As 2025 nears its end, Bill Gates has shared his annual list of book recommendations. The selections span fiction, science, memoir, psychology, and public policy.
What unites them is Gates’ long-standing preference for books that explain something essential, whether it is aging, climate change, communication, or why progress can feel so difficult to achieve.
Here are the five books Gates recommends, and what he says makes each one worth reading: Remarkably Bright Creatures — Shelby Van Pelt
One of Gates’ rare fiction picks, this novel follows Tova, a 70-year-old widow working nights at an aquarium, and her unlikely bond with Marcellus, an unusually perceptive octopus.
Gates said the story helped him reflect on aging, loneliness, and the search for meaning after full-time work ends, topics that felt especially relevant as he entered his seventies.
The book is a reminder that later life can still be a period of growth and connection.
Clearing the Air — Hannah Ritchie
Ritchie, an Oxford data scientist, organises her book around 50 straightforward questions about climate change, addressing everything from renewable energy costs to whether it is too late to act.
Gates praises the book for being candid about risks while emphasising data that shows real progress, particularly in clean energy and technology.
It cuts through alarmism and denial alike, replacing both with facts.
Who Knew — Barry Diller. (Source: amazon.in)
Barry Diller’s career has shaped television, film, and the internet. Even so, Gates, who has known Diller for years, said the memoir surprised him with its openness.
Beyond recounting major business moves, the book is personal, including reflections on identity and Diller’s decision to come out publicly later in life.
A business memoir that prioritizes honesty over self-congratulation.
The cover of When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows — Steven Pinker. (Source: amazon.in)
Pinker’s book examines “common knowledge” what happens when people know something and know that others know it too.
Gates says the idea reshaped how he thinks about communication, collaboration, and social norms, making everyday interactions feel newly legible.
It reveals the invisible framework behind how people coordinate and cooperate.
Klein and Thompson argue that America has not lost its ability to innovate. (Express Photo)
Klein and Thompson argue that America has not lost its ability to innovate, it has lost its ability to execute. Regulations, bureaucracy, and risk aversion, they say, now slow progress in housing, infrastructure, clean energy, and science.
Gates does not agree with every proposal, but he believes the book asks the right questions, especially given his own experience working with large public systems.
It shifts the focus from ideas to the systems that determine whether ideas succeed.