Bill Gates shares his five favourite books of 2017

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

When the former world's richest man Bill Gates is not busy trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's, he's reading, lots.

According to Business Insider, Gates reads bout 50 books a year. However, only a few make his annual list of favourites.

For the last few years, the Microsoft co-founder has chosen five titles he enjoyed reading over the past year and publishes reviews of them on his blog, Gates Notes.

Here are his five favourite books of 2017:

The Best We Could Do, by Thi Bui: "This gorgeous graphic novel is a deeply personal memoir that explores what it means to be a parent and a refugee. The author's family fled Vietnam in 1978. After giving birth to her own child, she decides to learn more about her parents' experiences growing up in a country torn apart by foreign occupiers," said Gates.

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond: "If you want a good understanding of how the issues that cause poverty are intertwined, you should read this book about the eviction crisis in Milwaukee. Desmond has written a brilliant portrait of Americans living in poverty. He gave me a better sense of what it is like to be poor in this country than anything else I have read," said Gates.

Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens, by Eddie Izzard: "Izzard's personal story is fascinating: he survived a difficult childhood and worked relentlessly to overcome his lack of natural talent and become an international star. If you're a huge fan of him like I am, you'll love this book. His written voice is very similar to his stage voice, and I found myself laughing out loud several times while reading it," said Gates.

The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen: "Most of the books I've read and movies I've seen about the Vietnam War focused on the American perspective. Nguyen's award-winning novel offers much-needed insight into what it was like to be Vietnamese and caught between both sides. Despite how dark it is, The Sympathizer is a gripping story about a double agent and the trouble he gets himself into," said Gates.

Energy and Civilization: A History, by Vaclav Smil: "Smil is one of my favorite authors, and this is his masterpiece. He lays out how our need for energy has shaped human history—from the era of donkey-powered mills to today's quest for renewable energy. It's not the easiest book to read, but at the end you'll feel smarter and better informed about how energy innovation alters the course of civilizations," said Gates.