from Obama’s memoirs to the tree connection

How much books do you read per year? Bill gates lee 50. It is a tradition that has been maintained for a long time. And, each year, he recommends 5 per season: now they play “summer” (from the northern hemisphere).

This week he posted a new selection on his blog. The Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist did not address the personal controversies surrounding his separation from Melinda, but made a few allusions: to his chosen theme: “What Happens When People Are In Conflict With the World?” who surrounds them?

The list is a bit rambling, however: what is a presidential memory with a novel that explores nine person relationships with trees? Nothing, surely. But Gates wrote that this year he found himself reading more about the conflicts between mankind and nature.

“Maybe it’s because everyone’s life has been turned upside down by a virus“Gates wrote in the message.” Or maybe it’s because I’ve spent a lot of time this year talking about what we need to do to prevent a climate catastrophe. “

Gates himself published a book this year, “How to avoid a climate catastrophe”, which explores solutions to climate-related risks around the world. This is obviously a problem that worries him, in addition to having established himself as a leading voice in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gates has been in the news lately after he and Melinda French Gates announced on May 2 that they were ending their marriage, including reports of his behavior towards female employees and an investigation into their previous romantic relationship. “Inappropriate” with a Microsoft employee.

Controversial outside, here are Gates’ summer book recommendations for this year:

Curfew, by Thomas Gryta and Ted Mann

Gates said he often wondered how a business like GE, and this book describes the problems.

“The authors take a steadfast look at the mistakes and missteps of GE management,” said Gates. “If you have a leadership role, whether it’s in a business, a non-profit organization or elsewhere, there is a lot you can learn here“.

Under a white sky: the nature of the future by Elizabeth Colbert

Under a white sky This is the book on the list that most clearly addresses the topic that Gates’ reading list follows. Colbert writes on the people who work with nature in the genetic drive and geoengineering.

A promised land by Barack Obama

Memories of The 44th President recounts the first days of his presidency through the mission in 2011 that killed Osama bin Laden. It also discusses the Deep Water Horizon spill in 2010 and the challenges Obama faced.

“President Obama is exceptionally honest about his White House experience, including how isolating it is to be the person who ultimately makes the decisions,” Gates wrote. “It’s a fascinating look what it’s like to lead a country through tough times. “

The story by Richard Pouvoirs

The novel follows the lives of nine people, each of whom examines its link with trees. Some characters are connected but others remain alone.

Gates called it “one of the most unusual novels I’ve read in years.”

An elegant defense by Matt Richtel

The book was written before COVID-19, but it examines the human immune system and can serve as an interesting lens for considering the pandemic. The book follows four patients forced to control their immune system.

50 Books a Year: How Do You Read So Much and How Do You Remember What You Read?

Many of the most successful entrepreneurs are known to be voracious readers. Bill Gates is a “killing” machine the book: read about 50 books a year and it has its own methodology for remembering what is written on these pages.

Then,how do you remember the billionaire loving books what he reads?

The trick, he says, is the context.

“If you read enough, there is a similarity between the things that make it easy, why it’s like the other. If you have a wide frame then you have a place to put it allGates says in a Quartz video titled “How Bill Gates Remembers What He Read. “

When you approach a topic with a basic level of understanding, include new information makes them easier to remember.

“Then, incremental knowledge it’s so much easier to maintain in a rich way, ”explains Gates. “At first it’s very intimidating, but then as you get the type of staff all of those pieces fit together.”

If you want to know more about science, for example, Gates says that reading the history of scientists and reading the progress they have made can give you some context or the frame to help you remember the details.

“So you have the timeline, or you have the map, or you have the branches of science. and what is known and what is not known“Gates said in the Quartz interview.

Reading is more than a hobby for Gates. In 2017, Gates told Time that reading is “absolutelyIndispensable for success.

“You don’t really start to age until you stop learning,” Gates told Time. “Each book teaches me something new or helps me see things differently. I was fortunate to have parents who encouraged me to read. Reading fuels a sense of curiosity about the world, which I think has helped me advance my career and in the work I do now with my foundation ”.

Gates is quite demanding in his reading habits: he always finishes a book whether he starts, whether he agrees or not.

“I refuse to stop reading a book in the middleeven though I don’t like it, ”Gates told Time. “And the more I don’t like a book, the more time I spend writing notes in the margin. This means that sometimes I spend more time reading a book than I can’t stand a book that I love», He counted.

And if the material you are reading does not make sense in your current understanding of a topic, you will actively seek an explanation.

“So it’s fun to say, okay, this is where it belongs and what?”this contradicts something i knew before? And you better find it, you better find out, ”Gates told Quartz.

SL