{"id":24036,"date":"2025-04-16T06:21:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T06:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/24036\/"},"modified":"2025-04-16T06:21:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T06:21:15","slug":"melinda-french-gatess-2025-book-recommendations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/24036\/","title":{"rendered":"Melinda French Gates\u2019s 2025 Book Recommendations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Shelf Life, ELLE.com\u2019s books column<\/a>, in which authors share their most memorable reads. Whether you\u2019re on the hunt for a book to console you, move you profoundly, or make you laugh, consider a recommendation from the writers in our series, who, like you (since you\u2019re here), love books. Perhaps one of their favorite titles will become one of yours, too.
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Melinda French Gates\u2019s 2019 debut book, The Moment of Lift<\/a>, shared lessons she\u2019d learned from empowered women around the globe. In her latest, The Next Day<\/a>, the philanthropist, businesswoman, and advocate flips the lens, sharing the takeaways she\u2019s accumulated from navigating major transitions in her own life\u2014including becoming a parent; losing a friend to cancer; and leaving the Gates Foundation (formerly the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which she co-founded in 2000) in 2024 to start a new chapter in her philanthropy. In 2015, she founded Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation firm focused on advancing social progress and women\u2019s influence, and in 2021, she launched Moment of Lift Books<\/a>, a Flatiron Books-affiliated imprint that, as ELLE first reported<\/a>, is \u201cdedicated exclusively to nonfiction about social issues faced by women and girls.\u201d <\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n

The Dallas-born and -raised, Seattle-based self-described \u201crecovering perfectionist\u201d was valedictorian<\/a> of her all-girls Catholic high school; received her first computer (an Apple II) from her NASA engineer dad<\/a>; got her computer science and economics degree and MBA from Duke University; started at Microsoft in 1987 as the only woman in her new employee class; has, through Pivotal, committed<\/a> more than $2 billion<\/a> to advance women\u2019s power and influence globally; gave<\/a> a dozen leaders she admires\u2014including former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern<\/a>, filmmaker Ava DuVernay<\/a>, and Olympic sprinter Allyson Felix<\/a>\u2014their own $20 million charitable funds to distribute as they saw fit; went to Malawi in 2023 with Amal Clooney and Michelle Obama<\/a> to advocate for an end to child marriage; is collaborating with MacKenzie Scott to revitalize Seattle waterfront parks<\/a>; and has three kids and two grandchildren.
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The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward by Melinda French Gates<\/p>\n

\"<i>The<\/a><\/p>\n

Now 30% Off<\/p>\n

Credit: Flatiron Books<\/p>\n

Likes:<\/strong> data; reading novels and poems; skiing; K.Jacques wedges<\/a>; Mexican Coke; long walks with friends; The Tortured Poets Department<\/a>; meditating<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Will always:<\/strong> Uplift women.<\/p>\n

Would never:<\/strong> Run for office<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The books below get her vote. <\/p>\n

The book that\u2026\u2026kept me up way too late: <\/p>\n

A Woman Is No Man <\/a>by Etaf Rum. I love books in which women find ways to claim their power. This was an infuriating read at times\u2014but also an inspirational one.<\/p>\n

\u2026I recommend over and over again: <\/p>\n

Awakening Joy: 10 Steps to Happiness<\/a> by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander. This book has taught me so much about finding joy and showing up for others even\u2014and especially\u2014when I am at my lowest.<\/p>\n

…I consider literary comfort food: <\/p>\n

Lessons in Chemistry<\/a> by Bonnie Garmus. It\u2019s a blast to watch Elizabeth Zott triumph by being unapologetically herself.<\/p>\n

…shaped my worldview: <\/p>\n

Factfulness<\/a> by Hans Rosling. The late Hans Rosling is a hero of mine for showing all the ways the state of the world is better than we think.<\/p>\n

\u2026I\u2019d like turned into a TV show: <\/p>\n

The Frozen River<\/a> by Ariel Lawhon. A courageous 18th century midwife, a snowy landscape, a mysterious death…I would absolutely binge this!<\/p>\n

…I read in one sitting; it was that good: <\/p>\n

When Breath Becomes Air<\/a> by Paul Kalanithi. What a gift Kalanithi gave us by sharing\u2014beautifully and bravely\u2014his perspectives on mortality.<\/p>\n

