1. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates – Oprah Winfrey
Genres: Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism.
Published In: 2019
The talk-show host, actress, and author recommends the novel about a young enslaved man who gets involved in the Underground Railroad. The protagonist has photographic memory as well as the power of “conduction” that may let him help people to travel across large water bodies.
2. Zen Mind by Shunryu Suzuki – Steve Jobs
Subject: Zen Buddhism
Published In: 1970
The co-founder of Apple Inc. said that he was fond of the work of Shunryu Suzuki and enjoyed the book during his studies of Buddhism and practice of meditation. It is a classic anthology of discussions and one of the most well-known books on Zen in the west.
3. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson – Larry Page
Genres: Cyberpunk, Comedy, Science Fiction.
Published In: 1992
The co-creator of Google, who himself did something so unorthodox at the time to make history, recommends the novel on American at some point in the future being absolutely bizarre yet completely believable. Some even consider it a parody of cyberpunk because of its humour.
4. The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant – Elon Musk
Subject: History
Published In: 1935-1975
The CEO of Tesla once twitted during the ongoing pandemic to read the set of 11 books on Western History. The volumes consist of around 10,000 pages with 2 more books being in production during the time of the death of the author couple.
5. The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood by James Gleick – Mark Zuckerberg
Subject: Popular Science
Published In: 2011
The CEO of Facebook recommends the book by James Gleick who believes that continuous flow of information doesn’t necessarily have to be overwhelming but an exciting chain of great opportunities. The book tells you about the history and application of knowledge.
6. The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion – Bill Gates
Genres: Fiction, Romance
Published In: 2014
The co-founder of Microsoft Corporation says that the book reminds him of how important it is to nurture relationships by investing time and energy into them. The novel is about a couple getting pregnant for the first time and the father struggling to juggle his work and family responsibilities.
7. The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb – Jeff Bezos
Subjects: Epistemology, Philosophy of Science.
Published In: 2007
The CEO of Amazon likes the book as it proves how easily people tend to turn complicated truths into mere oversimplified stories. It focuses on the impacts of rare and improbable instances and is said to be one of those books that are capable of changing your views of all that is around you.
