Bill Gates reads about 50 books every year and shares his favorites through his blog, GatesNotes.
His recommendations span artificial intelligence, human psychology, climate change and personal growth.
These seven books reflect his latest picks from 2024-2025 and offer valuable insights for readers who want to understand the world better.
1. The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman
Who this book is for:
Anyone interested in understanding artificial intelligence and its impact on society will find this book essential.
Tech professionals, policymakers and concerned citizens need to grasp what’s coming next in AI development.
Key takeaways:
- AI and gene editing technologies will transform every aspect of society in unprecedented ways
- The risks we face require preparation now, not reactive responses later
- Scientific advances carry both tremendous benefits and serious dangers
- Suleyman draws from personal experience as co-founder of DeepMind and current CEO of Microsoft AI.
Why it’s recommended:
Gates calls this his “favorite book on AI” and frequently recommends it to people curious about artificial intelligence.
Suleyman offers the best explanation available on how AI will reshape society.
The book provides practical insights from someone deeply embedded in the AI industry.
Source: Bill Gates recommended this book in his December 2024 holiday reading list on GatesNotes, stating it offers the best explanation of how AI is poised to reshape every aspect of society.
2. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
Who this book is for:
Parents, teachers and anyone working with young people today need this book.
Educators struggling to understand why students behave differently than previous generations will gain crucial insights.
Key takeaways:
- The shift from play-based childhoods to phone-based childhoods transforms how kids develop emotionally
- Outdoor play and unsupervised time helped previous generations develop resilience and independence
- Modern smartphone use during critical developmental years creates anxiety and emotional processing issues
- Haidt provides real solutions, not just problem identification
Why it’s recommended:
Gates reflects on how his own childhood—running around outside, sometimes getting into trouble—shaped who he became.
The book made him appreciate the importance of unstructured play in child development.
Haidt doesn’t just diagnose the problem; he offers actionable strategies parents and schools can implement immediately.
Source: Featured in Bill Gates’ December 2024 holiday reading list on GatesNotes, where he called it “a must-read for anyone raising, working with or teaching young people today.”
3. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Who this book is for:
Fiction lovers who enjoy character-driven stories about finding meaning in life will adore this novel.
Readers thinking about aging, purpose and relationships will find profound insights wrapped in an engaging story.
Key takeaways:
- Finding purpose becomes challenging as people age and stop working
- Unexpected friendships can transform lives and provide new direction
- Communities play a vital role in helping older people discover fulfillment
- Even small acts of connection create ripples that change multiple lives
Why it’s recommended:
Gates read this novel right after turning 70 years old and it helped him process aging.
The story made him think deeply about how communities can help older people find purpose after retirement.
Van Pelt creates fascinating characters—including a clever octopus—who help readers see the world differently.
Source: Bill Gates featured this in his November 2025 winter reading list on GatesNotes, calling it “the perfect way to start my next decade of life” and praising how it explores finding meaning in later years.
4. An Unfinished Love Story by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Who this book is for:
History enthusiasts and fans of presidential biographies will treasure this memoir.
Readers interested in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations get an insider’s perspective.
Key takeaways:
- Personal love stories can be just as compelling as major historical events
- Behind-the-scenes policy work during turbulent times reveals how government actually functions
- The Kennedy assassination and Vietnam War shaped American politics for generations
- Great writing can make autobiography as engaging as any thriller
Why it’s recommended:
Gates calls Doris Goodwin a talented writer whose love story chapters engage just as much as her historical analysis.
The book offers intimate details about Presidents Kennedy and Johnson that most histories miss.
Readers get both a romance and a history lesson woven seamlessly together.
Source: Recommended in Bill Gates’ December 2024 holiday reading list on GatesNotes, where he praised Goodwin’s ability to make chapters about her love story “just as engaging and enlightening as the chapters about the Kennedy assassination and the Vietnam War.”
5. Clearing the Air by Hannah Ritchie
Who this book is for:
Anyone wanting fact-based climate information without doom or denial needs this book.
People overwhelmed by conflicting climate messages will appreciate Ritchie’s data-driven approach.
Key takeaways:
- Solar and wind energy are scaling faster than any energy source in history
- Electric vehicles are becoming cheaper and more accessible rapidly
- Every tenth of a degree of warming matters—it’s never too late to act
- Innovation in steel, cement and clean fuels is accelerating across industries
Why it’s recommended:
Gates has followed Ritchie’s work at Our World in Data for years.
She structures the book around 50 big questions and answers each in concise, accessible language.
The book provides a hopeful, fact-driven overview without glossing over real challenges.
Source: Featured in Bill Gates’ November 2025 winter reading list on GatesNotes, where he called it “one of the clearest explanations of the climate challenge I’ve read” and praised Ritchie’s data-driven, accessible approach.
6. When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows by Steven Pinker
Who this book is for:
Psychology enthusiasts and anyone curious about human communication will find this fascinating.
Business leaders and negotiators can apply these insights to improve their professional interactions.
Key takeaways:
- Common knowledge allows people to coordinate actions for mutual benefit
- Indirect communication works because we know what others know
- Social dynamics change dramatically once information becomes publicly known
- Understanding common knowledge explains phenomena from toilet paper panic-buying to philanthropy
Why it’s recommended:
Pinker explains complicated concepts brilliantly through everyday examples.
The book made Gates see social interactions in a completely new light.
Gates provided a blurb for the book cover after reading an early copy.
Source: Recommended in Bill Gates’ November 2025 winter reading list on GatesNotes, where he praised Pinker’s ability to explain “the fascinating science behind common knowledge” and noted it made him understand social behavior differently.
7. Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
Who this book is for:
People frustrated by America’s inability to build infrastructure and complete major projects need this analysis.
Entrepreneurs, policymakers and civic leaders will gain insights into overcoming systemic bottlenecks.
Key takeaways:
- Good ideas fail without systems that help them spread and succeed
- Regulatory complexity and excessive process prevent projects from finishing
- Government once built highways and launched space programs efficiently
- Progress requires not just funding projects but actually finishing them
Why it’s recommended:
Gates recognizes many bottlenecks described from his work in global health and climate.
The book asks the right questions about rebuilding America’s capacity to accomplish big things.
Klein and Thompson challenge both political parties to enable progress rather than obstruct it.
Source: Featured in Bill Gates’ November 2025 winter reading list on GatesNotes, where he noted “I recognized many of the bottlenecks they describe from my own work in global health and climate” and praised the book for asking important questions about American progress.
Conclusion
Bill Gates’ reading recommendations offer more than entertainment—they provide frameworks for understanding our rapidly changing world.
These seven books tackle the biggest challenges we face while offering hope and practical solutions.
Pick one that matches your interests and start reading today.
