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One of the upsides of having hundreds of books sent to you for an awards program is that you have a chance to look at everything that was published over the past year in an aggregate form.
As we considered titles for the Inc. Non-Obvious Book Awards this year, there were some macro themes that stood out across multiple books that offer a window into the collective zeitgeist of the past year.
For the last several years, spotlighting these trends has been a part of our annual recap of books. Last year, some of our themes from the year included #emergefromcovid, #talktoanimals, and #underappreciatedwomen. In previous years, themes included #kindness, #overload, #endbias, and #corruptwinners. Each one encompassed multiple books from multiple publishers.
This year, we spotlighted six themes and included an overview of each one -- and the books included in them -- as part of our shortlist announcement show. Here they are, in no particular order:
In a year when Chat GPT exploded into public consciousness, there has been a lot of angst about the impact of generative A.I. on work, class, and life. Many of the books published this year explored two specific ideas: how we might build A.I. with a human-centric focus, and how its rise might challenge some fundamental elements of our shared humanity. This is a future that is very much still being written, however.
2022 was a year largely defined by an upheaval in where work was being done. Should we go back to in-person workplaces or stay remote? This year, books seemed to focus on a different question: Is the work we're doing fulfilling in the first place? Rather than fighting over whether to do a job you hate from home or from the office, many of these books suggest reevaluating your relationship to work itself. Good work, which offers intrinsic motivation to do it, is the ideal. We need more good jobs. Maybe the solution, for some, is to quit. Or automate your busywork. Whatever the answer may be, this range of books seems to suggest that good work will be a key issue moving forward.
For years, the ideal condition that we were all meant to maximize was happiness. This year, many books tried to take the next step to go beyond this one elusive state. Wonder, awe, naivete, awkwardness, and conscious connection were all featured as possible secrets to finding more joy at work and in life. Happiness, it turns out, may not be the ultimate goal worth chasing ... or perhaps there are other paths to find it.
While this might seem like a universal theme across a range of nonfiction books every year, this year seemed to invite more criticism than usual of the health care industry and the players within it. From books revealing the financial underbelly of the medical industry to insider looks at all the ways the system prevents true connections between doctors and patients, this was once again a hot topic -- and one that certainly does affect us all.
One of the beautiful things about books is how they can bring forgotten details to light, and this year there were plenty of books that did just that. Several focused on infrastructure, cars, roads, and even the role of parking in our lives. Others explored the language and science of trees, or the mysteries and secrets of ocean exploration. All of these are elements of the world that are easy to overlook.
This theme was perhaps the most personal of the year, given that I co-authored a book back in March called The Future Normal that would fit this theme. Our book, like many others included in this theme, offers an optimistic look at how we might shape a more positive future. This thread of optimism was a key element in all the books we included in this trend, and it's important. As I often share in my stage talks, the only future we can build is the one we can imagine.
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6 Non-Obvious Book Publishing Trends From 2023
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08.12.2023
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Harry's Handsome Contribution to Men's Mental Health
How This Startup Went Viral on TikTok After Accepting Only Beans as Currency
How to Train Your Brain to Better Accomplish Your 2024 New Year's Resolutions
What to Do When Low Turnover Becomes a Problem
How Jennifer Garner Teamed Up With an Organics Star to Tackle the 'Every Mom' Problem of Easy, Fresh Kids' Foods
One of the upsides of having hundreds of books sent to you for an awards program is that you have a chance to look at everything that was published over the past year in an aggregate form.
As we considered titles for the Inc. Non-Obvious Book Awards this year, there were some macro themes that stood out across multiple books that offer a window into the collective zeitgeist of the past year.
For the last several years, spotlighting these trends has been a part of our annual recap of books. Last year, some of our themes from........
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