Book Review Archives - Simple Programmer

Best Books for Programmers (Updated 2020)

John Sonmez — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 14:00:39 +0000

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There are so many books out there for programmers and not enough time to read them all.

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Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a curated list so you could make the most effective use your self-study time?

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What you’ll find below is my personal list of top books for programmers.

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The first thing you’ll probably find is that this list is not one of the typical “books for programmers” lists you’ll find out there floating around on the internet—and that’s a good thing!

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I selected these particular books because I wanted to provide a list of books that wouldn’t just increase your technical skills and make you a better programmer, but would also challenge you to grow as a person and provide some entertainment value along the way.

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The books on this list are designed specifically to give you a solid foundation in all of the areas that are important to a software developer.

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I’ve broken up the types of books by the topic areas that I find are most important—and many of them sorely neglected.

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You’ll find foundational books that will help you to learn to write good, clean code and structure your code proficiently as well as help you grasp all of the major programming concepts.

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You’ll find books specifically geared to help you to advance your career and survive as a programmer.

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You’ll find books that teach you about best practices—especially around Agile development—and teach you how to be better at your job (including interviews).

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And finally, you’ll find a collection of books that will help round you out as a person, to achieve the goals you want in life.

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This is no dry collection of technical books…

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Enjoy!

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Table of Contents – Book Links By Type:

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Foundational Programming Books

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Professional Development Programming Books

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Architecture Based Programming Books

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Agile Programming Books

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Algorithm and Interview Question Programming Books

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Language Specific and Programming Language Related Programming Books

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OPs, QA and Deployment Related Programming Books

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Soft Skills and Other Fun Programming Books

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Foundational Programming Books

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Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction, Second Edition

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The book is full of great advice about how to write good code regardless of architecture or programming language. Code Complete goes into the details of the structure of writing good code. I’ve never found another book that even comes close to touching many of the topics in this book. I consider this book a must-read for all serious software developers. The book is a bit dated but still has extremely valuable information.

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Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship

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This is another one of those books that completely changed the way I wrote code. I can neatly divide my programming career into pre-Code Complete, pre-Clean Code, and after. I recommend this book after reading Code Complete because while Code Complete deals more with the structure of individual lines of code and methods, Clean Code deals with some of the same concepts but at a slightly higher level.

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Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, Second Edition

I debated putting this one on the list. Is it really foundational? It depends on how solid of a foundation you want to have. If you want to have a really solid foundation, then the answer is a resounding “yes.”

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I debated putting this one on the list. Is it really foundational? It depends on how solid of a foundation you want to have. If you want to have a really solid foundation, then the answer is a resounding “yes.”

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The book is challenging. It deals with functional programming. It was written for the famous introductory programming course at MIT. I’d recommend you not only read this book, but also go through all the exercises in it. It will be a difficult journey, but you’ll come out the other side a much better programmer than you were before.

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Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software

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This classical book is critical reading to really understand what design patterns are and become familiar with the most common design patterns you are likely to encounter in your career. It’s not a particularly easy read, and the descriptions and examples might be a bit difficult to follow—especially if you don’t have a solid grasp of UML—but it’s a book I consider a “must read.” If you are having trouble with this book, you might want to start with “Head First Design Patterns,” which teaches the design patterns in this book in a much more digestible way—still, there is no substitute for the original.

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Head First Design Patterns: A Brain-Friendly Guide

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Read the classic first, then read this one, and then go back and read the classic one with a renewed understanding. This book makes design patterns much easier to understand. It’s also a useful book for learning how to teach complex topics and make them interesting.

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Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code

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Although modern IDEs have automated many of the refactorings mentioned in this book, refactoring is still a very important concept to understand in order to write good, clean code—especially in today’s Agile environments. This book covers just about all of the major refactorings that all software developers should know how to execute in any code base. Learning how to refactor your code allows you to breathe new life into it and have it improve over time as it is maintained, rather than rot.

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Working Effectively With Legacy Code

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Unless you are fortunate enough to always work on green-field projects, you’ll most likely encounter legacy code in your career—and lots of it. I included this book because it is the foundational programming book on working with legacy code. If you are working on a large code base more than five years old, this book might be your new bible. Read it and take it to heart.

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The Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1-4A

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Can I really recommend a book series I’ve never read? Sure can. This four-volume set was on my list of “someday to read” books, but I never got around to it.

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Why? Because reading these books is a huge undertaking. These books go through, in depth and in detail, computer science algorithms—and not the easy stuff. If you really, really want to go deep with algorithms and you are prepared for some heavy math, go for it. Let me know how it goes. I wish you luck.

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Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools (Second Edition)

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This book is known as the dragon book—and for good reason.

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It goes down deep into places where the dragons live: in the realm of compilers and operating systems.

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Some of the information might be a bit dated, but if you are really interested in how compilers work and perhaps want to write your own, take a crack at this book.

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Professional Development Programming Books

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The Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide *** John’s (my) book!

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I wrote this book primarily because there just wasn’t a good book out there—or really any book for that matter—that told software developers everything they needed to know about how to have a successful career in software development and to answer all the common questions I get like:
– How do I get started as a software developer?
– How do I learn a new programming language?
– College, boot camp, self study?
– How do I deal with my asshole boss? My co-workers? Discrimination?
– How do I find a new job? My first job?
– What do I actually need to know to be a software developer?
– How do I MAKE MORE MONEY and advance my career?

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The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master

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This book wasn’t my favorite when I first read it. I still don’t agree with everything said in the book, but even with my misgivings, I have to acknowledge this is a programming book that every software developer should read when they want to transition from being just a coder to something more. There is some extremely pragmatic advice in this book that will bestow upon you lessons that otherwise would take years or even decades to learn.

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The Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers

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This book is all about being a professional programmer. This is a tough read. A lot of developers won’t like this programming book because the advice is sometimes difficult to swallow. But swallow it if you can, because Bob Martin, the author of the book, is a veteran in the industry and has managed to stay relevant decade after decade of pumping out code. I really found this book helpful in shaping my career and making tough decisions.

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The Passionate Programmer: Creating a Remar kable Career in Software Develo pment

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This book was one of the main programming books that influenced me to treat my career in software development as a business rather than just something I did. The book is full of all kinds of wisdom about how to increase your skills, maximize your time, keep your career and passion alive, and more. I highly recommend reading this book if you want to move beyond programming as just a job.

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The Mythical Man Month

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All those problems you thought were unique to your project, well I’ve got news for you, they aren’t. They are inside this book. If you want a very practical programming book about complex software development projects, this is it. This book is like a catalog of the most common problems that plague non-trivial software development projects, and the book has more than stood the test of time.

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Architecture Based Programming Books

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Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software

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Buckle your seat belt, this is a difficult read. The first time I read this book, I didn’t get it. The second time I read it, I sort of got it. It wasn’t until my third pass through the book that it finally clicked all the way. This book will help you learn how to create a maintainable architecture that is based on domain modeling. Once you learn what is in this book, you can’t go back. You won’t think about software development architecture in the same way again.

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Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture

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If you are doing any kind of enterprise application development, you’ll find this book extremely useful. It contains great information about how to design and build an enterprise application from start to finish. What I found most useful, though, were the many patterns contained in the book that are often seen in enterprise applications. This is a book I referenced all the time when I was building large enterprise applications for my job.

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Enterprise Integration Patterns: Designing, Building, and Deploying Messaging Solutions

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This is the absolute guide-book for implementing message bus or service bus architectures. Don’t let the name of the book fool you; this book is all about message buses and all of the patterns used to implement them correctly. If you are doing any kind of integration between applications or services using a bus, you will absolutely love this book.

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Refactoring to Patterns

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It is one thing to read and learn about design patterns; it is another thing to implement them. It is yet another thing to actually take existing code and refactor that code into design patterns. This is a programming book that teaches you—scratch that—shows you how to move existing code into patterns and even how to move it out of patterns. Should be on every architect’s bookshelf.

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Agile Programming Books

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Agile Software Development, Principles, Patterns, and Practices

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(There is also a C# version of this book.)

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Yes, this is another Bob Martin book, and it is excellent. This book takes you through all the core tenets of Agile development without all the fluff. Not only that, but it also introduces the SOLID design principles that are fundamental to understanding how to write clean, maintainable code. This book was the book that convinced me to actually start doing pair programming.

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Agile Estimating and Planning

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So many teams get this wrong. This book shows you how to do it correctly. The first time I read through this book, I realized that sound principles could be applied to estimation and planning on an Agile team. Highly recommended for anyone working in an Agile environment.

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User Stories Applied: For Agile Software Development

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Another great Agile book that helps with a major trouble area: user stories. I’ve worked with some pretty crappy user stories when working on Agile teams simply because no one knew how to make good ones or what user stories were actually supposed to look like. This book solves that problem.

