Most of the books in the list “touch on what happens when people come into conflict with the world,” Bill Gates said.
Every year, Bill Gates shares his top book recommendations. Most of his lists, which he posts on his official blog, Gates Notes, house five books.
On Monday, CNBC covered the Microsoft founder’s most recent title recommendations for this year’s summer season. Gates even wrote that most of the books in his list tackle the “complicated relationship between human and nature.”
He noted, though, that he does not usually always pick a book out of rhyme or reason. But, he seemingly appears to have found himself reading similar materials lately, likely because of the pandemic crisis.
The philanthropist continued that it is a possibility that the book choices he has had are due to a virus upending the lives of everyone these past few months. It is also likely because he has spent most of his time in 2021 discussing what the public needs to do “to avoid a climate disaster.”
Bill Gates recommends these five books for this summer
Among the five books, it is Elizabeth Kolbert’s Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future that falls in line with Bill Gates’ summer reading theme. He said that the title is the “most straightforward examination of ‘humanity versus nature.’”
In exploring humanity’s links with the surrounding further, he includes Richard Powers’ The Overstory. The Microsoft founder emphasized that it is one of the “most unusual novels” he has read in years.
Lights Out: Pride, Delusion, and the Fall of General Electric by Thomas Gryta and Ted Mann is also on the business magnate’s summer reading list. He said that he has been thinking about GE’s downfall for several years. But, after reading the book, it finally gave him the answers.
The two other books are former U.S. President Barack Obama’s A Promised Land and Matt Richtel’s An Elegant Defense. Bill Gates explained that he always finds books about American Presidents “interesting.”
As for the latter, he emphasized that it is about the exploration of the human immune system. While the author penned the book before the COVID-19 pandemic, Gates asserted that it is a “valuable read” that will help the public understand “what it takes to stop COVID-19.”
“Key to my learning”
Earlier in March, the Microsoft founder revealed that he reads books three hours a day, especially during vacations. His response came after a Redditor asked him during a Reddit “AskMeAnything” segment.
When asked about how he is able to absorb all the information he reads, Bill Gates shared that he writes notes. As explained, it is one way to “synthesize” all the things he read. This is “key to my learning,” he stated.
Images courtesy of Bill Gates/YouTube