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Bill Gates has a holiday confession: He’s become a bit more of a reader of fiction. And he offers up one in his annual list of holiday-reading recommendations.
But even the novel that makes this year’s list of five reading recommendations tilts serious, as you might expect from the Microsoft co-founder. He’s going with “An American Marriage,” a book he picked up at the urging of one of his daughters. Set in the South, it tells the story of a black couple, a case of injustice and their marriage. Author Tayari Jones focuses on how their relationship changes, and Gates says it made him think back to a visit to a state prison in Georgia and the anxiety some inmates felt about rebuilding their lives after prison.
“I wouldn’t say ‘An American Marriage’ is a light, easy read, but it’s so well-written that you’ll find yourself sucked into it despite the heavy subject matter,” he writes in his review of the book. “If you’re looking for something thought-provoking to read this winter, you should add this one to your list.”
Looking for something light? It won’t be “Growth,” another one of his picks. This is by Vaclav Smil, whom he highlighted in his 2017 list. Gates calls Smil’s latest book “a brilliant synthesis of everything we can learn from patterns of growth in the natural and human-made world” — yet parts can read like an engineering textbook.
Still, Gates said, he “marveled over all the miracles that modern civilization is built on, including power grids, water systems, air transportation, and computing. The book gave me new appreciation for how many smart people had to try things out, make mistakes, and eventually succeed.”
As for what comes next, Gates says he takes a more optimistic view than Smil about renewable energy and how much more quickly scientists and engineers will be able design and test their innovations thanks to artificial intelligence. But, he adds, to understand the future, you need to understand the past.
Also: Bill Gates: If you want to understand the tech world, watch ‘Silicon Valley’
Here’s what else he recommends. None are repeats from his summer picks.
• “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker. A younger Gates believed that sleeping a lot was “lazy” and he discounted the need to get seven to eight hours of shut-eye a night. He’s changed his mind about that but isn’t convinced about other connections, such as Walker seeing a strong link between developing Alzheimer’s and not getting enough sleep. But he calls the book fascinating, and he’s now changed his own bedtime habits to get a better night’s sleep.
• “Prepared: What Kids Need for a Fulfilled Life” by Diane Tavenner. The author is the founder of Summit Public Schools, charter schools that are some of the best performers in the country. Gates says he was blown away when he visited a few years ago. His foundation now works with Summit to share its approach with other schools, and he writes that the book explains her approach both to school and to parenting. In both cases, it’s about supporting independent growth and exposing children to as many new ideas, people, places and things as possible so that they can lead a good life.
• “These Truths: A History of the United States” by Jill Lepore. Gates calls it “the most honest account of the American story that I’ve ever read.” No simplistic tales here, but rather a look at the ironies and contradictions in American history (and not just slavery). These truths, he says, are ones we all need to hear, and this 800-page book is good even for those who read a lot about U.S. history.
Take, for example, the GI Bill, which helps service members pay for college, graduate school and training programs: “After acknowledging that the GI Bill was one of the wisest investments our country has ever made, she points out that it actually had a negative impact on African-Americans, women, and gay people who fought for their country in World War II — most of whom were denied GI benefits.”
