riveting stories he’s ever told and challenges us to reconsider some of our deepest convictions about technology, innovation, and the morality of making sacrifices for the greater good.

If you can’t wait until the end of April, Malcolm and I had some lively discussions and debates about our most recent books—you can listen to our new podcast episode this Tuesday, March 9 on WorkLife.

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Adam Grant is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know. Sign up for GRANTED, his free monthly newsletter on work and psychology, at www.adamgrant.net