You can be on Entrepreneur’s cover!

The 5 Books Bill Gates Wants You to Read This Summer The billionaire Microsoft co-founder says these cerebral reads kept him awake at night, but 'in a good way.'

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When it comes to his reading habits, Bill Gates is an open book. As he does every year around this time, the brainy billionaire Microsoft co-founder has once again released his summer reading list. Unsurprisingly, it's comprised of challenging intellectual volumes -- no easy, breezy reads for the beach.

Think nerdcore science and math. Then think harder about mitochondria and the meaning of life. Gates says he did while poring over the books on his list, usually late at night.

"The following five books are simply ones that I loved, made me think in new ways, and kept me up reading long past when I should have gone to sleep," he writes in a new post on his blog, The Gates Notes.

Here are the five books that made the cut for Gates's summer 2016 reading list:

1. Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson

Why he recommends it: "The plot gets going in the first sentence, when the moon blows up. People figure out that in two years a cataclysmic meteor shower will wipe out all life on Earth, so the world unites on a plan to keep humanity going by launching as many spacecraft as possible into orbit … Seveneves inspired me to rekindle my sci-fi habit."

2. How Not to be Wrong, by Jordan Ellenberg

Why he recommends it: "This book has tons of good stuff in it for non-mathematicians. [Ellenberg] updates you about the world of math, what advancements have taken place. His enthusiasm comes across."

3. The Vital Question, by Nick Lane

Why he recommends it: "[Lane] argues that we can only understand how life began, and how living things got so complex, by understanding how energy works. It's not just theoretical; mitochondria (the power plants in our cells) could play a role in fighting cancer and malnutrition."

4. The Power to Compete, by Ryoichi Mikitani and Hiroshi Mikitani

Why he recommends it: "To me, Japan's fascinating. In the 1980s and '90s, the Japanese were just turning out engineering and doing great stuff. How did they lose their way? Why haven't these companies not been more innovative?"

5. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Noah Yuval Harari

Why he recommends it: "There's a lot of things about early human history that a lot of people haven't been exposed to and [Harari] is good and succinct on that. He goes off in many directions, like "Are we happier than we've ever been?' and a lot about robots. It's got the broad framework. It's a great book."

For more book recommendations from Mr. Gates, check out his blog's packed book section, which dates back to 2010.

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Growing a Business

To Achieve Sustainable Success, You Need to Stop Focusing on Disruption. Here's Why — and What You Must Focus on Instead.

Instead of zeroing in solely on disruptive innovation, embrace a pragmatic approach to innovation, recognizing and leveraging the potential within ongoing industry shifts.

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg Says This CEO Is the 'Taylor Swift' of Tech

Meta's CEO posed with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Instagram Wednesday.

Real Estate

3 Emerging Trends Shaping the Future of Real Estate

These three innovations are reshaping the real estate industry — discover tips for effectively covering these trends.

Leadership

What We Have to Gain By Talking About Grief and Loss At Work

I lost my husband to cancer during Covid — here's how it changed how I lead at work.

Side Hustle

This Mom Started a Side Hustle After a 'Shocking' Realization in the Toy Aisle. Her Product Was in Macy's Within the Year — Seeing Nearly $350,000 in Sales.

Elenor Mak, now founder of Jilly Bing, didn't plan to start a business — but the search for a doll that looked like her daughter inspired her to do just that.

Fundraising

Avoid These 9 Pitch Deck Mistakes When Asking Others For Money

Crafting an efficient pitch deck requires serious effort, but at least it's not wandering in the dark since certain rules are shaped by decades of relationships between startups and investors.