"Seveneves" by Neal Stephenson
After a science-fiction dry spell of more than a decade, Gates picked up "Seveneves" on a friend's recommendation, and he says he's grateful for it. "The plot gets going in the first sentence, when the moon blows up," he writes.
But that's only the beginning. The world soon learns the entire species is doomed: In two years' time, a cataclysmic meteor shower will destroy all life on the pale blue dot. It's up to humanity to send as many spacecraft into orbit as possible with the hope of escaping the apocalypse.
"You might lose patience with all the information you'll get about space flight," Gates writes, "but I loved the technical details."
"The Vital Question" by Nick Lane
Nick Lane might not be a household name, but Gates want to change that.
"Nick is one of those original thinkers who makes you say: More people should know about this guy's work," he says. "He is trying to right a scientific wrong by getting people to fully appreciate the role that energy plays in all living things."
The book seeks to resolve unanswered questions about how life formed on earth, and raises thoughtful questions about where solutions for disease may come from.
"Even if the details of Nick's work turn out to be wrong," Gates says, "I suspect his focus on energy will be seen as an important contribution to our understanding of where we come from."
"How Not to Be Wrong" by Jordan Ellenberg
What "Freakonomics" has done for economics, Ellenberg's book does for math: It applies it to our daily lives in counterintuitive ways.
The author starts with a straightforward concept such as the electoral college or state lottery, "and then uses it as a jumping-off point to talk about the math involved."
Readers learn how early they really need to get to the airport, what their chances of getting cancer could be, and why tall parents may yield short children. Ellenberg ends up finding the mathematical thread through dozens of topics, including the Italian Renaissance art scene and Facebook.
According to Gates, "The book's larger point is that, as Ellenberg writes, 'to do mathematics is to be, at once, touched by fire and bound by reason' — and that there are ways in which we’re all doing math, all the time."
"The Power to Compete" by Hiroshi Mikitani and Ryoichi Mikitani
Japan used to be an economic juggernaut, but today its output tends to live in the shadows of South Korea and China. "The Power to Compete" explores the country's fall from technological grace, which Gates says touches a soft spot for him.
Hiroshi Mikitani is the founder and CEO of Rakuten, one of the largest internet companies in the world. Together with his father, who died in 2013, the pair envision a future in which Japan is once again a thriving economic hub.
"Although I don't agree with everything in Hiroshi's program," Gates says, "I think he has a number of good ideas. 'The Power to Compete' is a smart look at the future of a fascinating country."
"Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
We weren't always the only species of human being on Earth. Roughly 100,000 years ago, there were actually six varieties of people, but homo sapiens were the only ones who made it to the future. How come?
"Both Melinda and I read this one," Gates says, "and it has sparked lots of great conversations at our dinner table. Harari takes on a daunting challenge: to tell the entire history of the human race in just 400 pages."
But Harari doesn't dwell on the past. He looks toward a future in which genetic engineering and artificial intelligence make our definition of "human" even more fluid.
From Gates: "I would recommend Sapiens to anyone who's interested in the history and future of our species."