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Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change, Second Edition

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What I consider to be the classic Agile book. A little extreme for some—this is not SCRUM, this is real XP. This programming book is an extremely prescriptive description of how to implement extreme programming, but the ideas in this book can be applied to many different kinds of Agile environments.

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Algorithm and Interview Question Programming Books

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Programming Pearls, Second Edition

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The classic book of programming problems. Read this book and actually do all the exercises. If you survive the ordeal, you’ll be a much better programmer and garner a deep understanding of algorithms and algorithm design as well as some critical problem-solving skills.

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Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutions

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This book is not only one of the top-selling programming books on Amazon, it is one of the top selling books on Amazon, period. And for good reason. The book is full of great interview advice and real programming problems that will not only help you pass a coding interview but also make you a better programmer overall. Go through the book and do the exercises. If you can master the exercises in this book, it will be very difficult to stump you in a programming interview.

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Introduction to Algorithms, Third Edition

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This book is considered one of the best books on learning algorithms, and for good reason. It is a solid programming book for anyone interested in increasing their ability to write and understand algorithms, which is the core of writing code. If you are going to read any book on algorithms, start with this one for sure.

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Language Specific and Programming Language Related Programming Books

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JavaScript: the Good Parts

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This book might become outdated as JavaScript evolves, but for now, this book is essential. JavaScript is a language that was never designed for the use it is used for today. That means there are quite a few pitfalls in writing JavaScript code. This book has saved me on more than one occasion. If you are going to write JavaScript, you are going to want to read this book.

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Thinking in Java, Fourth Edition

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This book not only teaches you how to start programming in Java, but it also teaches you how to teach a programming language. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a better book on learning a programming language than this book. Even if you have no interest in Java, I recommend reading it.

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Effective Modern C++: 42 Specific Ways to Improve Your Use of C++11 and C++14

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(Effective C++, More Effective C++ and Effective STL)

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I’ve linked to the modern version of this book, but the whole series of older books is damn good. I learned so much from reading the original Effective C++, More Effective C++, and Effective STL books that even though I don’t write any C++ code today, I still have fond memories of these books. I’ll admit, the earlier books probably won’t do you much good today if you are writing in modern C++, but if you are obsessed with becoming the best C++ developer possible, you have to read this updated version of the classic.

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Effective Java, Second Edition

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The Java counterpart is almost as good as the C++ original. Some of the recommendations are dated by the changes to the language, but overall, this is still a really good book.

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C# In Depth, Third Edition

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Do you know C#? Do you really know C#? If you read this book, you will. I’ve never read a book that dove as deeply into a language as this book does. Before I read this book, I considered myself an expert in C#. I would have given myself a 10. After, I realized how far from the mark my original estimation of my knowledge was.

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Seven Languages in Seven Weeks: A Pragmatic Guide to Learning Programming Languages (Pragmatic Programmers)

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I love this book because it stretches you and makes you a more open-minded programmer. This is a programming book that has the potential to take you to the next level and let you see beyond petty religious technology tendencies. This book helped me to see how similar so many programming languages are, appreciate their differences, and see just how fast I could learn.

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OPs, QA and Deployment Related Programming Books

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Testing Computer Software, Second Edition

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Every developer should read this book to gain a good understanding of QA and testing. This book is very easy to digest, yet a comprehensive book all about testing. After reading this book, I was able to communicate with QA better, write more testable code, and avoid defects by learning how to test my own code before throwing it over the wall.

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Ship it! A Practical Guide to Successful Software Projects

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Lots of great content and practices in this book. Some of them are a bit extreme, but they are all very effective. This book can help you take your software development shop to the next level. It’s a great book to read and then to give to your manager to highlight the value of some best practices like continuous integration, automated testing, scaled back planning, etc.

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Continuous Delivery: Reliable Software Releases through Build, Test, and Deployment Automation

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I didn’t really believe continuous delivery was possible until I read this book. This book actually shows you how to build an entire system that will build and deploy tested code right into production. This book goes well beyond continuous integration and takes the entire delivery process into a continual flow. A programming book I highly recommend if you want to automate your entire deployment process—and trust me, you do!

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Soft Skills and Other Fun Programming Books

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Soft Skills: The Software Developer’s Life Manual **** John’s book (my first!)

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Yes, this is my book. In this book, I cover everything nontechnical that a programmer could possibly be interested in, from career to personal branding, blogging, learning, teaching, being productive, finances, and even a bit on fitness and relationships.

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How to Win Friends and Influence People

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I really can’t praise this book enough. Yes, it has nothing to do with programming. You might be surprised to find this on a programming books list, but this is a life-changing book. As a software developer, you will deal with people during your entire career. If you learn how to deal with them effectively, you’ll have a much better go of it. So, I highly recommend reading this book. This book changed my life and set me on the path I am on now.

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Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software (Developer Best Practices)

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This is a fascinating book. Again, it’s not explicitly a programming book, but it is all about how computers work at the very lowest level. After reading this book you’ll understand what the code you are writing is actually doing and how a CPU actually executes your code. This is both a fun and fascinating read.

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Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

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Another non-programming book on this programming book list, but a book that almost all programmers will find fascinating. This is a huge book that is one of the most pleasurable books I have ever read. I didn’t ever want to put this book down, and I was extremely sad when I reached the end.

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The War of Art

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This one is another stretch. It is in no way a programming book—not even close—but it is a book that helped me achieve an extremely high level of productivity. This book is the reason why I can sit down and spend four hours writing this blog post. It’s an excellent book that will inspire you to be your best and finally beat procrastination.

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As a Man Thinketh

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This is a short book and another old one, but extremely potent.

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The mindset presented in this book is the mindset required to achieve success in life.

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It’s all about focusing on your thoughts and how you choose to perceive the world, which ultimately determines what your life and world is like and what it will become.

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Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed

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If I had to pick one personal development book, and only one, this would be it.

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Why?

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It’s packed with many concepts that are sourced from classical books on the subject, and they are explained in a way that is concise and clear. It has plenty of exercises for you to actually do to make real, positive changes in your life.

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This book covers a wide range of personal development topics and gives you a huge “bang for your buck” in terms of what can be offered in a single book.

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How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life

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There are still so many good personal development books out there, but I picked this one because the author is none other than Scott Adams—yes, that’s right, the creator of Dilbert.

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But he’s so much more than that.

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This book lays out a philosophy of life that can’t help but make you a champion.

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I never expected such wisdom from the creator of a cartoon about a pointy-haired boss, but this book delivers.

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The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

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This book is the first book that really introduced me to the stoic philosophy I hold so central to my life today.

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This book is about how the bad things that happen to you can be used to make you strong and help you find the right path instead of defeating you.

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Most of these lessons come right out of stoic philosophy; they are told using historical stories that demonstrate the principle.

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The 10x Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure

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The author of this book, Grant Cardone, quickly became one of the greatest role models in my life after I read this book and the next one, also his.

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This book is all about how you probably need to set your goals 10x higher and how it will probably take 10x more effort to achieve them than what you think.

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It’s about how you can, and should, take massive action to achieve success in life.

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This book will kick you in the ass—I promise.

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Be Obsessed or Be Average

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Hey, so do the people around you say that you are “obsessed” and that what you are doing isn’t healthy because you are working too hard?

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This book gives you permission to politely “give them the finger” and keep on blazing your trail.

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It’s all about harnessing the power of obsession to get where you want to go.

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It also talks quite a bit about the people who will try to bring you down and how to deal with them.

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The post Best Books for Programmers (Updated 2020) appeared first on Simple Programmer.

8 Non-Programming Books That Will Boost Your Programmer Career

Wed, 11 Apr 2018 14:00:15 +0000

There are many lists of books about becoming a better programmer. They likely include books like Refactoring, Code Complete, The Mythical Man Month, etc.

However, in the workplace, it isn’t just programming knowledge that we programmers need. Learning programming is an essential part of our work — but it’s not everything.

The authors of iconic programming books had remarkable careers, but it wasn’t just their coding knowledge that made their careers noteworthy. They were well-rounded experts and we should strive to emulate that quality as well.

The difficulty with non-programming books that are important for programmers is that they fall into that nebulous category of “we don’t know what we don’t know.” These books won’t figuratively have our names written on them.

Instead, we have to seek them out. Often, we find these books through recommendations of trusted friends. The following books are some of my favourite non-programming books that have made a big impact in how I approach my work.

How — precisely — have they made an impact? Well, all of these books are about taking a higher-level perspective on yourself and your work. They won’t tell you how to solve a specific problem; instead they’ll give you the tools you need so that you’re prepared when you see the problem emerge. Winston Churchill said it best:

“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”

We want to prepare ourselves for these situations, so let’s take a look at eight non-programming books you should read to boost your programming career.

Note — I wouldn’t recommend a product I do not own nor use. I own all of these books and they are covered with my own notes. If you choose to buy one, I suggest you do the same. These are not books to be read once and tossed aside.

