As 2025 draws to a close, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has unveiled his highly anticipated annual holiday reading list, offering book lovers a curated selection of five thought-provoking titles perfect for the winter season.
The Perfect Holiday Reading Tradition
In his recent blog post, the billionaire philanthropist emphasized that the quieter days around holidays provide an ideal opportunity to slow down and immerse oneself in good books. "There's something about the quieter days around the holidays that makes it easier to sit down with a good book," Gates wrote, explaining his long-standing tradition of sharing reading recommendations during this period.
This year's selection reflects Gates's enduring fascination with understanding how the world functions and what drives human progress. "Each of these books pulls back the curtain on how something important really works: how people find purpose later in life, how we should think about climate change, how creative industries evolve, how humans communicate," he elaborated in his post.
Bill Gates's Five Book Recommendations for 2025
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
This fictional work tells the touching story of an aging janitor and a remarkably intelligent octopus that forms an unexpected bond with him through empathy and storytelling. Gates found particular resonance with the book's exploration of life after retirement, noting that "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."
Clearing the Air by Hannah Ritchie
Addressing one of the most pressing issues of our time, this non-fiction book structures climate change discussions around 50 significant questions concerning environmental challenges, nuclear power, and renewable energy solutions. Gates, who has followed Ritchie's work at Our World in Data for years, described it as "one of the clearest explanations of the climate challenge I've read." He appreciated her balanced approach, being "realistic about the risks but grounded in data that shows real progress."
Who Knew by Barry Diller
This memoir chronicles Diller's extraordinary career spanning Hollywood, media, and technology industries, blending personal anecdotes with insightful reflections on power dynamics, risk-taking, and the evolution of entertainment and digital sectors. Gates admired Diller's forward-thinking approach, stating "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."
When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows by Steven Pinker
Delving into the complexities of human behavior and communication patterns, Pinker's book offers fresh perspectives on how people interact and understand each other. Despite the complicated subject matter, Gates found the book "readable and practical" and noted that it "made me see everyday social interactions in a new light."
Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
This analytical work examines why America appears to struggle with building essential infrastructure and systems, while proposing solutions to address these challenges. The book presents a compelling argument that progress depends not just on good ideas but on the systems that help ideas spread.
Why Gates's Reading List Matters
Bill Gates's annual reading recommendations have become a much-anticipated tradition for bibliophiles and professionals worldwide. His selections often spark increased interest in the featured books and introduce readers to perspectives they might otherwise overlook. The 2025 list continues his pattern of choosing books that combine intellectual depth with practical insights across diverse fields.
What makes Gates's recommendations particularly valuable is their diversity—spanning fiction and non-fiction, personal memoirs and global challenges, individual purpose and systemic solutions. This carefully curated collection offers something for every type of reader looking to make productive use of their holiday downtime while expanding their understanding of the world.
