It’s 2026, and the question of the year is, has that reading pile on your nightstand gotten any smaller? Meanwhile, the hours to read them keep shrinking.
Another year hums with the pressure to choose wisely about what deserves your attention. And reading isn’t exempt.
New book releases arrive faster than ever nowadays, and knowing how to find the ones that are actually worth your time has become the real challenge. Miss that window, and the next thing you know, it’s 2027.
Mindvalley Book Club steps in right there, answering the question of how to find new book releases that are chosen for depth, relevance, and real impact.
And this list of 10? It favors reads that earn your time rather than demand it.
Disclaimer: Some links below are affiliate links, so Mindvalley may earn a commission if you buy a book, at no extra cost to you.
1. Start Making Sense by Steven J. Heine
Have you ever felt like your life looks great on paper, but something feels…empty?
Or you’re doing all the “right” things, but none of it feels like it really matters?
Or perhaps you sometimes wonder how replaceable you’ve become?
It’s all the things psychologist Steven J. Heine touches on in Start Making Sense: How Existential Psychology Can Help Us Build Meaningful Lives in Absurd Times.
“We’re living in an existential vacuum,” he tells Kristina Mӓnd-Lakhiani in a Mindvalley Book Club interview. Simply, it’s the sense that your life is full, yet strangely devoid of meaning.
And he’s spot on. A 2025 Gallup poll found that fewer than half of Americans say they’re very satisfied with their personal lives. While you might think, “Very satisfied? That doesn’t sound so bad.” Well, get this: that’s the lowest level Gallup has ever recorded.
“Meaningful lives are getting harder to come by,” Steven adds. And it boils down to the slow loss of connection to other people, to our work, to our communities, and to something bigger than ourselves.
Pulling from decades of research, he explains meaning in a way that’s practical, not philosophical. He also shows that it comes from three things: your life making sense, having a reason for what you do, and feeling like you matter. Each of those can be strengthened again.
There are no inspiration or shortcuts here. But what you’ll find is a framework for understanding why life can feel empty and what actually restores a sense that what you do, and who you are, genuinely counts.
Key takeaways
- Meaning isn’t vague or mystical. It grows out of real connections you can build and repair.
- Modern life undermines meaning quietly. Social isolation, weakened communities, and fragmented work erode meaning without announcing themselves.
- Meaning isn’t lost forever. When coherence, purpose, and mattering return, life starts to add up again.
What people are saying
“Start Making Sense is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the science behind our psychological need for purpose and meaning—and how these needs can be met through connectedness and cultural narratives.” ― Michael Muthukrishna, London School of Economics
About the author
Steven’s a social and cultural psychologist at the University of British Columbia who studies how people make sense of themselves and their lives. His research explores how culture, identity, and meaning shape the way people understand who they are and what matters to them.
2. Shift by Ethan Kross
In his book, Shift: Managing Your Emotions—So They Don’t Manage You, experimental psychologist Ethan Kross is out to help people “get what they want out of life.” But what usually gets in the way of it are emotions.
“We have been socialized to understand how to manage our physical body,” he says on the Mindvalley Book Club. “We have not when it comes to our emotional health.”
So rather than asking you to suppress emotions or “think positive,” he explains in his book how emotions actually work in the brain and why many common coping strategies fall apart under pressure.
“I study the science that explains how you can align your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with your goals,” he points out. That’s why you can find practical tools to use in the moment, especially when your thoughts start looping, and you feel stuck in your own head.
Key takeaways
- Emotions aren’t the problem. They become disruptive only when you don’t have a way to respond once they surge.
- Most people don’t lack willpower. They were never taught emotional regulation skills for moments when stress takes over.
- Small shifts matter in big moments. A change in focus, language, or environment can redirect how an emotional moment unfolds.
What people are saying
“For anyone who has wondered whether they’ll ever be in charge of their emotions, this book has the answer: yes. Easy to read and winningly personal, this gem of a book is a complete toolkit of science-based strategies for managing how you feel.” — Angela Duckworth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grit
About the author
Ethan’s a psychologist and neuroscientist who studies how people manage emotions and regain control when their thoughts spiral. He leads the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory at the University of Michigan and works at the intersection of science, everyday life, and decision-making under stress.
3. Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff
So many of us keep rewriting the same five-year plan and are questioning why we made it in the first place.
And there are some of us who are why-in-the-world-ing the path we’ve chosen to be on.
Then, there are also some of us who adopt a new method altogether, follow it perfectly for a few weeks, then burn out and blame ourselves.
Well, it’s true that strict planning can create more pressure than progress. According to 2021 research published in Frontiers in Psychology, high, rigid, and specific goals can backfire when they’re missed. When that happens, motivation drops and people are more likely to disengage.
So pshhh to the clear, linear plan. Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely In a Goal-Obsessed World introduces an experimental mindset. Instead of asking, “What should I commit to long term?”, you ask, “What’s one small thing I can try next?”
She gets into the neuroscience of it, the psychology of it, and her own experience—all to show how small, curiosity-driven trials can help you:
- Reduce pressure,
- Learn faster, and
- Make progress without the cycle of burnout.
The focus here is to help you build a way of working and living that stays flexible, responsive, and aligned with how you, as a human, actually change.
Key takeaways
- Linear goals don’t reflect real life. They break down the moment circumstances shift or new information appears.
- Small experiments reduce pressure. They let you act, observe results, and adjust without locking yourself into one outcome.
- Curiosity beats certainty. Noticing what holds your interest over time reveals patterns that plans can’t predict.
What people are saying
“I loved this profound, practical, and generous book. Through the ingenious lens of the tiny experiment, Anne-Laure Le Cunff shows how we can jettison arduous and dispiriting attempts at self-improvement in favor of achievable and energizing adventures on the path to a more vibrant, accomplished, and wholehearted life.” — Oliver Burkeman, New York Times bestselling author of Four Thousand Weeks
About the author
Anne-Laure’s a Googler-turned-neuroscientist who studies how people learn, think, and adapt to uncertainty. She’s also the founder of Ness Labs and writes about practical, evidence-based ways to work with your mind and keep learning across your life.
4. This Is Body Grief by Jayne Mattingly
Did you know that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one in four US adults lives with some type of disability? It makes body change and body-related grief a mainstream reality, not a niche one.
But we, as Jayne Mattingly explains in her Mindvalley Book Club interview, have “a grief-illiterate society.” The disability advocate and eating disorder recovery coach would know. She herself is disabled, living with multiple chronic and neurological conditions that changed her body and daily life.
Body grief, as she defines it, is the mourning that shows up when a body changes through…
- Illness,
- Injury,
- Aging,
- Disability,
- Pregnancy loss,
- Puberty, or
- Any shift that feels like a betrayal.
And her book, This Is Body Grief: Making Peace with the Loss That Comes with Living in a Body? It frames this experience as common, personal, and shaped by culture, including ableism, diet culture, and hustle expectations.
If you’re trying to fix your body or forcing body love… don’t. Instead, try Jayne’s method: seven phases that move from dismissal and shock to body trust, with exercises that feel like a counseling session on the page.
What you’ll learn is how to build a relationship with your body that can hold loss, change, and reality without turning life into a constant fight.
Key takeaways
- Body grief has a name for a reason. Naming it gives you permission to recognize loss instead of blaming yourself for struggling.
- The “body betrayal” story usually comes from culture, not truth. Ideas about productivity, beauty, and control teach you to see natural change as failure.
- Body trust isn’t a finish line. It’s something you move in and out of as you respond to what your body needs now.
What people are saying
“I laughed, I cried, and I related all while reading This Is Body Grief. Jayne beautifully articulates the universal feeling of Body Grief and explores it on both macro and micro levels. It is the perfect blend of informative and vulnerable.” — Jacqueline Child, co-founder of Dateability
About the author
Jayne’s a disability advocate and eating disorder recovery coach. She’s the CEO of Recovery Love and Care and the founder of The AND Initiative, where she works to support people living with chronic illness and physical disabilities.