I wasn’t kidding.

1 — The DevOps Handbook

DevOps is a movement, a culture change, a mindset. It is not tooling.

The DevOps Handbook is a nonfiction companion to The Phoenix Project. The Phoenix Project is a novel about how an IT organization falls apart and then is put back together with DevOps practices.

Personally, I found the novel format of The Phoenix Project dense and obtuse whereas the DevOps Handbook is far more practical and usable. The DevOps Handbook talks you through the important notion of a value stream, which is essentially the full flow of how work comes in and out of a business. Think of it like the production line of a technology business.

As a programmer, we’re at the heart of this value stream — so we’re often made responsible for the outcomes, which is usually, but not always, a product.

Ownership of the value stream shouldn’t be a programmer’s job. But that’s a whole blog post in itself. Irrespective of who should rightly own the value stream, programmers are often left in the tricky position of being held responsible for it. So we need to understand not only what the value stream is, but also how to optimise it.

The DevOps Handbook gives you many different ways you can optimise this value stream, including things like “value stream mapping” (making the value stream visible) and optimizing our deployment processes.

2 — Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time

Scrum is a very widely adopted framework in the software world and this book is a great intro to the Scrum framework.

Most other Scrum books dive straight into the mechanics of working in a Scrum format. This book, on the other hand, takes the time to explain the origins and the meaning behind the framework.

The purpose of Scrum is far more important than understanding the precise roles, artifacts, etc.

Why? Because knowing the rules is different than embodying them. Unfortunately, many programmers do still dive straight into the Scrum framework without understanding the origins and the purpose.

This leads to confusion as practitioners start barking orders for a 15-minute meeting every morning without really knowing why we need Scrum in the first place. This notion I’ve explained in greater detail in this article.

Read the book, understand the purpose, and be a better practitioner.

3 — The Fifth Discipline

My favourite quote, and one that could possibly sum up the The Fifth Discipline, is this:

“Different people in the same systems produce similar results.”

I’ve watched this quote come to life many times before, and after reading The Fifth Discipline. For instance: When a company lets a developer go, and then hires a new developer into the same team and the same business, interestingly the same results appear again.

At this point you might be wondering why team structure is important to you as a programmer.

Because if not, we can fall into the trap of seeing ourselves as only our little role in a much bigger machine that we believe is out of our control. If we fail to see, and address, the bigger picture (the system), the results and impact we have are limited. We could be that new hire, brought into a new team and doomed to failure — no matter how good we are.

The solution? To understand and be able to communicate the difficulties presented in complex systems and how to solve them. Cultivate a system mindset that goes beyond complaining about the other teams “not doing their job,” and instead think about how the way we have set up our organization is affecting us more than we realise.

4 — 48 Laws Of Power

Every organisation has politics. It’s an irrefutable fact.

When it comes to politics, you have two choices: You can take the blue pill and pretend power plays do not exist. Or, alternatively, you can take the red pill and dive into the world of power, to understand it.

Interestingly, the author Robert Greene even argues that the denial of power plays is in itself a power play. I’ll leave you to ponder this statement.

The 48 Laws of Power presents 48 different ways that people use and wield power. Greene takes you through each one in detail with in-depth stories from history that demonstrate the power play. To top off each chapter, Greene closes with a reversal, an argument in opposition to each power play.

Admittedly, on my first read, I didn’t really “get it.” However, when I came back to it (after working for a company for a few years), a lot of the ideas started to click. I could relate to the different power plays and how I’d seen them act out in the workplace. So don’t quit on the book before giving it a real go. Once it clicks, you’ll understand what I mean. The 48 Laws of Power is not a newspaper, nor is it a Buzzfeed article — it’s not meant to be an easy read, but it will be worth it.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb once said “Never read a book you would not reread.” The 48 Laws of Power falls in this category. It simply cannot be read only once. And for that reason, I’d recommend getting a hard copy and keeping it for life. As each time you re-read it, you’ll relate different areas to your new experiences.

5 — The Coaching Habit

I believe the best programmers are also teachers.

These programmers have an abundance mindset, rather than a scarcity mindset. Knowing that sharing knowledge and helping others will in fact help them in return rather than act against them.

The Coaching Habit is a very straightforward and practical introduction to ideas of coaching. It takes you through seven individual questions that you can ask another programmer as part of a coaching session, or in more general conversation.

These are questions like: “What’s on your mind?” and “What’s the real problem here for you?” Don’t be fooled into thinking these are just a few questions thrown together haphazardly. Each question is carefully crafted to ensure that you can have the biggest impact on others.

It’s seriously like having Jedi mind powers.

The Coaching Habit is recommended reading for anyone who works with people (read: everyone). And if you’re still not convinced, I’ve previously translated the coaching questions to show how they’re useful for a programmer, specifically.

6 — Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

Sprint takes you through a five-day set of exercises, starting with brainstorming ideas/features and prioritizing one of them; then, you’ll elicit the main ideas, sketch it, design it, prototype it, and test it.

It’s a very practical and full framework.

Often all we need is some basic structure when it comes to our “ways of working,” as it prevents us arguing and debating in endless circles. Instead, you can propose to your team: Shall we run a design sprint? And then take the team through this method step by step.

Whether you run these types of workshops in their entirety or not, this book can serve as great inspiration for how to align stakeholders and get to a functioning product.

7 — The Lean Startup

If you’re not familiar with the ideas of The Lean Startup and you’ve already started writing code, you might have already made a terrible mistake in doing so.

The Lean Startup has now become somewhat of a classic in software and products. It advocates that all ideas are just opinions until proven otherwise, which means that we need to test our ideas aggressively before we pursue them to ensure that we’re not being clouded by faulty judgement, or leading with ego.

If you think you’ve got decent proof that your product or feature will be a success, think again. Author Eric Ries will challenge you to think of faster and cheaper ways to get validation on your product before you start building it.

Why is validation important? Because building products can be incredibly expensive. Not only that, but once built, code is notoriously difficult to change. So building the right product and features is essential from the beginning. There are so many ways we can validate ideas without writing any code at all, such a: paper prototypes, splash pages and guerilla/hallway user testing.

You might be thinking about now: Does the idea of constant validation mean that companies will need fewer programmers?

Not at all.

In fact, it means that programmers’ time will be spent more effectively on activities like being creative and thinking of ways to build prototypes, demos, and splash pages. It also means that when it comes time to build, there’s less chance that the business will come back to the programmers every five minutes for re-work, or worse, to blame programmers for a failed product.

All new products and features are simply opinion until proven a success. Before you, or anyone who works with you, start writing any code, read this book.

8 — Key Person of Influence

The other books I’ve presented have been more about the organizations that we work for, rather than about our own self and our career.

Key Person Of Influence takes you through five steps that influential people have taken (knowingly or unknowingly) to rise to the top of their industry.

Being at the top of an industry means getting better opportunities with less (or no) struggle and being rewarded appropriately. No more fighting with your employer for a raise or debating with your boss to showcase your value. With author Daniel Priestley’s five steps, your value will become crystal clear to you, and then Priestley takes you through how you can then showcase this value to others.

Priestley argues that you are already “standing on a mountain of value.” All of your experiences, stories, ideas, and information to date is worth more than you realize. But, you just can’t see the mountain. Why? Because you’re standing on it!

I cannot overstate the impact this book has had on my career thus far. And I believe it’s only the beginning. After reading the book, I realized that I wasn’t taking the most effective steps to build my own career. As soon as I finished it, I put it down and created a plan that will span my entire career. I now consider this book to be the backbone of that plan. All other books seem to slot in to the plan I have created around the five steps that Priestley outlines.

Just like with the laws of power, you can choose to ignore the ideas presented in the book. But, the five steps of the book line up with the career history of any person of influence in any industry.

Ignore this book at your own peril.

Your Finest Hour

There you have it, the best books I’ve read so far that aren’t directly related to writing code.

Be wary not to fall in the trap thinking that more coding knowledge is what you need. It is very likely that one of these books presents the breakthrough you didn’t even know you needed.

Whether that is fighting a political battle with the 48 Laws of Power or realizing that your organization has a systemic issue and starting to tackle it with the Fifth Discipline and The DevOps Handbook. Or putting in place a grand strategy for your career with Key Person of Influence.

Ignoring books, especially these books, might buy you a little time in the short term but can prove to be devastatingly costly in the long run if you’re not careful.

If you read these books, when your figurative tap on the shoulder comes, you will be ready.

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The post 8 Non-Programming Books That Will Boost Your Programmer Career appeared first on Simple Programmer.

All The Books I Read In 2017

John Sonmez — Mon, 25 Dec 2017 15:00:17 +0000

If you are one of those programmers who loves books, this post is for you! That said, it’s time for my annual post of all the books I’ve read in 2017.

This past year I read a total of 61 books, not as many as 2016. Although I wanted to make that number bigger, there were a few things (like the Pimsleur courses) that made me read fewer books than last year.

