Bill Gates shares book, music, and TV show recommendations for summer 2023
Bill Gates expanded his summer recommendations this year to include his own Spotify playlist, TV show, non-fiction book, and fiction book
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Bill Gates loves to recommend a good book to read for summer every year, but has expanded his horizons this year to include a TV series and some of his favorite songs, on his inaugural Spotify playlist (scroll to listen to it).
Books
Bill Gates shared his required reading over summer, including one fiction and one non-fiction book.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin is a novel about friends who grew up playing Super Mario Bros, and eventually start making their own games. “I really related to the story—in fact, it reminded me a lot of my relationship with Paul Allen and our work together at Microsoft,” Gates writes on his blog. “Tomorrow was one of the biggest books of last year, and it’s easy to see why. Zevin is a great writer who makes you care deeply about her characters.”
Gates’ non-fiction pick is Born in Blackness, by Howard French. The author is a journalist of African descent, who “challenges the standard Western accounts of the continent’s history,” Gates writes. “It was far from stateless and primitive when Europeans arrived. In reality, he explains, various African kingdoms had established city-states that rivaled Europe’s in terms of political organization, military power, commerce, art, and exploration. I mean it as a compliment when I say that Born in Blackness left me wanting to know more.”
TV
In true Bill Gates fashion, this TV show is a little off the beaten path – his summer recommendation is Borgen, a Danish political drama following the country’s fictionalized first female prime minister navigating the nation’s political landscape. “I’m fascinated by how political coalitions come together and stay together, and I loved watching the PM, Birgitte Nyborg, figure it all out,” Gates writes, after admitting he binged all four seasons of the show. “She’s a principled and talented leader who’s also fallible and sometimes misguided. Borgen is entertaining above all else, but I’ve learned a ton from watching it too.”
Music
In another first for Bill Gates, he shared his songs for the summer through his first music playlist on Spotify. The tech luminary is a famed lover of music, and “Bill’s Summer Mix” includes hits such as Feeling Good by Nina Simone, This Love by Maroon 5, Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler, and Eraser by Ed Sheeran.
In a series of Instagram stories announcing the playlist, Gates wrote: “I can’t imagine my life without music. Some of my favorite childhood memories took place in Paul Allen’s basement listening to artists like Jimi Hendrix and albums like Are You Experienced?”
He added that today he enjoys learning about new songs and artists from his kids, who he says “have great ears”, and his friends – which include U2 frontman Bono. “This Spotify playlist includes some favorite songs that have stuck with me over the years. Feel free to make it part of the soundtrack to your summer.”