5. The Care Economy by Tim Jackson
When we talk about the economy, 99.9% of the time, we’re talking about growth, productivity, and GDP. Too rarely do we talk about it in terms of care.
“Care,” Tim Jackson explains, “is not a side sector of the economy. It is the economy.”
So why does this economist focus on care instead of chasing endless growth? Simply because, as he puts it, “as the economy gets bigger and bigger, we have a bigger impact on the planet, and that’s undermining the prosperity of future generations.”
The stark reality is that since the 1950s, global GDP has grown roughly twentyfold, based on data by the World Bank Group. At the same time, pressure on ecosystems, public health, and social systems has intensified, exposing the cost of measuring success by expansion alone.
In The Care Economy, Tim challenges the idea that more consumption automatically means a better life. He explains that “the economy is supposed to serve us, not the other way around,” and points out that growth-focused systems often ignore the things that truly sustain life. Care work, health, education, community, and the planet itself.
If the current system feels misaligned with how life is actually lived, this book offers a clear, grounded alternative that feels both urgent and humane.
Key takeaways
- Prosperity is about well-being, not accumulation. When health, stability, and dignity are prioritized, economic success becomes something people can actually feel in their daily lives.
- Care is foundational, not optional. Designing systems around care changes how work, policy, and value are defined.
- Endless growth is a fragile goal. An economy that supports life must respect human limits and planetary boundaries.
What people are saying
“Is there such a thing as poetic economics? A post-growth page-turner? Everyone who dreams of a better world should read this compelling account of how a care economy could replace our current capitalistic, growth-addicted system.” — Joan Tronto, author of The Caring Democracy and Who Cares?
About the author
Tim’s a professor of sustainable development at the University of Surrey and director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity. He’s best known for Prosperity Without Growth, a landmark book on rethinking economic success, and for shaping global conversations on sustainability, well-being, and the future of economic systems.
6. Autism Out Loud by Kate Swinson, Carrie Cariello & Adrian Wood
Out of all these Mindvalley-recommended books, this one is written by three mothers raising autistic children. It’s also a book Kristina connects with personally, as a parent of a child on the spectrum, which makes the conversation around it feel honest and grounded.
“Autism can look very differently,” says Kate Swinson, one of the three authors of Autism Out Loud: Life with a Child on the Spectrum, from Diagnosis to Young Adulthood.
Look at Raymond Babbit from Rain Man, Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory, or Julia from Sesame Street. Or look no further than the book itself. All three authors are raising children who fall on different points of the spectrum, each with their own needs, strengths, and challenges.
According to the CDC’s 2025 estimate, about 1 out of every 31 eight-year-old children in the studied communities has been identified as autistic. That means this neurodevelopmental condition is already part of everyday family life, classrooms, and communities, even if most people still don’t understand what it actually looks like beyond stereotypes.
The thing is, autism doesn’t follow a single pattern, progression, or outcome. It changes with age, environment, support, and personality. That’s one of the core truths the book makes clear.
And the three authors tell the truth about diagnosis day, anxiety, school battles, medication decisions, public meltdowns, siblings, marriage stress, and the question nobody wants to say out loud: what happens when the kid needs lifelong care?
Key takeaways
- Autism doesn’t show up one way, and parenting doesn’t either. The book places radically different family realities side by side, without ranking which one is harder or more valid.
- Caregiving reshapes the entire household. Siblings, marriages, energy, and emotional bandwidth all shift, and the book refuses to treat those effects as side notes.
- Support has to work in real life. Instead of comfort slogans, the book focuses on what actually helps when families are navigating schools, anxiety, systems, and public scrutiny.
What people are saying
“This book is not just for people with autism in their families. I have personally been places, and experienced children and adults displaying behaviors that I simply did not understand. After reading this book, I have a much better perception of how people on the spectrum may behave differently than what is considered ‘normal.’” — Anne Goshert
About the authors
Kate, along with Carrie Cariello and Adrian Wood, are mothers, writers, and advocates who’ve spent years speaking openly about life with autistic children. Through books, blogs, national media, and Autism Out Loud, they focus on caregiving, family dynamics, and the parts of this experience most people never see.
