Top 3 Books to Read in 2015, According to Bill Gates

20 Dec 2015

In between his many commitments as a philanthropist, author, and overall wealthy man, Bill Gates still finds time to read excellent books AND recommend them to the general public. On his blog, Gates gives a list of the best books he read in 2015. We would like to highlight the best three (in our opinion) from his list here as we balance our own commitments as social media fanatics, literary gurus, and overall not so wealthy people.

Top 3 Books to Read in 2015, According to Bill Gates

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Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words

Randall Munroe

This book is genius (really really smart). Munroe limits his vocabulary (words we speak) to only the thousand most common words in the English language and uses them to describe how things work. He gets as big as the International Space Station (the shared space house) and as small as a dishwasher (food-heating radio boxes). If you want to learn about a lot of random things without having to pull up every third word in the dictionary, this is the book for you. Plus, it has pictures and Munroe is a funny writer.

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The Road to Character

David Brooks

You may have read and enjoyed David Brooks’ columns in the New York Times, but even if you haven’t, his newest book is still worth checking out. He describes what today’s society may be missing in not valuing character as much as accomplishments we can put on a resume. If you are stuck on your resume, give this book a shot. If you are planning way ahead and trying to write your eulogy, give this book a shot. If you are doing neither and just want to think a little more about why you do what you do, give this book a shot.

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Being Nixon: A Man Divided

Evan Thomas

When we hear the name Nixon, our first thought is usually SCANDAL. Evan Thomas takes the Nixon we all remember for his poor decisions and fleshes out his character to show us more of the man behind the legend. He doesn’t excuse Nixon’s decisions, but he does help us understand the person of Nixon with all his complexity. If you like history, biographies, or character portraits, this book will be worth your time.

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