i’ve been following a goal of 1 book a month for the past several years, and it’s improved my life tremendously. here are some of my favorite reads.
- Bob Martin – Clean Code – i was worried old wisdom wouldn’t apply to the speed of tech, but i was proven wrong – this book truly made me a better coder
- Martin Kleppmann – designing data-intensive applications – everyone recommends it, and rightly (especially if you’re interviewing for an SDE role)
- frederick brooks – the mythical man-month – amazing essays on software engineering
- Cal Newport – so good they can’t ignore you – a good reminder of what it means to be ‘talent’ and deliver market value
- Cal Newport – Deep Work – emphasis on reducing context switching, increasing focus/flow, a bit repetitive so free summary
- tim snyder – on tyranny – super short read, always useful to know the danger signs to look out for
- brene brown – dare to lead – how to show up in life and work more authentically
- Antonio Garcia Martinez – Chaos Monkeys – an entertaining retelling of a portion of the guy’s life, sheds some light on tech startup and early Facebook
- Chris Voss – never split the difference – excellent book on how to negotiate
- Angela Duckworth – Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance – great message but book too long
- kepner-tregoe – the rational manager – highly-effective theories and methods for decision-making
- Ray Dalio – Principles – generally good life and business advice (e.g. radical transparency, idea meritocracy)
- Michelle Alexander – the new Jim Crow – how and why America is racist
- Kendi X. Ibram – How to be antiracist – build empathy for the black body and culture, and how to be an ally
- Isabel Wilkerson – Caste – helps understand the roots behind caste/class/race systems