7. Hello, Cruel World! by Melinda Wenner Moyer
“I don’t worry about my kids at all,” said no parent ever. But that’s the quiet reality of being a caregiver. You and anxiety become your frenemies: sometimes useful, sometimes exhausting, never fully gone.
You watch your child scroll, withdraw, or worry about things you never had to think about at their age. Mom guilt kicks in as you wonder if you should step in or step back.
It’s a legitimate worry, though. As the World Health Organization reports, about 1 in every 7 kids and teens aged 10 to 19 around the world lives with a mental health condition. Together, these struggles make up about 15% of all health problems affecting people in that age group.
So, it’s no wonder every choice feels loaded. You’re trying to figure out how to help your child navigate in a world where screens shape identity before kids fully know who they are.
Melinda Wenner Moyer felt the same. As a mother of two, she wrote Hello, Cruel World!: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times because she wanted “to give parents, including myself, a toolkit” that lowers fear and gives real steps. She leans on research because science is “really the best tool we have for whittling away at the truth in any situation,” especially when parenting advice feels loud and conflicting.
You get help turning today’s biggest stressors into skills your child can actually practice, with a focus on what works for “most kids in most situations.” It reads like someone sitting next to you, helping hard topics feel manageable and reminding you that you’re not doing this alone.
Key takeaways
- You don’t need perfect parenting to raise a confident kid. When you model repair, calm, and honesty after a hard moment, you’re teaching skills your child can reuse in real life.
- Big feelings aren’t the enemy; avoidance is. When you help a child name what they feel and sit with it safely, you’re building coping skills that can protect them when life hits harder.
- Listening changes the whole relationship dynamic. When a child feels respected and heard, you’ll get more trust, more openness, and fewer power struggles that spiral.
What people are saying
“If you’re confounded by our culture and want to raise children who can not only navigate our world but evolve it for the better, Hello, Cruel World! is an essential guide. It’s science-based, profound, and intuitive, and full of techniques to apply not only to our parenting, but to ourselves.” —Elise Loehnen, New York Times bestselling author of On Our Best Behavior
About the author
Melinda’s an award-winning science journalist, a contributing editor at Scientific American, and a regular contributor to The New York Times. She’s also the author of How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes and writes the popular Substack newsletter Now What, where she translates research into practical guidance for everyday parenting decisions.
8. Reverse the Search by Madeline Mann
You can do everything you’re told: tailor the resume, write the cover letter, apply again and again… And still hear nothing back.
That version of job hunting is dead.
“There’s no such thing as job security,” says career coach Madeline Mann on a Mindvalley Book Club interview. “You can lose your job at any time.”
The reality is, by December 2025, layoffs in the U.S. had passed 1.1 million, the highest level in more than twenty years. Technology was hit especially hard, alongside retail, warehousing, and service jobs, showing how widespread and unpredictable job loss has become.
So, trust her when she says, “You could be the top performer, everything can go right for you, and you can still get laid off.” She, too, was once let go from her dream job.
Instead of telling you to apply harder, earn another credential, or wait your turn, she flips the entire process on its head in her book, Reverse the Search: How to Turn Job Seeking into Job Shopping.
She explains why the traditional job search drains your confidence and rarely works. And then, she shows you how to replace it with a strategy that attracts opportunities to you instead of you chasing them.
“A huge piece of reversing the search and job security is making yourself more findable online,” she says. For instance, research published in 2025 found that people who stay active on LinkedIn report stronger expectations about their career progress.
And if job searching has started to feel like rejection on repeat, this book is a reset.
Key takeaways
- The job search is broken, not you. Most hiring doesn’t happen through mass applications, so pouring energy into them often leads to burnout rather than results.
- Clarity creates leverage. When you know exactly what role you want and why, companies respond differently because commitment signals value.
- Career security comes from strategy, not loyalty. Building visibility and relationships before you need them makes future job searches faster and less stressful.
