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Starry Messenger by Neil deGrasse Tyson Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization

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What's it about? Starry Messenger (2022) is about a way of looking at the world called the cosmic perspective. It’s the view that opens up when we think about human life in its largest possible context – that of the universe itself. This isn’t an exercise in making our worldly affairs seem small and trivial, though. It’s about unlocking insights that can help us live more happily and meaningfully on the cosmic anomaly we call Earth. People are fed up with experts. That was the recent verdict of the British politician Michael Gove. What people want, he implied, is more feeling. Less weighing of the evidence and more gut instinct. As a recipe for politics, that statement met with lots of opposition. As a description of what’s actually happening, though, it hit the nail on the head. We live in an age of hyperpartisanship and culture wars. Reasoned debate is out; emotive shouting matches are in. The backlash against experts has generated its own backlash: a pro-expert faction tha...
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Be Your Future Self Now by Benjamin Hardy The Science of Intentional Transformation

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What's it about? Be Your Future Self Now (2022) is a guide to defining your future self – and making sure you get there. It walks readers through the seven threats to your future self, the seven truths about your future self, and the seven steps you can take to be your future self today. Until the 1990s, it was widely accepted in psychology that a person’s actions and behaviors were determined by their past. This deterministic view held that human beings were essentially a series of dominoes – propelled forward by the momentum of what had come before. Then, at the end of the twentieth century, a band of revolutionary researchers burst onto the scene. These self-dubbed “positive psychologists” provided an almost polar opposite explanation for human behavior: that human beings weren’t pushed by their past; they were pulled by their future. Reflect on your day so far. How many actions weren’t driven by an underlying desire for or aversion to a future outcome? Some motivations may...
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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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