But 61 books is still pretty impressive, right?

So, stick with me and I’ll show you all the books I’ve read in 2017.

And don’t worry! If you’re not the reading type of guy, I’ve also recorded a video, which you can check below:

[responsive_video type=’youtube’ hide_related=’0′ hide_logo=’0′ hide_controls=’0′ hide_title=’0′ hide_fullscreen=’0′ autoplay=’0′]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLRaxApwXCA[/responsive_video]

How did I do it, you may ask?

Well, I listened to them — at least many of them.

I utilized my Audible.com account to listen to the audio versions of the books, mostly at 3x speed. (3x speed may seem unintelligible to you, but you can work your way up to it if you slowly increase the speed and you give absolute focus)

If you haven’t already signed up for an Audible.com subscription, do it now–seriously, it will be one of the best decisions you make in your life.

I also listen to books whenever I am walking somewhere or driving in the car.

And, of course, I read books on my Kindle just about every night.

Ok, without further adieu, here are the books:

Principles by Ray

I just finished this book, and it was tough.

I agree with most of the principles that Ray talks about but I didn’t like it simply because it was too structural and too rigid.

The Graveyard Book by Nail Gaiman

Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead?

Although it is a highly recommended book, I must admit that it is not my story of choice. I did not like it and I did not enjoy it, but if you are a fan of science fiction do not close yourself off to the idea of giving it a try.

Win Bigly by Scott Adams

This book deals in its entirety with the election of Donald Trump. Basically, it is a book in which Scott predicts that the current president wins the primaries and general election. I liked it, as I personally was making videos on the channel predicting that Trump would win from the primaries to the presidency.

The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer

This is a pretty good book, I highly recommend it. Try this idea of observing yourself and who you are. Basically, it’s a guide to help you get a view of how you look from the outside.

Backbone by David H Wagner

This is a book of manhood. It clearly speaks of the importance of men having friends who are the same sex, as a strong bond of trust and brotherhood can form between them.

For a New liberty by Murray N Rothbard

This book made me make the decision to go full Libertarian. I know many of you do not like this, but Libertarian is not something like Republicans and Democrats. It is more like a philosophy. Read the book and let me know.

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T Harv Eker

If you are being limited by thinking that having the money or being rich is bad, this book will help you. This book explains that the way you think about money is what will influence your surroundings.

Captivate by Vanessa Van Edwards

This book is about how to influence and be a sociable person. At the beginning, I didn’t really understand the idea of the book, I thought it was more about appearance, but it ended up being something else. This book basically deals with the science of how people work and how to deal with them and influence them.

Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman

This book is about how everything we are building in our life, in any field (our physical condition, making money, building a house or any other scenario), is simply a transport that takes us to the other side. Once we arrive at that desired place, or we obtain the expected result, we do not have to need that boat, but we simply continue forward in order to continue achieving goals.

The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

One of Eli Goldratt’s convictions was that the goal of an individual or an organization should not be defined in absolute terms. A good definition of a goal is one that sets us on a path of ongoing improvement.

This book is highly recommended for people who are on a project or have an idea in development.

The Story of Philosophy Kindle Edition by Will Durant

A brilliant and concise account of the lives and ideas of the great philosophers—Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Spinoza, Voltaire, Kant, Schopenhauer, Spencer, Nietzsche, Bergson, Croce, Russell, Santayana, James, and Dewey

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo

Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying up to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again.

I really think that this is a very good book, it is quite interesting. If you are minimalist, this is your book.

Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One by Joe Dispenza

You are not doomed by your genes or hardwired to be a certain way for the rest of your life. A new science is emerging that empowers all human beings to create the reality they choose.

This is a really good book, I highly recommend it. It’s about mindset, it’s about what you believe influences your reality. This book teaches you at a level of quantum physics and neuroscience. It’s really interesting.

I Can See Clearly Now by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

This is a book by Dr. Wayne Dyer, I heard it on a podcast and I thought he was a very nice person. I have read many books about this character and he has a very interesting way of thinking. This one, in particular, is about his life story.

Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts by Ryan Holiday

If you are going to do a creative project or even write a book, you should follow the advice that my good friend Ryan Holiday has shared in this book. We have known each other for a while and I have several of his books.

How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger M.D.

He has many tips that will be of great help to you. Personally, I have a somewhat distant opinion about this book, as well as having many tips on how to eat healthily, much of the information is biased.
Although I’ve definitely been eating more greens, the only thing that keeps me from being vegan is that I eat meat.

Pimsleur Courses Italian

It is a course that helps you to learn Italian consisting of 5 units. It took me 6 months to finish it, dedicating 30 minutes to 1 hour a day. This caused me to stop reading more books, but I took advantage as much as I could.

Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness

A few common principles drive performance, regardless of the field or the task at hand. Whether someone is trying to qualify for the Olympics, break ground in mathematical theory or craft an artistic masterpiece, many of the practices that lead to great success are the same. In Peak Performance, Brad Stulberg, a former McKinsey and Company consultant and writer who covers health and the science of human performance, and Steve Magness, a performance scientist and coach of Olympic athletes, team up to demystify these practices and demonstrate how everyone can achieve their best.

How to Get and Stay Motivated by Grant Cardone

I really liked this book, but it seems very repetitive and more of the same that any other one of his works offer. If it is the first time you read a book by this author, do not let this book define your opinion of him.

The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss by Dr. Jason Fung

I think it’s a good book. I’ve change my mind about fasting, which is something I’ve done over the years. This book talks about the process and function of insulin. I am now clear that many of the things I have tried or experienced have not been helpful to me, but this book has given me good ideas about future changes in my diet.

The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche by H. L. Mencken

This is the first book on Nietzsche ever to appear in English, this examination by legendary journalist H. L. Mencken is still one of the most enlightening.

Nietzsche’s much-misunderstood concept of the superman, his concept of eternal recurrence, his rejection of Christianity, and his basic rationalism and materialism are all analyzed in this book.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

This book established Nietzsche as a bold and original thinker; a reputation that would only be enhanced by later works such as Beyond Good and Evil.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra has several recurring themes, placing the main character – the creator of one of the first monotheistic faiths – in a story which deals with ideas such as the “eternal recurrence of the same”, the parable on the “death of God”, and the “prophecy” of the Übermensch. This combination proved potent in philosophic circles, with the text passionately discussed in academic circles to this day.

Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life by Eric Greitens, Navy SEAL

This was a really good book about being Hardcore! Do You like the bulldog mindset? You must check out Resilience.

Eric’s letters—drawing on both his own experience and wisdom from ancient and modern thinkers—are now gathered and edited into this timeless guidebook. Greitens shows how we can build purpose, confront pain, practice compassion, develop a vocation, find a mentor, create happiness, and much more.

The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem: The Definitive Work on Self-Esteem by the Leading Pioneer in the Field by Nathaniel Branden

This was a foundational book on self-esteem. How you view yourself is going to determine how you act.

The book demonstrates compellingly why self-esteem is basic to psychological health, achievement, personal happiness, and positive relationships.

Primal Endurance: Escape chronic cardio and carbohydrate dependency and become a fat burning beast! by Mark Sisson

This was a book that was recommended to me about running, it’s basically about running with low carbs.

I’m not completely convinced by the training routine that is shown in the book, maybe it just doesn’t work for me, but if you don’t have a low carb routine, perhaps it can work for you.

Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions by Brian Christian

Man, I love this book, it has such an interesting theme. It’s about AI and how you can use algorithms in real life.

All our lives are constrained by limited space and time, limits that give rise to a particular set of problems. What should we do, or leave undone, in a day or a lifetime? How much messiness should we accept? What balance of new activities and familiar favorites is the most fulfilling? These may seem like uniquely human quandaries, but they are not: computers, too, face the same constraints, so computer scientists have been grappling with their version of such issues for decades. And the solutions they’ve found have much to teach us.

The Magic 2.0 Series by Scott Meyers

This is a series of fiction books. The first three volumes were fascinating, but the fourth I did not like at all, his story was quite dull and boring. I feel that this fourth installment destroyed all the work of the first three.

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle

It’s one of my favorite books, it’s the second time I read it. It has a very powerful content because it can change your way of thinking. Talks about how important it is to live in the present.

The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone

This book is the full story of Amazon and its founder. He talks about how hard it is to work for this company and how ruthless Jeff Bezos can be.

The Everything Store will be the revealing, definitive biography of the company that placed one of the first and largest bets on the Internet and forever changed the way we shop and read.

Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson

Have you ever wanted to learn a language or pick up an instrument, only to become too daunted by the task at hand? Expert performance guru Anders Ericsson has made a career studying chess champions, violin virtuosos, star athletes, and memory mavens. Peak condenses three decades of original research to introduce an incredibly powerful approach to learning that is fundamentally different from the way people traditionally think about acquiring a skill.

