What To Read Next: Following Up How Minds Change 

Blog written by: Jewell Petrowitz, Go Big Read Student Assistant

So, you’ve finished the 2023-2024 Go Big Read How Minds Change by David McRaney. We hope you loved it as much as we did! Our keynote event with the author was last November, which you can read more about here. If you’re craving more content surrounding How Minds Change, check out our article about our favorite quotes from the book. However, the next Go Big Read won’t be announced for months…what should you read until then? Don’t worry, Go Big Read is here to help. These are our five recommendations to supplement your reading list until the next Go Big Read is released. 

These titles are similar to How Minds Change by David McRaney because they don’t shy away from our differences that make us human. These books encourage civil discourse in response to conflict, in order to recognize and understand our differences.

Bestselling book from 2021, Think Again by Adam Grant, emphasizes the importance of the abilities to rethink and unlearn what we think we know about today’s world. These concepts overlap with themes in How Minds Change, and Grant, an organizational psychologist himself, encourages readers to rethink their existing beliefs (especially ones that are outdated or no longer serve you).  Fans of How Minds Change will appreciate Grant’s commitment to investigating the topics and citing proper evidence. Think Again encourages readers to expand their cognitive skills to keep up with the rapidly changing world.  

Journalist Mónica Guzmán writes about techniques for navigating an increasingly polarized country in I Never Though of It That Way. Guzmán draws attention to the broken state of conversation among Americans. Improving communication and working to understand others’ perspectives are just two of the topics recommended for fixing the state of conversation today. By the end of this book, readers are meant to know how to find common ground with anyone, grow from tense confrontation, and how to ask what you really mean to.  

Author Merlin Sheldrake uses key insights revealed by studying fungi to enhance readers’ understanding of our planet and our relationships to it and each other in Entangled Life. Sheldrake utilizes his background in biology and writing to point out the power that fungi possess to potentially change human minds. This book is metaphorical and moving, all while remaining informative and sticking to science. Relevant topics like climatology and ecology are also covered. This is a poetic and mind-bending read. 

Journalist Amanda Ripley writes about mending our relationships with those we disagree with in High Conflict. Extreme cases of societal friction, like staunch political divides, widen the rifts between groups. People become increasingly confused by those they disagree with because they aren’t making the effort to understand one another. Ripley differentiates high, negative conflict and healthy, normal conflict for society. This book is an eye-opening read. 

Despite being written in 1987, Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner has remained relevant and applicable to the current day. At its core, this is a story of friendship over the course of several decades. Though formatted completely different from How Minds Change, the message of the importance of relationships carries through both books. Everyone is different from the other, so it is vital that we can shift and adapt to changes in our environment and each other. This meaningful classic is mind-changing through its emotional impact on readers. 

Any of these books would interest you if you enjoyed How Minds Change. I recommend shopping locally for your books. My favorite independent bookstore, Books & Company, is about an hour outside of Madison!  

In the meantime, stay tuned for the announcement of the 2024-2025 Go Big Read coming later this month!