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Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson 21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to A Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success

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What's it about? Sleep Smarter (2014) is your quickstart manual for improving the quality of your sleep. Drawing from a host of scientific studies and punctuated with practical tips, this accessible guide promises to change the way you think about sleep and give you a better night’s rest, starting tonight. We’ve all been there: waking up from a bad night’s sleep, we drift through the day like half-conscious zombies, yawning uncontrollably and unable to focus on our work. We dream about the moment we can get back to bed, but as soon as our head hits the pillow, we’re suddenly wide awake. It’s a nightmare. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Sleep can be a wonderful, rejuvenating experience, a time for repairing our bodies and refreshing our minds. And although the modern world seems intent on destroying the sanctity of sleep with screens, artificial lights and strenuous demands on our time, you can use modern science to push back against this. That’s where these lessons come in. Th...
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Off the Scales by Aimee Donnellan The Inside Story of Ozempic and the Race to Cure Obesity

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What's it about? Off the Scales (2026) explores the decades-long global race to create a long-lasting version of the GLP-1 drug semaglutide to help fight the growing diabetes and obesity epidemics. Presenting all sides of the story, from the fraught scientific competition to be the first to bring these drugs to market, to the side effects rippling through global societies, it uncovers. Skinny is in. Around the world, waistlines are shrinking as millions upon millions inject a once-weekly drug. Designed to control blood sugar for those with Type 2 diabetes, it was found to have remarkable weight-loss benefits. Soon, diabetics had difficulty getting their prescriptions filled because demand for the drug was so strong that manufacturing couldn’t keep up with demand. The molecule known as semaglutide is being touted as a miracle drug. Sold under brand names like Ozempic or Wegovy, it has begun to reshape societies. While this success might appear to have come overnight, the search for...
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Stolen Focus by Johann Hari Why You Can't Pay Attention – and How to Think Deeply Again

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What's it about? Stolen Focus (2022) begins with author Johann Hari experiencing a common problem: his attention span is diminishing. He can’t seem to focus on much outside of Twitter and online news. Over three years, Hari tries to identify the root causes of this problem. He uncovers a collective attention crisis that’s affecting the entire globe. From social media to the culture of productivity, Hari identifies the culprits behind our stolen focus – and wonders if, and how, we can claim it back. We’ve all been there. You sit down, ready for work, and you get a text. As you're texting back, a news alert appears – so you shift over to read what’s happening. But as you’re halfway through reading the headline, you get another ping: someone’s liked the photo that you posted last night. And after checking who it was, you realize they’ve also posted new photos . . . is that a new partner?! As you start swiping through the images, a Slack notification chimes. Wait, what were you d...
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What's Going Right by Paul Conti A Powerful New Method for Optimizing Your Mental Health

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What's it about? What’s Going Right (2026) offers a refreshing approach to mental health by shifting the focus away from endless self-criticism and toward the powerful drives that are already working within you. With insights on self-awareness, motivation, and emotional balance, it explores how people can reconnect with purpose, resilience, creativity, and genuine joy in everyday life. Mental health never feels quite as straightforward as physical health, does it? If you want to improve your body, you know the routine: exercise, eat well, sleep, repeat. But emotional well-being isn’t so obvious. You may’ve even tried therapy, medication, or various self-help techniques and found little benefit. When that happens, people often start blaming themselves instead of realizing that mental health, like physical health, requires patience, flexibility, support, and a deeper understanding of how the mind actually works. In this lesson, we’re going to give what is hopefully a fresh and unde...
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Who's the Favorite? by Catherine Carr The Loving, Messy Realities of Sibling Relationships

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What's it about? Who’s the Favorite? (2026) explores how sibling relationships shape our identities, tracing the roles, rivalries, loyalties, and shared histories that can bind brothers and sisters together or drive them apart. Drawing on interviews, research, and cultural examples, it examines themes like sibling labels, friendship and conflict, shared trauma, family language, and estrangement to show why these bonds can be some of the most formative relationships in our lives. Narrated by…. Few relationships begin earlier, last longer, or carry more emotional weight than the one between siblings. If you have a brother or sister, chances are they were part of your first lessons in closeness, jealousy, loyalty, competition, and belonging. Even when those bonds fade into the background of adult life, they can still shape how you see yourself, how you handle conflict, and what home means to you. Yet sibling relationships are often treated as secondary beside parents, partners, and ...
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Art Cure by Daisy Fancourt The Science of How the Arts Save Lives

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What's it about? The Art Cure (2026) draws on decades of scientific evidence across neuroscience, immunology, psychology, and epidemiology to make the radical argument that engaging with art, in all its forms, is one of the most powerful things humans can do for their health. Drawing on studies that consider the art-health connection, from the way songs shape the developing infant brain to the measurable effects of concert-going on longevity, this is an invitation to rethink art as a prescription and not a luxury. Russell Haines was just 44 when the blood supply to his brain became blocked and he suffered a devastating stroke. His recovery was painstaking. And even after he relearned how to walk and talk, Haines did not return to full health. He suffered back pain that made sleep impossible. His sleeplessness induced anxiety which, in a vicious cycle, exacerbated his sleeplessness. He gained weight and couldn’t lose it. He fell into a depression and soon enough, was taking a cock...
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