What people are saying
“Job shopping is a brilliant concept, and Madeline Mann delivers it with the perfect mix of strategy and encouragement in Reverse the Search. Prepare to get hired on your terms.” — Sarah Johnston, global executive resume writer and founder of Briefcase Coach
About the author
Madeline’s a former head of HR turned career strategist who has helped thousands of professionals land roles without relying on mass applications. She’s best known for teaching how hiring decisions actually work and for giving job seekers tools to regain control in a system designed to exhaust them.
9. Time Anxiety by Chris Guillebeau
There are days when sending emails, doing tasks, and “staying on top of it” lead to a sense of being behind. When that feeling becomes constant, it’s no longer about poor planning.
Entrepreneur Chris Guillebeau explains why most advice about how to be more productive actually makes people more anxious, not more fulfilled. Take it from the guy who’s “read every productivity book” and still felt stuck.
To explain what’s really going on, he breaks time anxiety into two forms:
- The fear that life is running out, and
- The daily stress of having too much to do.
From there, he dismantles common productivity planner tools and routines that promise control but quietly turn everything into an emergency. Instead of chasing perfect systems, Time Anxiety: The Illusion of Urgency and a Better Way to Live shows how to choose what truly matters, let go of the rest, and stop measuring your life by output alone.
It’s practical, funny, and grounding, especially for anyone who’s done everything “right” and still feels behind.
Key takeaways
- Time anxiety usually comes from “too late” or “too much.” Once you name which one you’re dealing with, decisions get clearer because you can see what actually needs to change.
- Productivity can become a trap. Getting better at doing the wrong things only builds a faster life that still feels off.
- Trying to control time creates more stress. Letting go of that fight gives you space to choose what matters and tune out the nonsense.
What people are saying
“A wealth of insanely useful advice, from the practical to the psychological, for breaking free from time anxiety, slowing down, and living on purpose.” — Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author of Slow Productivity and Deep Work
About the author
Chris is a New York Times bestselling author known for writing about work, purpose, and building a life on your own terms. After years of self-employment and a four-year volunteer role in West Africa, he became one of the youngest people to visit every country in the world, an experience that shaped how he thinks about time, choice, and meaning.
10. Team Intelligence by Jon Levy
It may seem logical to put the smartest, most talented people onto one team to maximize performance and results, but… Did you know that these all-star teams often underperform?
Behavioral scientist Jon Levy explains, “The person with the highest IQ on the team doesn’t predict if the team does well.” And that’s because, as research published in Psychological Science shows, competition and ego undermine coordination and cooperation.
Jon has spent years studying why this happens and what high-performing teams do differently. In his book, Team Intelligence: How Brilliant Leaders Unlock Collective Genius, he shows that results don’t come from heroic leaders or superstar talent, but from how people interact, share information, and create trust.
Drawing on his experience in behavioral science and real-world examples, the book explains why emotional intelligence, psychological safety, and so-called “glue players” matter more than raw brilliance.
So if your team looks impressive on paper but feels slow, political, or fragile in practice, this book explains what’s missing and how to fix it.
Key takeaways
- Leadership works when people want to move with you toward a better future. When others believe in where you’re headed, following feels natural, not forced.
- Your team performs best when cooperation is designed in. Instead of stacking stars, you create shared goals and systems that help people support each other.
- Emotional intelligence is a real advantage you can use. It helps ideas move faster, gives the right voices room, and lets the team work together instead of competing for attention.
What people are saying
“I’ve spent my career in labs full of smart people. The teams that succeeded weren’t always the smartest—they were the best at working together. This book explains why that matters.” — Michael Brown, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology
About the author
Jon’s a behavioral scientist and New York Times bestselling author known for his work on trust, leadership, teams, and influence, advising both Fortune 500 companies and startups. He’s also the founder of The Influencers, a private dinner community where guests cook together before discovering they’re dining with Nobel laureates, Olympians, executives, astronauts, and other global leaders.
BONUS: New book releases by Mindvalley authors
“There is research,” says Kristina in her Mindvalley U 2025 stagetalk, “that shows that long-form reading—and long-form reading means 10,000 words, which is approximately an essay or a very, very large article—actually activates other parts of your brain and is very beneficial for you in many ways.”