The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships by Neil Strauss

This was a really interesting book. If you want to read something that is going to shake you up a little bit and get to your heart and make you think about life, then this is the book.

Models: Attract Women With Honesty by Mark Manson

Models is the first men’s dating book ever written on seduction as a purely emotional process rather than a logical one, a process of connecting with women rather than impressing them, a process of self-expression rather than manipulation. It’s the most mature and honest guide on how a man can attract women without faking behavior, without lying and without emulating others. A game-changer.

Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger

In his signature larger-than-life style, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall is a revealing self-portrait of his illustrious, controversial, and truly unique life.

The greatest immigrant success story of our time.

His story is unique, and uniquely entertaining, and he tells it brilliantly in these pages.

Napoleon Hill’s Keys to Success: The 17 Principles of Personal Achievement by Napoleon Hill

Napoleon Hill’s Keys to Success is a complete exploration of Hill’s success philosophy and his seventeen essential principles of personal achievement. I didn’t find it quite as useful as his other books, maybe because I’m used to the mindset, but you should definitely check it out.

Enlightenment, Marriage, and the Dark Side by David Deida

What’s really required for a long-lasting and fulfilling relationship? In this talk, David Deida suggests that it’s critical to learn how to reinvigorate the entire spectrum of sexual energy—including both the light and dark aspects—in order to maintain the “polarity” that makes great sex possible.

What Doesn’t Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude and Environmental Conditioning Will Renew Our Lost Evolutionary Strength by Scott Carney

Man, how could I not pick up a book called what doesn’t kill us? This is a journalist who went through cold endurance training trying to figure out if this is bullshit or not… it’s obviously not.

Scott Carney takes up the challenge to find out: Can we hack our bodies and use the environment to stimulate our inner biology? Helping him in his search for the answers is Dutch fitness guru Wim Hof, whose ability to control his body temperature in the extreme cold has sparked a whirlwind of scientific study.

Your One Word: The Powerful Secret to Creating a Business and Life That Matter by Evan Carmichael

In this bold and empowering guide, entrepreneur and social media sensation Evan Carmichael shares the secret to turbo-charging your path to success on your own terms. With thought-provoking questions and inspiring, instructive examples, Your One Word will help you nail down your personal mottos – the word that captures your purpose and passion. With this operating philosophy in hand, you will then learn how to leverage this powerful tool to create the business and future of your dreams.

In the beginning, I didn’t believe that you could actually surround your whole life in one word… But now, my word is BULLDOG.

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

This is a book about writing. Think you’ve got a book inside of you? Anne Lamott isn’t afraid to help you let it out. She’ll help you find your passion and your voice, beginning from the first really crummy draft to the peculiar letdown of publication.

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

Start With Why shows that the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world all think, act, and communicate the same way — and it’s the opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY.

Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Advanced Guide to Building Muscle, Staying Lean and Getting Strong by Michael Matthews

If you want to build as much muscle as naturally possible…be able to bench press, squat, and deadlift gargantuan amounts of weight…and maintain a ripped, beach-ready physique year round…then you want to read this book.

The Star Principle by Richard Koch

This is a vital book for any growing entrepreneur or investor (of grand or modest means). It is also invaluable for any ambitious employee who realizes the benefits of working for a Star venture – real responsibility, fast personal development, better pay, great bonuses and valuable share options.

Whoever you are, identifying and investing in Stars will make your life much sweeter and richer in every way.

Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World by Tim Ferriss

This is a bunch of questions asked to famous people, some of them are nuggets of wisdom, but most of them are crap.

That’s just something to keep in mind, there’s definitely a lot of good advice, but you gotta find the right fit.

The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday

It’s a daily meditation book based on Stoic philosophy, I’ve been doing this through the whole year, and I’ll be done by the end of the year because it’s one a day.

366 days of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations from the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the playwright Seneca, or slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, as well as lesser-known luminaries like Zeno, Cleanthes, and Musonius Rufus.

Manliness by Harvey C. Mansfield

This book is deep, and it was hard to get through. It invites―no, demands―a response from its readers. It is impossible not to be drawn into the provocative (often contentious) discussion that Harvey Mansfield sets before us. This is the first comprehensive study of manliness, a quality both bad and good, mostly male, often intolerant, irrational, and ambitious. Our “gender-neutral society” does not like it but cannot get rid of it.

The Warrior Ethos by Steven Pressfield

Steven Pressfield is one of my favorite authors, he wrote one of my favorite books of all time “The War of Art”

It’s a great non-fiction book and an inspirational one. If you like everything about the Spartans you should definitely check this one out.

Danger & Play: Essays on Embracing Masculinity by Mike Cernovich

This book is a compilation of many blog posts. Its author Mike Cernovich is a badass, I like the way he is and his way of thinking, but the book wasn’t what I was expecting.

True Believer by Nicholas Sparks

This is an excellent book. It talks about mass movements based on following a person with very influential ideas about politics, religion and more.

Your Erroneous Zones: Step-by-Step Advice for Escaping the Trap of Negative Thinking and Taking Control of Your Life by Wayne W. Dyer

This is Wayne Dyer’s first book. It talks about how to identify your erroneous zones, not your erogenous zones. Specifically, the places in your life that you messed up.

Nutrient Timing: The Future of Sports Nutrition by John Ivy

Its an old book about weightlifting and maximizing protein efficiency.

Using cutting-edge research studies from leading sports science laboratories, Nutrient Timing shatters myths and misconceptions about how to provide optimum nutrition to working muscles. It shows that when the right combination of nutrients is delivered at the right time, one can activate his/her body’s muscle machinery to increase muscle strength, improve endurance and increase lean muscle mass.

Head Strong: The Bulletproof Plan to Activate Untapped Brain Energy to Work Smarter and Think Faster-in Just Two Weeks by Dave Asprey

Man, I have to say that I do not agree with Dave Asprey, I’m all about not using crutches in life and building your strength, mental fortitude, and a strong mindset, and this guy talks about using hacks without building the foundation to get to the goals you want to be realized.

Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

Bringing to life science research in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, philosophy, and behavioral economics, this bestselling book reveals what scientists have discovered about the uniquely human ability to imagine the future, and about our capacity to predict how much we will like it when we get there.

Published: The Proven Path From Blank Page to Published by Chandler Bolt

It’s about creating a book and making it self-publishable, I used it a lot when I wrote my book “The Complete Software Developer Career Guide”. It’s an excellent book, I highly recommend it!

Book Launch: How to Write, Market & Publish Your First Bestseller in Three Months or Less AND Use it to Start and Grow a Six Figure Business by Chandler Bolt

No matter your writing level or ability, whether you feel like you have nothing to write about or you don’t have a following or influence — know that by following the information in Book Launch, you can successfully write a bestseller.

Most importantly, you can use your bestseller to grow your business, make more money and help more people.

Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook by Tony Robbins

After interviewing fifty of the world’s greatest financial minds and penning the #1 New York Times bestseller Money: Master the Game, Tony Robbins returns with a step-by-step playbook, taking you on a journey to transform your financial life and accelerate your path to financial freedom. No matter your salary, your stage of life, or when you started, this book will provide the tools to help you achieve your financial goals more rapidly than you ever thought possible.

The Art of Worldly Wisdom: A Pocket Oracle by Baltasar Gracian

The remarkable best-seller — a long-lost, 300-year-old book of wisdom on how to live successfully yet responsibly in a society governed by self-interest — as acute as Machiavelli, yet as humanistic and scrupulously moral as Marcus Aurelius.

King by Elliot Hulse

Elliot Hulse is someone who inspired me to create my YouTube channel. King is a good book and it has a lot of stuff about fitness and athletic advice. Also, spirituality, mindset, masculinity, and femininity.

Unscripted: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship by MJ DeMarco

MJ DeMarco’s long-awaited follow-up to the international best-seller, The Millionaire Fastlane, UNSCRIPTED is the definitive blueprint for escaping the cultural conditioning of the mundane and mediocre. Learn how to create an awe-inspiring life using the power of entrepreneurship. UNSCRIPTED is not something you TRY, it is something you LIVE.

Christian Gnosis by C W Leadbeater

This is a book that I happened to stumble upon, it’s an academical theology so I think it’s not going to be for many people.

I found it very interesting. If you’re willing to dedicate the time you can check out this book.

The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage by Mel Robbins

Throughout your life, you’ve had parents, coaches, teachers, friends and mentors who have pushed you to be better than your excuses and bigger than your fears. What if the secret to having the confidence and courage to enrich your life and work is simply knowing how to push yourself?

Using the science of habits, riveting stories, and surprising facts from some of the most famous moments in history, art, and business, Mel Robbins will explain the power of a “push moment.” Then, she’ll give you one simple tool you can use to become your greatest self.

The Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide by John Sonmez

Now it is time for my book! I’ve read this book like 5 fucking times this year because of all the editing it went through!

