Bill Gates reveals his 2025 top book recommendations
Bill Gates released his annual reading list of his top books in 2025 — and it includes a very popular BookTok favorite.
“I always love taking advantage of this time of year to catch up on reading, and I know a lot of people feel the same way,” the Microsoft co-founder wrote on on his Gates Notes website Tuesday.
He added, “There’s something about the quieter days around the holidays that makes it easier to sit down with a good book.”
Gates — who released his own book, “Source Code,” earlier this year — wrote that each of his five book recommendations “pulls back the curtain on how something important really works.”
“I hope you find something here that sparks your curiosity. And I hope your holiday season is filled with happy loved ones, good food, and great conversation.”
See below for the philanthropist’s top reads of 2025.
“I don’t read fiction often, but when I do, I want to read about interesting characters who help me see the world in a new way,” Gates wrote on his blog of “Remarkably Bright Creatures.”
“I loved this terrific novel about Tovah, a 70-year-old woman who works night shifts cleaning an aquarium and finds fulfillment caring for a clever octopus. Tovah struggles to find meaning in her life, which is something a lot of people deal with as they get older. Van Pelt’s story made me think about the challenge of filling the days after you stop working—and what communities can do to help older people find purpose.”
“I’ve followed Hannah’s work at Our World in Data for years, and her new book is one of the clearest explanations of the climate challenge I’ve read,” Gates said on his website.
“She structures it around 50 big questions — like whether it’s too late to act, whether nuclear power is dangerous, and whether renewables really are affordable — and answers each one in concise, accessible language. She’s realistic about the risks but grounded in data that shows real progress: Solar and wind are growing at record speed, electric cars are getting cheaper, and innovation is accelerating across areas like steel, cement, and clean fuels. If you want a hopeful, fact-driven overview of where climate solutions stand, this is a great pick.”
“I’ve known Barry for decades, but his memoir still surprised and taught me a lot,” Gates wrote of Diller’s memoir.
“He’s one of the most influential figures in modern media. He invented the made-for-TV movie, helped create the TV miniseries, built Paramount into the #1 film studio, launched the Fox broadcast network, and later assembled an internet empire. He’s spent his life betting on ideas before they were obvious, and the industries he’s transformed show how much those bets can pay off.”
“Few people explain the mysteries of human behavior better than Steven Pinker, and his latest book is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about how people communicate,” Gates wrote.
“‘When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows’ shows how ‘common knowledge’ lets people coordinate: When we know what others know, indirect signals become clear. Although the topic itself is pretty complicated, the book is readable and practical, and it made me see everyday social interactions in a new light.”
“This book is a sharp look at why America seems to struggle to build things and what it will take to fix that. Klein and Thompson argue that progress depends not just on good ideas but on the systems that help ideas spread,” Gates said about “Abundance.”
“Today, these systems often slow things down instead—from housing and infrastructure to clean energy and scientific breakthroughs. I recognized many of the bottlenecks they describe from my own work in global health and climate. Abundance doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but it asks the right questions about how the U.S. can rebuild our capacity to get big things done.”
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