Inspired by Blaine Osepchuk's collection of books
, I'd like to share some books that I am currently reading.
I tend to choose to buy a book very carefully for two main reasons. One, a good book can be very expensive (I remember paying over $100 for a school textbook). Second, it is time-consuming to finish a book and a commitment I don't want to give up.
However, the joy of having a physical book nearby, from opening the Amazon box to touching and smelling the book for the first time is a great feeling and makes it worth an investment.
- Cracking the Coding Interview is a great book for sharping the coding skill and interview preparation. It has always been a Best-seller and recommended for, as the title suggests, cracking the coding interview.
- Elements of Programming Interviews I recently bought this one as part of learning Python and preparing for job interviews. It has 300 interview questions covering a wide range of topics such as sorting, graph, dynamic programming, system designs, etc. I like the book organization. It is available in Python and Java. Must-read.
- Grokking Algorithms. There are a lot of illustrations in the book which makes it fun to read. The author has a way of making a complex problem easy-to-understand.
- Problem Solving with Algorithms and Data Structure with Python. This is a solid book that covers all the basics on algorithms and data structures. It is good for quick reference and to build a strong foundation in CS. I believe without a strong foundation, a complex problem is even harder. There is free online version with interactive code playground.
- Data Abstraction & Problem Solving with C++. This is a book from during university. I have not read it for a while but it is there to remind me learning concepts and principles is transferable in software engineering.
- Head First Design Patterns. I have a love-hate relationship with Head First book series. You know when I am trying to read something serious, but there is a cartoon. I think it is a great book because design patterns is a pretty challenging and important topic. Sometimes the best way to learn is not a hard way but an easy one.
- Clean Architecture: A Craftsman's Guide to Software Structure and Design by Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob), the author of a very popular book Clean Code. I have only read the first chapter of the book and learn about the complexity of software building. I am looking forward to reading it more.
- Career Builiding This is a book I picked from a library. It contains useful information on building a resume, interview process, workplace culture, burnout, etc. It is a good read to learn from the experiences of those who have been there.
- Soft Skills, the software developer's life manual Unlike many professions, a software developer has to spend a lot of time to keep learning and improving skills, mainly out of passion and/or necessity. However, it can impacts other areas in life in a negative way such as dating, social life, and health issue. This books talks about how to deal with fitness and spiritual well-being, as well as how to balance your finance and market yourself.
- The Quick Python Book, provides a quick reference for python learner such as me.
If you are still here, thank you for reading. What books are your favorites? What are you currently reading?
Top comments (9)
I am currently reading Building Software Teams, which is the companion/follow-up to Building Maintainable Software.
It is a thin book focusing on the thing around building software in a way that it can be maintainable/clean/etc. If none of the topics discussed in this book are new for your team, then it's good: revision control, continuous integration, test automation, deployment automation, ...
It presents the motivation why these things are important. The book is more for team leads and managers. But it can also be useful to developers, especially as backing towards management why certain things should be done.
I have not been in a role of managing a team, thus solely working on a feature I was tasked to do. There were times when I thought that management, software cycle, test automation, etc can be improved. This looks like a great book and will be on my reading list. Thank you for pointing it out.
Always wondered - how do you read a collection like that? is it more for reference based on what you are working on at the job/project? Unlike other types of books - tech books require almost immediate application for the learning to stick. What are your thoughts?
Thank you for asking. I only focus on reading 1 or 2 books at the moment. While I can read other books when I want to get my mind off to a different topic, or just to read for fun and breadth of knowledge. I find it when I am reading for fun, it sticks better.
I'm curious - most of these books can easily be counted as interview prep material, are you preping or you just like these kind of books? Cause they can be quite exhausting. Also how long does it take for you to finish CTCI or EIP? :)
Yeah. I was preping but I also like algorithms book in general. I also alternate between software engineering and coding to get more broad knowledge. To be honest, I never finish those books, only 25% or less. I like to have them as a reference when needed though.
You can skip the interview books but the others read them from cover to cover. I would also recommend to come back to this list 10 years from now and read them again. That is what I'm doing with my collection.
I just like anything about books... Thanks for this
I once read Cracking the coding interview, it was awesome other than that every other books are new for me thanks for the listings ... :)