Emily Falk’s What We Value: The Neuroscience of Choice and Change examines the neuroscience behind decision-making. She explores how our brains calculate choices, what drives motivation, and how we can use insights from neuroscience to make more meaningful, intentional decisions in both personal and professional life. (W. W. Norton & Company, Apr 8, 2025)
David Litt shares a laugh-out-loud journey in It’s Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Search for Common Ground, where the former Obama speechwriter learns to surf with his daring brother-in-law, Matt. This memoir explores an unlikely friendship across cultural divides, offering a blueprint for bravery and connection amidst America’s crises. (Gallery Books, Jun 24, 2025)
The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains by Pria Anand is a moving collection of neurological case studies and reflections on how stories shape—and are shaped by—our extraordinary brains. (Washington Square Press, Jun 10, 2025)
In Runs in the Family: An Incredible True Story of Football, Fatherhood, and Belonging, Sarah Spain and Deland McCullough share the powerful story of adoption, fatherhood, and finding one’s place through the lens of sport. (S&S/Simon Element, Jun 3, 2025)
Deborah N. Archer warns in Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality, before we can think about rebuilding and repairing, we must consider the role race has played in transportation infrastructure, from the early twentieth century and into the present day. (W. W. Norton & Company, Apr 15, 2025)
The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne by Chris Sweeney chronicles the world’s first forensic ornithologist. Roxie Laybourne’s pioneering work with feathers solved crimes and bird-proofed airplanes, breaking barriers for women in science with persistence and ingenuity at the Smithsonian. (Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster, Jul 22, 2025)
Annie B. Jones challenges the idea that loud lives matter most in Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put, offering a bookseller’s tender insights on community, routine, and finding meaning in the everyday. (HarperOne, Apr 22, 2025)
The Way Around: A Field Guide to Going Nowhere by Nicholas Triolo explores circumambulation through sacred walks around Tibet’s Mount Kailash and California’s Mount Tamalpais. Blending personal narrative and cultural insight, Triolo models a revolution of heart and home, offering a transcendent counter to Western goal-oriented culture. (Milkweed Editions, Jul 8, 2025)