Add that to all the times I had to listen to the Audible version, and I highly recommend this!

10 Steps To Learn Anything Quickly By John Sonmez

To every programmer who’s ever scanned Hacker News and /r/programming and thought…

“How will I ever keep up?” Here’s how to turn “information overwhelm” into an efficiency edge that can quickly boost your income, earn you “MVP” status with your team, and make you the in-demand developer companies are dying to recruit.

And with that, we’re done! Happy Reading!

The post All The Books I Read In 2017 appeared first on Simple Programmer.

The Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide, Huge Success And Thank You

John Sonmez — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 15:00:21 +0000

Well, now that the dust has settled and I’m back from my whirlwind tour around Europe, it’s about time I did two things.

First, I’d like to share with everyone how the book launch went—hint, it went pretty damn well.

And second, I’d like to thank everyone involved who made it a success. Even though writing a book may be a solo endeavor, editing it, polishing it, and bringing it to market is not.

The launch results…

Ok, so without further ado, what happened? How did it go?

Well, I’ll spare you all the boring details of the launch and give you the highlights, starting with the biggest ones first.

Perhaps the most noteworthy achievement of the book launch of The Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide, was debuting at #5 on the famous Wall Street Journal Best Seller List for non-fiction.

This was huge—and unexpected.

I didn’t even have my sights set on this target, so when I saw the press releases, I was more than a little shocked.

It’s pretty cool to be able to add WSJ Best Selling author to my resume—not that I really have much use for a resume these days, but it’s still pretty cool.

The book ended up topping the charts in just about every category on Amazon in the first week or so. In fact, both The Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide and Soft Skills: The Software Developer’s Life Manual were both absolutely dominating the Software Development category on Amazon for quite some time.

And Amazon, of course, has their own chart of best sellers—the Amazon Most Selling Non-fiction Charton— on which the book debuted at #16 in.

As for Kindle rankings, the book made it up to #24 in all of Kindle books on Amazon at one point, featuring my mug on the cover along with a bunch of steamy romance novels all around me. (I should have considered an ab shot for my cover in order to complete.)

And finally, for a decent amount of time, The Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide was #2 across ALL Kindle non-fiction books on Amazon, being beat out of the top spot by a John Grisham novel, which I strongly suspect was actually fiction—but oh well, what can you do?

The aftermath

Yes, the launch was crazy, and it went awesomely well. Much better than I had expected. Still, there are definitely some things to improve on for next time—as there always will be.

I also received queries from several international publishers, and audio book distributors, so I’m happy to say that my team and I are working out all the details to get both an audio version of the book published, as well as translations of the book in most major languages.

Things are now just beginning to settle down, but the book’s sales continue to be strong.

Thank yous

I want to take a moment to publicly acknowledge some people for the roles they played in promoting the book, and just generally express my gratitude.

First of all, a big thank you to YOU. Yes, those of you who have supported my mission to make the world a better place by helping people realize and accomplish their dreams and maximize their potential in life.

Even if you didn’t buy the book, showing your support by reading this blog, watching my YouTube videos, and buying my products, or just being part of the community is greatly appreciated. It’s not easy to be out there in the public all the time—especially when you have some controversial views and aren’t just telling people what they want to hear.

So, your support is greatly appreciated. (But, do go and buy the book!)

Next, I want to thank my team at Simple Programmer. Doing something on this scale requires a team behind you, and I have the best team that it’s possible to have.

Just about everyone on team SP did something to contribute to the book and the successful launch. It was truly a joint effort.

And a special thank you to the SP launch team and early reviewers. Many of you gave me early feedback on the book, asked lots of good questions, and left reviews on the book on the day of the launch, which all contributed to its success.

Speaking of early reviewers, I promised to give them a shout-out and some public acknowledgement, so here’s the list below. Thanks to each of you for your detailed feedback on the book:

Aaron Thomas
Alexander Heimonen
Andy Venet
Ben Norman
Botond Béres
Brandon Chun
Claudio Bernasconi
Cosmin Pupaza
Daniel Donbavand
Darrell Terry
Dave van Herten
Dimitris Loukas
Edwin Juan
Edwin Klesman
Fernando Zamora
Jason Down
Johannes Tammekänd
Jonathan Thoms
Lincoln Pires
Mark Coleman
Matthew Weber
Norbert Hajagos
Oleksii Fedorov
Rui Figueiredo
Thomas Oropeza

Finally, thank you to Usersnap, our fantastic promotional partner that played a pivotal role in helping to promote the book and didn’t expect much in return.

They’ve been gracious enough to offer a free trial and a goodie bag.

Get a free 30-day Usersnap trial + goodie bag

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Usersnap makes tracking bugs easy. With point-and-click annotation tools, Usersnap helps you report bugs where they happen: in your browser. No need to switch to a bug reporting application or to fill out endless forms. Bug tracking is now a picnic!

Start with your bug tracking and user testing efforts and sign up for an extended 30-day free Usersnap trial.

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And better be fast: the first 15 people signing up Usersnap will also receive a goodie bag from Usersnap.

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Then send them a message at help@usersnap.com to get your free goodie bag. Don’t miss out!

Thanks again to everyone who supported or participated in the launch!

Time to get started on writing that next book…

The post The Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide, Huge Success And Thank You appeared first on Simple Programmer.

The Best Books All Software Developers Should Read

John Sonmez — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 14:00:50 +0000

It’s no secret I love books.

When I am out running my 40 miles a week, it’s study hall time for me.

I spend a good eight hours a week reading books — or rather, listening to the audio versions when I’m running or driving.

In a year, I’ll easily go through more than 50 books.

A huge amount of the success I’ve been able to achieve in life is directly attributable to the books I’ve read.

I’ve never had any real mentors.

When I wanted to learn how to invest in real estate, there was no one to show me the ropes.

I had to figure it out myself and books helped.

When I first wanted to learn how to program, once again, I didn’t have a real mentor.

I didn’t know any programmers — I was just a kid.

So, I turned to books.

When I wanted to advance my career as a software developer, again, no one to turn to, so more books.

Start a business — books.

Stock trade options — books.

Improve my life, my discipline, self-esteem, willpower — get in shape?

Books, books, books, and more books.

(Also plenty of failing, but getting back up again.)

Perhaps you, like me, don’t have access to a real-life mentor who can guide you on the path of programming and life?

Hopefully this book has helped to serve that purpose, but the journey hasn’t ended. It never does.

That’s why I’ve decided to wrap up this book by giving you a list of some of my favorite books so you can create your own virtual mentors.

It’s tempting for me to list hundreds of books, but to save some space, I’ve trimmed the list down to what I think are the best of the best.

However, if you’d like to download a complete list of my all-time most influential books, broken down by topics, you can get it right here.

I hope you enjoy.

Writing Good Code

As a software developer, you should be especially interested in writing good code, since that is one of the most foundational things software developers do.

Here are some of the best books I’ve found on the topic that greatly influenced me in my career and directly improved the quality of the code I wrote.

Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction, Second Edition

This is a foundational and pivotal book on writing good, clean, understandable code that clearly communicates what the code does without the need for excessive comments.

It has fundamentally changed the way I think about writing code and creating software.

It talks about how to debug code, create quality software, and many other topics every software developer should understand.

The book is a little dated as far as methodologies go, but is still a must-read book for every serious software developer.

Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship

This is one of my all-time favorite books, written by one of my favorite mentors in the software development industry, Bob Martin (Uncle Bob).

This book teaches you how to write clean, highly understandable code and to refactor existing code by example.

It is full of principles and best practices that are timeless in nature and greatly aid the understanding of code written in any programming language.

While Code Complete is a bit dated in terms of methodology, Clean Code makes up for it by presenting an Agile way of crafting and maintaining software.

Agile Software Development, Principles, Patterns, and Practices

Another book by Uncle Bob, but this one focuses more on object-oriented programming.

It covers a wide range of topics from Agile methodology and how to use it, to object oriented design principles, to design patterns and more — all with excellent examples.

What You Need To Know

There are many things you need to know as a software developer. I’ve covered the basics of them throughout this book, but the following books will give you a more in-depth understanding and round out a few areas we didn’t discuss:

Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software

This book is a classic, but it’s still relevant today, as you’ll commonly see design patterns in code you are maintaining, or you’ll recognize some of these patterns in code you are writing.

Every software developer should at least understand the basic, classic design patterns presented in this book.

Testing Computer Software

Another classic book, but an essential one for understanding software testing and what it is all about.

This book covers the basics of what every software developer should know about testing and test methodology.

Introduction to Algorithms

Not an easy book by any means — requires some math — but it is one of the best books on the modern algorithms commonly used in software development today.

Every software developer should be familiar with these algorithms.

Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture

This book covers just about everything you should know about writing large-scale, robust applications.

