Bill Gates' winter reading list revealed: from octopus novels to climate solutions, five must-read works!

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (Bill Gates) has long expanded his horizons through reading and began regularly sharing his annual recommended books on the Gates Notes blog in 2012. His selections often combine knowledge, inspiration, and interdisciplinary thinking, covering topics such as technology, psychology, history, literature, and social issues.

Remarkably Bright Creatures

This 2022 novel is partially narrated from the perspective of an octopus, meeting Gate's highest standards for any fictional work.

It tells the story of a 70-year-old woman named Tova. Tova works as a night janitor at an aquarium and finds fulfillment while caring for a smart octopus. Gate has written extensively about this book, as with the increase in life expectancy, many people can live for several years or even decades after they stop working. This sounds like a luxury, but it also means there is a need to fill a large amount of free time.

“People need a reason to get up in the morning. For many, transitioning from a lifetime of work to retirement is not easy. So, how can we help the elderly find meaning in life? And how should we prepare for the future, when technological advancements may reduce the workload for all of us, thereby impacting our daily lives?”

He highly praised this novel as the perfect way to open the next decade of his life.

This book has a Chinese translation titled “The Bright and Brilliant You.”

Clearing the Air

Gates believes this book is one of the clearest and most thorough explanations he has read about the climate challenge. The author, Hannah Ritchie, discusses 50 core questions, such as whether it’s too late to take action now, whether nuclear energy is dangerous, and whether renewable energy is truly affordable, and answers them one by one in clear and accessible language. She maintains a clear awareness of the risks, but also, based on data, demonstrates tangible progress: solar and wind energy are growing at record speeds, the price of electric vehicles is decreasing, and innovations in sectors like steel, cement, and clean fuels are accelerating.

“If you want a hopeful, fact-based overview of the current state of climate solutions, then this book is a good choice!”

Who Knew

Billionaire, IAC and Expedia chairman and co-founder of Fox Broadcasting Company Barry Diller published his memoir in May 2025. Gates stated that although Diller is an old friend of his, the media mogul's work still surprised him.

Diller is one of the most influential figures in modern media. He pioneered television films, helped create television miniseries, transformed Paramount into the number one film studio, founded the Fox Broadcasting Company, and later built an internet empire. Throughout his life, he bet on ideas that were not yet known to the world, and the industries he changed proved how richly those bets ultimately paid off.

When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows

Gate believes that few people can explain the mysteries of human behavior as profoundly as Steven Pinker, and his new work is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the ways of interpersonal communication. This book reveals how “shared knowledge” facilitates people's coordination: when we know what others know, those indirect signals become clear. Although the subject itself is quite complex, this book is accessible and practical, giving me a new understanding of everyday social interactions.

This book will be published at the end of the year by Business Weekly in a Chinese translation titled “Common Knowledge: Unraveling the Logic of Human Collective Cooperation and Analyzing the Hidden Rules of Economic, Political, and Everyday Life Phenomena.”

Abundance

“Abundance,” co-written by Derek Thompson, a contributor for The Atlantic, and Ezra Klein, a columnist for The New York Times and co-founder of Vox, sharply examines why America seems to struggle with building a home and what efforts are required to address this issue.

The author believes that progress depends not only on good ideas but also on the systems that promote the dissemination of those ideas. However, today these systems often have the opposite effect, slowing down the process—in areas ranging from housing and infrastructure to clean energy and scientific breakthroughs. In my experience working in global health and climate, I have also seen many of the bottlenecks they describe. This book does not claim to have all the answers, but it raises key questions about how America can rebuild its capacity for achieving great things.

This article reveals Bill Gates' winter reading list: five must-read works from octopus novels to climate solutions! First appeared on Chain News ABMedia.