Below is a list of books I personally enjoy. There’s a mixture of programming/technical and non-technical books.
“How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie“
Technically this is a self help book. I’m not particularly huge into self help, but reading this in my late teens I believe changed me for the better. I still am rather quiet but I’m significantly more comfortable navigating social situations and understanding interpersonal communication after having practiced what’s in this book. I firmly believe there’s something in it for everyone.
“The Pragmatic Programmer - David Thomas“
I was very fortunate that I got to read/listen to this book for work awhile back. I’m not going to overexaggerate and claim it made me a 10x engineer. It does however offer good core rules for project management I think often go unspoken. If you haven’t already read it, it’s towards the top of this list for a reason.
“Essentialism - Greg Mckeown“
Maybe I’m a sucker for good self help books. I’m writing this in order, and I’m slowly realizing I’ve read a lot of them. This book helped me clairify priorities. An overarching theme in this book is you can’t have a list of “priorities”. Priority implies focal point, having too many focal points just leads to indirection or pandering. Pick the good bits, leave the rest.
“Chaos: Making a New Science - James Gleick“
Apparently this book was a bit of a cult classic back in the 90s after it released in 1987. I got to it a good bit later (granted I wasn’t alive yet), but it still proves thought provoking. The book explores Chaos Theory (think butterfly effect) which can greatly apply to any programmer and is useful for the discipline of code hardening/quality control of programs in general.
“The Words - Jean Paul Sartre“
This book was my introduction to Jean Paul Sartre. To give some reference, in 1964 Jean Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature but TURNED IT DOWN. This book, is a self reflection on his life, his craft, and what made him who he was. It’d have a very touching effect in making me think about my childhood in a different light of what formed me versus what just happened.