\u2026I\u2019d pass on to my kid: <\/p>\n

Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions<\/a> by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche<\/a>. Essential reading for anyone raising their kids to thrive in a world that doesn\u2019t always value girls equally.<\/p>\n

\u2026I\u2019d give to a new graduate: <\/p>\n

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know<\/a> by Adam Grant. <\/strong>We all grow smarter by questioning our own assumptions!<\/p>\n

…made me rethink a long-held belief:<\/p>\n

Daring Greatly<\/a> by Bren\u00e9 Brown. Coming from the competitive world of tech, I found it incredibly helpful to be reminded that vulnerability is not a weakness, but a form of strength. <\/p>\n

\u2026changed my life: <\/p>\n

Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha <\/a>by Tara Brach. In my new book, I write about the lessons I\u2019ve learned from life\u2019s many transitions. A powerful one came from Tara Brach: See the pauses in your life as an opportunity to open yourself to new possibilities.<\/p>\n

\u2026I\u2019d want signed by the author: <\/p>\n

Demon Copperhead<\/a> by Barbara Kingsolver. I\u2019ve loved Kingsolver\u2019s books for many years\u2014and this one is fantastic. <\/p>\n

\u2026should be on every college syllabus: <\/p>\n

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men<\/a> by Caroline Criado Perez. In hospitals, cars, workplaces, and just about everywhere else, women are harmed because their experiences are so often overlooked by those assessing problems and developing solutions.<\/p>\n

…fills me with hope: <\/p>\n

However Long the Night: Molly Melching’s Journey to Help Millions of African Women and Girls Triumph<\/a> by Aimee Molloy. I\u2019ve had the honor of meeting several entrepreneurial Senegalese women who lifted their families out of poverty thanks, in part, to Molly Melching\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\u2026I\u2019ve re-read the most: <\/p>\n

10 Minutes Till Bedtime<\/a> by Peggy Rathmann. It\u2019s such a joy to read books to my granddaughters that I used to read over and over again to their mother.<\/p>\n

    The literary organization\/charity I support: <\/p>\n

    Seattle Arts & Lectures<\/a>. SAL has been connecting people with stories and ideas in my home city for nearly 40 years. I have loved every SAL event I\u2019ve been to.<\/p>\n

    Read Melinda French Gates\u2019s Recommendations\"<i>A<\/a>A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum<\/p>\n

    Now 84% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: Harper Perennial\"<i>Awakening<\/a>Awakening Joy: 10 Steps to Happiness by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander<\/p>\n

    Now 55% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: Parallax Press\"<i>Lessons<\/a>Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus<\/p>\n

    Now 25% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: Vintage\"<i>Factfulness:<\/a>Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World\u2014and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling<\/p>\n

    Now 49% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: Flatiron Books\"<i>The<\/a>The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon<\/p>\n

    Now 26% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: Vintage\"<i>When<\/a>When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi<\/p>\n

    Now 38% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: Random House\"<i>Dear<\/a>Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie<\/p>\n

    Now 25% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: Vintage\"<i>Think<\/a>Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don\u2019t Know by Adam Grant<\/p>\n

    Now 53% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: Penguin Books\"<i>Daring<\/a>Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Bren\u00e9 Brown<\/p>\n

    Now 80% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: Avery\"<i>Radical<\/a>Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha by Tara Brach<\/p>\n

    Now 45% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: Bantam\"<i>Demon<\/a>Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver<\/p>\n

    Now 26% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: Harper Perennial\"<i>Invisible<\/a>Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez<\/p>\n

    Now 10% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: Harry N. Abrams\"<i>However<\/a>However Long the Night: Molly Melching’s Journey to Help Millions of African Women and Girls Triumph by Aimee Molloy<\/p>\n

    Now 60% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: HarperOne\"<i>10<\/a>10 Minutes till Bedtime by Peggy Rathmann<\/p>\n

    Now 15% Off<\/p>\n

    Credit: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to Shelf Life, ELLE.com\u2019s books column, in which authors share their most memorable reads. Whether you\u2019re on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3938],"tags":[3444,14938,14940,1331,77,3989,1381,14939,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-24036","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-content-type-round-up-general","10":"tag-contentid-09d635ae-1a78-46e8-8336-98a2bb8ef053","11":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-hasproduct-true","14":"tag-locale-us","15":"tag-shorttitle-shelf-life-melinda-french-gates","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114346202473294124","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}