Founder
Microsoft co-founder who publishes annual book lists on Gates Notes
Bill Gates publishes book lists on Gates Notes; his Summer 2026 list includes 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin, Gray Matters by Theodore H. Schwartz and Culpability by Bruce Holsinger. Earlier lists featured Abundance, The Anxious Generation, The Coming Wave and memoirs such as Educated and Born a Crime. He reads for about an hour before bed almost every night, does the dishes nightly and has played pickleball for more than 50 years.
20 sourced items, last checked 9 Nov 2026. Each one links to where Bill Gates said it.
Books they've recommended, re-read or credited with changing their thinking.
Summer 2026 list
Included in Gates's 2026 summer picks; he compared its depth of research to Sorkin's previous book.
“Sorkin's newest book is just as thoroughly researched as his last one.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (My summer best list for 2026) (article, 17 July 2026)
Holiday 2025 list
Gates recommended this book about why the US struggles to build things and how to fix it.
“This book is a sharp look at why America seems to struggle to build things.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (5 book recommendations for the holidays) (article, 25 Nov 2025)
Holiday 2024 list
Goodwin's personal history of the 1960s, which Gates recommended for the 2024 holidays.
“I didn't know a lot about her personal life until I read her new autobiography.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (Books to keep you warm this holiday season) (article, 3 Dec 2024)
Summer 2025 list: memoirs that shaped Source Code
Trevor Noah's memoir, recommended by Gates for how Noah turns an outsider's perspective into an advantage.
“In this book, and in his comedy, Trevor uses his outside perspective to his advantage.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (5 memoirs that helped shape my own) (article, 22 May 2025)
Holiday 2025 list
A climate Q&A book Gates recommended for the 2025 holidays as an unusually clear treatment of the topic.
“her new book is one of the clearest explanations of the climate challenge I've read.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (5 book recommendations for the holidays) (article, 25 Nov 2025)
Summer 2026 list
Gates picked this novel for his 2026 summer reading list and praised how quickly its plot moves.
“Holsinger keeps the action moving.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (My summer best list for 2026) (article, 17 July 2026)
Summer 2025 list: memoirs that shaped Source Code
Gates listed Westover's memoir among the five that shaped his own, praising how it captures self-discovery.
“Tara beautifully captures that process of self-discovery in this unforgettable memoir.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (5 memoirs that helped shape my own) (article, 22 May 2025)
Holiday 2024 list
An illustrated guide to everyday infrastructure that Gates recommended to curious readers.
“It's the kind of read that will reward your curiosity and answer questions you didn't even know you had.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (Books to keep you warm this holiday season) (article, 3 Dec 2024)
Holiday 2024 list (bonus pick)
A retrospective on Roger Federer's career, added as a bonus pick by Gates, who is a keen tennis player.
“Federer is a wonderful retrospective of his life and career.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (Books to keep you warm this holiday season) (article, 3 Dec 2024)
Summer 2026 list
A neurosurgeon's book on the brain that Gates recommended for summer 2026, crediting its explanations of brain disorders.
“Schwartz does a fantastic job of explaining the maladies of the brain.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (My summer best list for 2026) (article, 17 July 2026)
Summer 2025 list: memoirs that shaped his own memoir Source Code
One of five memoirs Gates said influenced his own memoir; he framed it as a lesson about leaders emerging from unexpected places.
“This thoughtful memoir is a good reminder that great leaders can come from unexpected places.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (5 memoirs that helped shape my own) (article, 22 May 2025)
Holiday 2025 list
Gates's fiction pick for the 2025 holidays, a novel about an older woman working night shifts at an aquarium; he said it made him think about life after retirement.
“I loved this terrific novel about Tova, a 70-year-old woman who works night shifts cleaning an aquarium”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (5 book recommendations for the holidays) (article, 25 Nov 2025)
Recommended in 2022 holiday list and again in 2025 memoir list
Gates has recommended Bono's memoir twice, most recently among memoirs that shaped his own, noting its openness.
“Bono shows a lot of vulnerability in this surprisingly open memoir”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (5 memoirs that helped shape my own) (article, 22 May 2025)
Holiday 2024 list
Gates called Haidt's book on smartphones and childhood essential for anyone who works with young people.
“This book is a must-read for anyone raising, working with, or teaching young people today.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (Books to keep you warm this holiday season) (article, 3 Dec 2024)
Holiday 2024 list
Gates named this the book to read for understanding the rise of AI.
“If you want to understand the rise of AI, this is the best book to read.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (Books to keep you warm this holiday season) (article, 3 Dec 2024)
Holiday 2025 list
Pinker's book on common knowledge and human behavior, part of Gates's 2025 holiday list.
“Few people explain the mysteries of human behavior better than Steven Pinker”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (5 book recommendations for the holidays) (article, 25 Nov 2025)
Holiday 2025 list
Media executive Barry Diller's memoir, which Gates recommended despite knowing Diller for decades.
“his memoir still surprised and taught me a lot.”Bill Gates
Source: Gates Notes reading lists (5 book recommendations for the holidays) (article, 25 Nov 2025)
Training plans and routines they've described publicly: the weekly split, the exercises, the sets and reps.
Has played for more than 50 years; also a longtime tennis player; studies tactics via YouTube videos
In a Gates Notes post covered by GeekWire, Gates described playing pickleball for decades and learning strategy from top players' videos.
“Despite its silly terms and funny name, pickleball is actually quite a sophisticated game”Bill Gates
Source: He's kind of a big dill: Bill Gates on his pickleball past (article, 26 July 2022)
Morning, evening and recovery habits they've shared.
Nightly
In a 2014 Reddit AMA, Gates said washing the dishes each night is something he enjoys and prefers to do himself.
“I do the dishes every night — other people volunteer, but I like the way I do it.”Bill Gates
Source: Why Bill Gates loves doing the dishes every night (article, 30 Sept 2016)
About an hour, almost every night
Gates told The Seattle Times that he reads for roughly an hour most nights as part of how he falls asleep.
“I read an hour almost every night. It's part of falling asleep.”Bill Gates
Source: Why Bill Gates Washes the Dishes and Reads for an Hour to Get a Good Night's Sleep (article)
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