Mindvalley authors know this well. And many of them continue to choose that format to explore ideas that need more space, nuance, and context.
The good old-fashioned reading of books is still good for you no matter what happens in the world.
— Kristina Mӓnd-Lakhiani, co-founder of Mindvalley and host of Mindvalley Book Club
Here are a few recent personal growth book releases worth spending real time with.
1. Your Home Is a Vision Board by Marie Diamond
If you’ve ever cleaned, redecorated, or moved things around during a life reset, then you’ve already dabbled in feng shui basics. A 2021 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health shows that interior design choices influence mood, stress, and cognitive responses. And that can shape how you experience your everyday spaces.
This is something Marie Diamond has spent decades teaching people. And in Your Home Is a Vision Board: Harness the Secret Manifesting Power of Your Home, she shows how your home is constantly sending signals about what you’re available for. The images on your walls, the colors you live with, the objects you keep, and even how your furniture is placed all communicate intention.
That shift can feel surprisingly tangible. Kim Bradley, a Mindvalley student who took Marie’s Feng Shui for Life program, shares that after applying the practices, her home “feels more at peace now,” as does she.
The book pairs naturally with the program, where the same principles come alive through guided, visual practice. Together, they help turn your space into quiet support for the life you’re building.
2. Heavily Meditated by Dave Asprey
Dave Asprey went Head Strong. He helped you get Smarter, Not Harder. Now, he’s Heavily Meditated and helping you see what real clarity looks like when your nervous system is no longer stuck in overdrive.
Drawing from his 40 Years of Zen program, Dave’s newest book combines neuroscience with ancient practices like meditation, breathwork, and sleep optimization. What that does is help you remove the triggers quietly draining your mental bandwidth.
That shift shows up in real ways. For instance, a Mindvalley student, Andrey Logunov, tried this with Dave’s Smarter Not Harder program. The psychotherapist and naturopathy doctor from Russia shares, “During the quest, I became very interested in neurofeedback, now my personal meditations take place with brain monitoring right at home.”
The aim here isn’t extreme optimization or constant self-improvement. It’s learning to recover deeply, calm your brain, and access focus and creativity without burning out.
Intense? Maybe. Necessary? Very. One of the next impactful reads to dive into? Absolutely. It’s a strong companion to Dave’s Mindvalley program, especially if you want the “why” behind the practices.
3. Ready, Steady, Slow by Lee Holden
Lee Holden didn’t write Ready, Steady, Slow: Ready, Set, Slow: How to Improve Your Energy, Health, and Relationships Through the Power of Slow for people who have nothing to do. He wrote it for people who feel constantly rushed, even on days when they technically “should” be fine.
Like Erik Nordstrom, a musician from the U.S., who took Lee’s Mindvalley program, Modern Qi Gong. He shares, “I had a visceral feeling of the energy flowing in my body and felt great after the first lesson.”
If Lee’s methods can have that kind of impact so quickly, it’s easier to see why his book goes deeper. Drawing from Qi Gong, Eastern philosophy, and Western science, it shows you how to work with your nervous system through breath, gentle movement, and attention.
Doing so allows energy to return naturally instead of being forced. And that gives you back clarity, steadiness, and a feeling of being fully present in your own life.
Fuel your mind
Meaningful reading can start to feel like another thing you’re failing at, especially with so many new titles and recommendations. And now, figuring out how to keep up with new book releases turns into its own kind of overwhelm.
But have no fear. Mindvalley Book Club is here.
When you join (for free, of course), you’ll get access to:
- Expert picks selected based on substance, relevance, and real-world impact.
- New book recommendations weekly, thoughtfully chosen titles in personal growth and business.
- Live interviews and Q&As with the people shaping how we think about growth, work, and well-being.
It’s a simple way to stay connected to ideas that matter, without letting reading become another obligation. As Kristina says, “The good old-fashioned reading of books is still good for you no matter what happens in the world.”
Welcome in.
