[icodemuch]

I really appreciate the fact that he continues to put out reading lists. I believe that people are more motivated to read after finding out out Bill Gates reads a lot bc people want to emulate him (and his success).

More people reading is obviously only a good thing if you believe that reading is a good habit for people to have bc it exposes you to different arguments, opinions and ideas. I do think that reading is a net good. If you don't I'm interested to hear why.

[jondubois]

I like the image that Bill Gates projects but my cynical side thinks that this reading list is just a medium for him to maintain his public image of being that sympathetic, altruistic billionaire.

20 years ago Bill Gates was a universally disliked individual... He wasn't yet well versed when it came to managing his image. Being universally disliked comes with problems like lawsuits and other personal threats. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a whole team of people constantly working to manage his public persona.

Makes it hard to believe anything that any celebrity says or does these days.

If this year has shown us anything, it's that reputations can be turned inside out really quickly.

[iamthirsty]

I think that’s a bit of a stretch for Gates, though. He stepped down from CEO almost 20 years ago and basically has spent that time giving away his and other people’s money for truly good causes. That’ll turn anyone’s perception.

[scaryclam]

I think people being able to see him as a human instead of the cutthroat business man has helped. I have to admit having some hate for the guy while he was still in charge of Microsoft. Now I can look at him in a different light...or maybe that's just because Ballmer took over...

[zild3d]

Well if he's trying to end malaria just to look like a nice guy, it's working. More disliked celebrities should follow suit