Although the focus is on enterprise applications, many of the principles and patterns apply to any kind of large-scale software application.

Working With Existing Code

One of the most frequent things you’ll be doing as a software developer is working with and maintaining code you didn’t write, i.e. legacy code.

Fortunately, there are some pretty good books on the subject.

Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code

One essential skill in working with legacy code is refactoring.

Refactoring is changing the structure of the code without changing its functionality.

This book covers just about every major refactoring pattern you need to know.

Now, most of these refactorings don’t have to be done manually any more, since they are baked into modern IDEs, but this book will teach you what they are and how to implement them when you have to.

Working Effectively With Legacy Code

This is considered one of the best overall books for learning how to deal with and maintain legacy code.

It covers just about every topic you can think of in dealing with legacy systems, including safely refactoring, identifying where to make code changes, dealing with systems that aren’t object-oriented, and much, much more.

I highly recommend every software developer read this book — more than once.

Refactoring to Patterns

One of the best ways to clean up legacy code through refactoring is to simplify it, especially if it is a mess.

This book shows you exactly, step-by-step, how you can take existing code and refactor it using common design patterns found in software development.

This doesn’t mean you should refactor every bit of code into design patterns, or forcefully implement overly-complex design patterns when a simpler solution will do, but there are definitely plenty of times where the content of this book will come in handy.

Developing Yourself As A Developer

Being a good software developer involves more than just writing good code and being technically competent.

Various soft skills are also very important to your success as a code monkey.

The following books will help you grow and develop as a developer in more than just technical skills.

Soft Skills: The Software Developer’s Life Manual

Of course I have to include my book here, as I specifically wrote it to fill the need for a comprehensive book about developing soft skills as a software developer.

In this book, I cover everything from your career, to marketing yourself, learning, productivity, finances, health and fitness, and even mastering the mental game and mindset.

I think every software developer should read this book — but I’m a bit biased.

The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master

Based on the wisdom of a couple of very experienced software developers, this is an extremely popular programming book all about how to advance your career as a software developer..

It’s funny, it’s entertaining, it’s real stories about real difficult situations in software development.

The Passionate Programmer: Creating a Remarkable Career in Software Development

This book is chock-full of practical advice about your career as a software developer and the inevitable struggles you’ll face.

It’s about learning how to increase your skills, changing your attitude, staying motivated, and keeping that passion alive, and of course, about advancing your career.

Developing Yourself As A Human Being

Ok, this is where it gets tough for me to narrow things down.

I have a TON of books on this subject, since it’s my mission in life to develop myself and help others achieve their own personal growth, but I’m picking the best of the best and the ones I think will especially help software developers.

I’m limiting myself to these three. Ok, four (I can’t resist).

How To Win Friends & Influence People

Start with this book.

It’s one of the best books of all time about interacting with others. Don’t let the title or the age of the book fool you.

This is a classic book frequently on the top book list of many successful people.

I honestly read this book at least once a year, sometimes twice.

I can’t say enough good things about this book — it changed my life.

As a Man Thinketh

This is a short book, and another old one, but extremely potent.

The mindset presented in this book is the mindset required to achieve success in life.

It’s all about focusing on your thoughts and how you choose to perceive the world, which ultimately determines what your life and world is like and what it will become.

Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed

If I had to pick one personal development book, and only one, this would be it.

Why?

It’s packed with many concepts, which are sourced from classical books on the subject and they are explained in a way that is concise and clear. It has plenty of exercises for you to actually do to make real, positive changes in your life.

This book covers a wide range of personal development topics, and gives you a huge “bang for your buck” in terms of what can be offered in a single book.

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life

This final book choice was difficult.

There are still so many good personal development books out there, but I picked this one because the author is none other than Scott Adams — yes, that’s right, the creator of Dilbert.

But he’s so much more than that.

This book lays out a philosophy of life that can’t help but make you a champion.

I never expected such wisdom from the creator of a cartoon about a pointy-haired boss, but this book delivers.

(If you really want to see how deep Scott Adams can go — and you really want to bake your brain — check out God’s Debris. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though.)

I’ll stop here, but I could write a whole book on what books to read for personal development and growth.

Going Deep

Sometimes as a software developer it’s fun and enlightening to go deep.

What do I mean by going deep?

I mean blasting through abstractions and dissecting things to understand how they really work.

Sure, we don’t need to know how CPUs work and the underlying details of operating systems to do our normal jobs, but gosh darn it, it’s fun to dig into those details. Sometimes.

So, if you want to go deep, I’ve got a few book recommendations for you that will take you to the depth you desire and fulfill that childlike curiosity we all have.

Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

This book filled in so many of my knowledge gaps around computer hardware, low-level computer science and computer architecture concepts.

The best part is, it does it in a fun, entertaining and easy-to-digest way — at least mostly easy to digest.

I highly recommend that every software developer read this book, not because you need to know what is in this book, but because you’ll have so much fun learning what is in this book.

Plus, you’ll understand computers and code in a way that you couldn’t imagine.

Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

This is a difficult book about programming — especially if you go through the book and do all the exercises.

But I think you’ll find the experience rewarding and it’s likely to change the way you think about and approach programming, especially if you’ve never been introduced to functional programming concepts.

Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutions

If you want to get a job at a company like Microsoft or Google, this is required reading.

If you want to be able to pass a whiteboard interview where you have to code up a solution to some algorithm problem, this is required reading.

This book pretty much covers everything you need to know about solving the difficult, computer science, algorithm-type programs that are often asked during coding interviews.

It covers the fundamental types of algorithms and data structures, gives you practice problems, and sets you up for success.

If you want to go deep with learning how to solve algorithm-type coding problems, this is your book.

The Art of Computer Programming

Can I really recommend a book series I’ve never read?

Sure can.

This four-volume set was on my list of “someday to read” books, but I never got around to it.

Why?

Because reading these books is a huge undertaking.

These books go through, in depth and in detail, computer science algorithms — and not the easy stuff.

If you really, really want to go deep with algorithms, and you are prepared for some heavy math, go for it.

Let me know how it goes. I wish you luck.

Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools (Second Edition)

This book is known as the dragon book — and for good reason.

It goes down deep into places where the dragons live; in the realm of compilers and operating systems.

Some of the information might be a bit dated, but if you are really interested in how compilers work and perhaps want to write your own, take a crack at this book.

Entertaining And Fun

You might think that going deep into algorithms or compilers is both fun and entertaining, and while I agree, in part, I have to admit that not every software developer thinks so.

So, what I will present to you here are books that I feel are especially fun and entertaining to most software developers.

Your mileage may vary.

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

The first time I heard about this book, it was someone saying they wished they could read it again for the first time.

That was enough to get me to buy and read this book, and I was not disappointed.

It’s not a computer science or programming book, but it has many programming-related concepts and delves deeply into the paradoxical, contradiction-heavy realm of logic.

Magic 2.0 Series

I don’t read much fiction, but these books appealed to me because they combine D&D kind of elements with computer hacking and time travel.

Oh, and they are very funny.

Again, I’m not a huge fiction reader, but as a programmer, I really enjoyed these books, so I’m recommending them here.

The Martian

Like I said, I don’t read many fiction books, but I read this one because it was written by a programmer, I like space, and so many people kept talking about it.

I was not disappointed.

Fantastically funny, thrilling, and intellectually stimulating book.

Pretty much loved every moment of it.

Snow Crash

Yes, I’m recommending another book I haven’t read — yet.

But I promise I just added it to my Amazon wish list and I’ll be reading it soon.

As far as fiction programming books go, this is probably the most highly recommended book.

So, I felt I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t recommend it here.

Like I said, I haven’t read it myself, but I plan to.

(Update: I did read it, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. Still, so many developers do like and recommend it that I’m leaving it in this list.)

Perseverance And Motivation

There is no real substitute in life for getting your ass kicked.

It’s through adversity that we learn to overcome and grow stronger.

Life will kick you in the ass.

Life will be hard and cruel at times.

You are going to lose your motivation.

You are going to want to quit and give up.

The following books will help you in those times.

The Obstacle is the Way

This book is the first book that really introduced me to the stoic philosophy I hold so central to my life today.

This book is about how the bad things that happen to you can be used to make you strong and help you find the right path instead of defeating you.

Most of these lessons come right out of stoic philosophy; they are told using historical stories that demonstrate the principle.

The 10x Rule

The author of this book, Grant Cardone, quickly became one of the greatest role models in my life after I read this book and the next one, also his.

This book is all about how you probably need to set your goals 10x higher, and how it will probably take 10x more effort to achieve them than what you think.

It’s about how you can, and should, take massive action to achieve success in life.

This book will kick you in the ass — I promise.

Be Obsessed or be Average

Hey, so do the people around you say that you are “obsessed” and that what you are doing isn’t healthy because you are working too hard?

This book gives you permission to politely “give them the finger” and keep on blazing your trail.

