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A Full List Of Bill Gates’s Book Recommendations From 2012 To 2020

A full list of almost 100 Bill Gates' book recommendations over the years along with a discussion of their evolution, genre focuses, and overarching trends.

Blaga Atanassova Jul 19, 2020

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Blaga Atanassova

Staff Writer

Blaga is a PhD candidate in Classical Archaeology. A lover of stories and adventures of all kinds from an early age, she divides her time between reading (or listening to) books, visiting ancient sites (and occasionally excavating them), learning about the lives of ancient women, and playing board games. Email: blaga.v.atanassova@gmail.com

View All posts by Blaga Atanassova

Every year, Bill Gates dedicates two posts on his blog (in summer and in winter) to his personal reading recommendations. He has focused on a certain number of books each time, providing a brief overview of why each one has stood out for him. Starting in 2014, he even began recording short videos to go with his seasonal list (check them out, starting with the first one here—they are really fun). So far, between Summer 2012 and Summer 2020, there are over a hundred Bill Gates book recommendations.

What are Bill Gates’s book recommendations?

It is an impressive list, consisting largely of nonfiction. Science and technology, medicine, business, economics, education, international development, sociology, history, biography, memoir—name it, and chances are there is at least one book in the genre. If you like nonfiction (ahem, like me), this list is plain dangerous for your TBR pile.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise—it is Bill Gates’s book recommendations, after all. He is one of the founders of Microsoft (read: a dedicated nerd and a savvy businessman), one of the wealthiest people on the planet, and, together with his wife, a known philanthropist. This reading list perfectly reflects his life’s work and interests. It consists of thought-provoking books, and chances are that at least one title from it will grab your attention.

Of course, it is not perfect. The list is a stark reflection of the lack of diversity in many of the fields showcased here, especially in STEM, but also (although to a lesser degree) in the arts and humanities. Also, if you are not into nonfiction, there are notably fewer choices in this list for you.

Despite the above-mentioned problems, I recommend looking through this list of Bill Gates’s book recommendations. Chances are that there might be at least one read that will grab your attention. And remember: if you do not find a title of interest, or would like even more diverse, custom recommendations, our biblioligists at TBR, a tailored book recommendation service, would love to help you find your next perfect literary match. We may not be Bill Gates, but we send new books and recommendations specifically matched for you! Happy reading!

Book Riot's TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations

Note: On a few occasions, Gates had certain titles repeat from one list into the next. For the sake of avoiding repetition, I have removed any repeating titles and marked the section where I have done so with a (*).

Summer 2020*

The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger
The Great Influenza by John M. Barry
Good Economics For Hard Times by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

Winter 2019

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
These Truths by Jill Lepore
Growth by Vaclav Smil
Prepared by Diane Tavenner
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

Summer 2019

Upheaval by Jared Diamond
Nine Pints by Rose George
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Presidents of War by Michael Beschloss
The Future of Capitalism by Paul Collier

Summer 2017

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
The Heart by Maylis de Kerangal
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari
A Full Life by Jimmy Carter

Winter 2016

String Theory by David Foster Wallace
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Myth of the Strong Leader by Archie Brown
The Grid by Gretchen Bakke

Summer 2016

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
How Not to be Wrong by Jordan Ellenberg.
The Vital Question by Nick Lane
The Power to Compete by Ryoichi Mikitani and Hiroshi Mikitani
Sapiens by Noah Yuval Harari