In between running one of the world's largest charitable agencies and acting as Microsoft's technology advisor, Bill Gates manages to find a significant chunk of time to read books, both long and short.

在運轉著全球最大的慈善基金會和擔任微軟技術顧問的同時，比爾·蓋茨還抽出大量時間閱讀各種篇幅的書籍。

Now Gates — who has been labeled a voracious reader — has released a list of his favorite books of the year. Not all of them were released in 2014; some were published in past years, and one is still unreleased. All of the books, though, are standout reads, according to the billionaire techie.

作為一個如饑似渴的讀者，蓋茨列出了2014年他最喜愛的書籍名單。其中有些書并不是2014年開始發售的，有些是以前出版的，有一本則尚未出版。不過，用這位擁有億萬身家的高科技專家的話說，這些書都是非常出色的讀物。

Most are focused on business and the economy. While that wasn't necessarily intentional, "that's fitting in a year when Thomas Piketty's 'Capital in the Twenty-First Century' put a big spotlight on inequality," Gates wrote on his blog.

蓋茨推薦的大多是商業和經濟類書籍，但并非刻意而為，“托馬斯·皮凱蒂在《21世紀資本論》里對貧富差距給予了強烈關注，在這樣的一年里讀這些書是很合適的，”蓋茨在自己的博客中如此寫道。

Here are Bill's top five picks for 2014 (with extracts from his full review of each book).

以下是蓋茨在2014年為讀者推薦的5本最值得一讀的書，后面還附上了他書評的節選：

1. "Business Adventures," by John Brooks

《商業歷險記》，作者約翰·布魯克斯

Brooks' collection was published in 1969 and remains one of Gates' favorites. He re-read it again this year, labeling it the "best business book I've ever read."

約翰·布魯克斯的文集出版于1969年，至今仍是蓋茨最愛的書籍之一。今年他重讀了這本書，并盛贊這本書是“我讀過的最好的商業書籍”。

"Shortly after we met, Warren Buffett loaned me this collection of New Yorker business articles from the 1950s and 1960s. I loved them as much as he did. Brooks's insights about business have aged beautifully, and they are as true today as ever."

“我和巴菲特剛認識不久，他就把這本書借給了我。這本書收集了作者20世紀50至60年代在《紐約客》雜志上發表的商業類文章。他和我都非常喜歡這本書。布魯克斯的商業見解歷久彌新，同樣適用于現在。”

2. "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," by Thomas Piketty

《21世紀資本論》，作者托馬斯·皮凱蒂

Piketty's novel hit the shelves in August 2013 and sparked much discussion concerning income inequality throughout this year. Gates also got to sit down with Piketty after reading the non-fiction work to discuss the topic.

皮凱蒂的這本著作于2013年8月上市，并在今年引發了關于收入不平等的熱議。蓋茨在讀完這本紀實性著作后，還與作者坐在一起討論了書中主題。

"As I told him, although I have concerns about some of his secondary points and policy prescriptions, I agree with his most important conclusions: inequality is a growing problem and that governments should play a role in reducing it."

“我告訴皮凱蒂，雖然我不完全同意書中一些次要觀點和政策處方，但是我同意他最重要的結論：貧富差距是一個日趨嚴重的問題，各國政府應該有所作為，努力縮小貧富差距。”

3. "How Asia Works," by Joe Studwell

《亞洲如何崛起》，作者喬·斯塔威爾

Studwell's work, which was published in May this year, addresses how countries such as Japan, South Korea and China have continued to achieve high growth, and why other countries have failed to do the same.

斯塔威爾的這部作品出版于今年5月，主要分析了日本、南韓和中國等國家是如何持續實現高速的經濟增長，而其他國家又為何無法振興經濟。

"The agriculture section of the book was particularly insightful. It provided ample food for thought for me as well as the whole Agriculture team at our foundation. And it left us thinking about whether parts of the Asian model can apply in Africa."

“此書關于農業的章節可謂是真知灼見，為我和我們基金會的農業團隊提供了充足的精神食糧，同時也啟發我們思考：是否可以將部分亞洲經濟模式用于非洲。”

4. "The Rosie Effect," by Graeme Simsion

《蘿西效應》，作者格蘭·辛溥生

The only fiction work to make Gates' list is a follow-up to Simsion's "The Rosie Project." The novel will be released on Dec. 31 this year, but Gates was able to snag an advanced copy from the author directly.

這是蓋茨書單上唯一的一本小說，是辛溥生所著《蘿西的計劃》的續篇。該書將于今年12月31日正式出版，但是蓋茨已經直接從作者手中拿到小說的樣書。

"It's a funny novel that also made me think about relationships: what makes them work and how we have to keep investing time and energy to make them better. A sweet, entertaining, and thought-provoking book."

“這本有趣的小說喚起了我對人際關系的思考：人際關系是如何建立起來的？我們要如何花時間和精力去改善這些關系？這是一本溫馨、有趣并引人思考的書。”

5. "Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization," by Vaclav Smil

《創建當代世界：材料及去材料化》，作者：茨拉夫·斯米爾

Smil's books are a constant favorite of the Microsoft founder — one of his books makes Gates' list almost every year. "Making the Modern World" came out late last year and explores the global use of materials, from silicon to wood, and plastic.

這位微軟的創始人一直對斯米爾的書情有獨鐘—— 每年都會有一本他的書進入蓋茨的書單。《創建當代世界》是去年末出版的，探索的是從硅到木材再到塑料等材料的全球使用情況。

"If anyone tries to tell you we're using fewer materials, send him this book. With his usual skepticism and his love of data, Smil shows how our ability to make things with less material — say, soda cans that need less aluminum — makes them cheaper, which actually encourages more production."

“如果有人試圖告訴你，我們現在用的材料減少了，就給他看這本書。這本書依然體現了斯米爾慣常的懷疑主義和對數據的迷戀。斯米爾在書中展示了，如果我們減少材料的使用（比如用更少的鋁來生產易拉罐）就可以降低成本，這實際上會鼓勵更多的生產。”

（來源：愛思英語，編輯：劉明）