Books I'm excited about


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Summer is almost here — so why not pick up some new reading material for the beach? (Or the hammock, or the couch, or an audiobook for a long drive ...)

A Hollywood super agent describing celebrity tantrums? Stories of financial hijinks amid A-list bumbleheads? And, best of all, co-written with Pulitzer prize winner J. R. Moehringer, who wrote Andre Aggasi's Open? C'mon. This is going to be amazing. (Get it September 22.)

Why do we connect easily with some people, but not others? How can we can create stronger bonds faster? Let Wharton professor Adam Grant take you on a tour of astronauts who dislike each other, comedy troupes that avoid one another, and a band that fights like crazy — and how that makes them connect even better. (Get it October 13.)

From the author of Station Eleven and Sea of Tranquility, a novel about what happens during the first spring after the collapse of the United States in 2031. (Get it September 15.)

One of my favorite writers, David Epstein, explains how all of us —individuals, businesses, institutions, even societies — can benefit from narrowing our options. Sometimes we make our best choices when we don't have the freedom to make any choice we want. (Already published!)

As Jon Ronson's only child is lured to a mysterious castle in the forest, he sends his dad on an adventure examining modern masculinity, how men desperately search for purpose and control, and why two recently released murderers really want to talk to him. (Get it September 1.)

One of my favorite researchers, Nicholas Epley from the University of Chicago, asks why we choose so often to be unsocial, and how to seize the small, unexpected moments that allow us to connect with almost anyone. (Available now!)

Annie Jacobsen previously wrote a book about what would happen if there was a nuclear war. Just in case that didn't freak you out enough, now she's doing the same thing with an even scarier weapon. (Get it July 28.)

I have no idea if this book will be any good, but it sounds sufficiently crazy: Taylor Sheridan, creator of the TV shows Landman and Yellowstone has teamed up with an ex-con to write a survival guide to life inside a maximum-security prison. (Get it June 23.)

And, just for fun, a few podcasts you might have missed:

Look for an episode about a song you love, and sit back and enjoy. I personally recommend the episodes about "Birdhouse in Your Soul" and Vampire Weekend.

I feel like no one really talked about Season 5 of Michael Lewis's podcast tracing the story behind how sports betting became legalized in the U.S., but it's fantastic. Start with episode one or jump to hearing about how DraftKings treats (or mistreats) its VIPs.

What are you reading or listening to that you love? Let us know in the comments!

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The Science of Better

This is a newsletter about the science of living better, by the author of The Power of Habit and Supercommunicators. It's a brief newsletter with advice, rooted in science, that helps us all get a little better at life.

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