It’s all about harnessing the power of obsession to get where you want to go.

It also talks quite a bit about the people who will try to bring you down and how to deal with them.

The War of Art

I’ve read this book at least a dozen times — it’s that good.

It’s all about sitting down to do the work and realizing that it will always be difficult; you’ll often feel unmotivated, but as a professional, you do it anyway.

This book helped me develop the work ethic to write my first book, and that work ethic has continued to help me write this book.

This book is all about fighting and overcoming the resistance that we all face in life whenever we try to improve ourselves in any way.

Plus, it’s written so poetically that it’s a pleasure to read.

Read On, My Friend…

Well there you have it; those books should keep you busy for a while.

If you get through all the books on this list, I guarantee your life will be drastically improved.

But the journey shouldn’t stop there.

I challenge you to make reading a daily habit, if it isn’t already.

There are so many more good books out there. It was quite difficult to narrow all my favorites down to make this list.

Here are a few final tips to help you on your journey.

Make sure you spend your time reading good books.

Always look for books that are highly recommended.

Always have a list of books that you want to read next so that you aren’t stuck “looking for a good book.”

Utilize audio if you can.

When you are running, walking, lifting weights, driving in the car, or doing some other activity where you can easily listen to an audiobook, do it.

Invest in getting an Audible.com subscription and don’t be afraid to buy extra credits.

Finally, put what you learn into action.

Knowledge without action is worthless.

Don’t just read the books, do what they say.

Think about how you can apply what you are learning to your own life.

And, maybe… someday… write your own book.

The post The Best Books All Software Developers Should Read appeared first on Simple Programmer.

All The Books I Read In 2016

John Sonmez — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 15:00:09 +0000

It’s that time again where I go through all the book I read this year and give you a short review of each one.\n\nThis year, I read a whopping 72 books!\n\nYes, that’s crazy, I know.\n\nI was a bit shocked when I compiled the list myself and found that there were that many books–especially since I read some of them more than once.\n\nThat’s why I decided to create this blog post to list all the books I read this past year. And don’t worry… If you don’t like to read, that’s ok. I’ve also recorded a video with the same books you’ll find on this list:\n\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n

How did I do it, you may ask?

\n\nOr perhaps you just don’t believe me.\n\nUnderstandable–that’s a lot of books.\n\nNo, I didn’t “speed read” them or just skim the books.\n\nNo, I didn’t read summaries of all these books — I actually read them.\n\nWell, listened to them — at least many of them.\n\nThis year, I started running 40+ miles a week.\n\nYes, I know that is crazy as well, but that’s how I “read” many of these books.\n\nI utilized my Audible.com account to listen to the audio versions of the books, mostly at 3x speed. (3x speed may seem unintelligible to you, but you can work your way up to it if you slowly increase the speed and you can give absolute focus–that’s why running works so well).\n\nIf you haven’t already signed up for an Audible.com subscription, do it now–seriously, it will be one of the best decision you make in your life.\n\nI also listen to books whenever I am walking somewhere or driving in the car.\n\nAnd, of course, I read books on my Kindle just about every night.\n\nI did discover this year that trying to listen to audiobooks while lifting weights didn’t work out too well for me, because it was too difficult to focus, so I spend that time listening to podcasts instead.\n\n(Check out my ultimate list of software development podcasts if are looking for some good programming podcasts.)\n\nPrevious years and other resources\n\n

All The Books I Read in 2014

All The Books I Read in 2015

My Book Reviews

My Top 10 Books

Ultimate List of Programming Books

Programming Book Reviews

\n\nAlso, you might notice some themes, like books I read this year that had to do with masculinity.\n\nI get obsessed with certain subjects and do a large amount of research, reading every book I can find on the subject, from time to time.\n\nThis year, I got several questions from YouTube subscribers who were dealing with women problems, so I did some research–this many “strange” books in the mix this year.\n\nOk, without further adieu, here are the books, arranged by theme:\n\n

Fiction

Masculinity

Habits & Personal Development

Power, Negotiation & Persuasion

Business & Entrepreneurship

Everything Else (Mostly Knowledge-heavy Books)

\n\nEnjoy!\n\n

Fiction

\n\n1) The Magician’s Nephew\n\n\n\nI’ve just finished reading this to my 5-year-old daughter–trying to go through the classics with her. This book is the first in the Chronicles of Narnia series. Great stuff.\n\n2) The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe\n\n\n\nAlso from the Chronicles of Narnia. This one needs no introduction–it’s the most recognizable book in the series. Brings back some good childhood memories from the older Narnia cartoons.\n\n3) Snow Crash\n\n\n\nThis is supposed to be one of the best fiction books for programmers, but I’m not quite feeling it. I don’t usually do fiction, so this is slightly disappointing.\n\n4) Ender’s Game\n\n\n\nI’ve never watched the movie (and probably never will), but I thought this was a pretty good book! It’s fun. I loved the ending. I might read the rest of the series, but overall this was good fiction for me.\n\n5) Flatland\n\n\n\nThis was fun. It mixes in a bit of religion and politics, but it’s main theme is that you can’t understand what you can’t perceive. It warps your mind, jumping from 2-dimensions to 3, 4 and 5 dimensions. Flatland is currently in the public domain.\n\n6) God’s Debris\n\n

\n\nMan, this was such a good book. It’s written by Scott Adams (i.e. the Dilbert Guy). This one will blow your mind. It’s entertaining, but it will twist and contort your mind in the process. The book is about a guy conversing with God. It’s meant to be a thought experiment, but it goes way beyond that.\n\n

Masculinity

\n\n7) How to Be a 3% Man\n\n\n\nThis talks about being the kind of man that attracts women, with most of the material taken from various sources. There’s some good stuff in here, but some of the stories don’t seem very believable. If I were to give some advice on this one, I’d say skip the book and look directly at the sources.\n\n8) The Rational Male\n\n\n\nA book all guys should read. It delves into the situations the modern male faces today, particularly with regards to masculinity and red pill psychology. Women might find it a good read as well.\n\n9) The King Within\n\n\n\nAnother book I read on the theme of masculinity. There are four archetypes in Jungian psychology: the King, the Warrior, the Magician, and the Lover. This book explores the King archetype. It’s a bit of a difficult read — do be warned. If you’re exploring masculinity and femininity I’d recommend taking a look at Jungian psychology in general.\n\n10) The Game\n\n\n\nThis is a classic book on pickup artists. It’s not a book for those looking for a list of tips and tricks. Rather, it explores the community, culture and psychology of pickup artists, and gives you a feeling for why the community has moved away from the whole ‘tips and tricks’ approach. For men still looking for a shortcut in the dating game, I recommend you read this and find out why that approach doesn’t cut it anymore.\n\n11) Iron John\n\n\n\nA good book on the mythology of man. Sort of like a Joseph Campbell book. It talks about the story of man, and how it relates to masculinity, the coming of age and the process in which one goes through to become a real man in society.\n\n12) Gorilla Mindset\n\n\n\nIt’s a short book by Mike Cernovich. Smart guy with a good mindset. The book is fairly basic–more of a beginner’s book for men. But if you take a look at his blog posts, you’ll find more in-depth material.\n\n13) The Way of Men\n\n\n\nAnother book all men should read. It talks about what it means to be a man and what it means to be masculine. It’s quite a unique read–you don’t find a lot of these kinds of books out there.\n\n14) Mate\n\n\n\nThis was amusing. It’s written by a guy who previously preached the merits of being an asshole to attract women. This book is like his ‘come-to-Jesus’ turnaround, where instead he talks about being nice as a strategy. I call bullshit–it feels like he’s trying to change his image rather than offer actual advice.\n\n15) What Do Women Want?\n\n\n\nThis was slightly scary. I don’t agree 100% with everything inside, but it’s a book all men should take a look at. If anything, it’ll make you think about things in more depth.\n\n16) No More Mr. Nice Guy\n\n\n\nA good introduction for guys who want to stop being nice. Being nice isn’t really what you want to do (this doesn’t mean you should be an asshole). This book talks about the story of a guy who went from being nice to being a confident masculine character.\n\n17) The Way of the Superior Man\n\n\n\nFair warning: the audio and written version are different. I listened to the audio version–it’s from a seminar. I recommend the Kindle version, though this wasn’t bad either.\n\n18) Becoming a Barbarian\n\n\n\nIf you have a problem with political correctness, you’ll love this book. It’s about masculinity, but more about how to function as a man and not get sucked into the culture of political correctness.\n\n19) The Rational Male – Preventive Medicine\n\n\n\nThis is the follow-up to The Rational Male. I didn’t like this one as much. It’s still a good book, but not groundbreaking compared to the first.\n\n20) Grow Up: A Man’s Guide to Masculine Emotional Intelligence\n\n\n\nThis was interesting. It’s a bit too light — not that hard hitting. It feels like a mix of masculinity and Eastern philosophy. There’s definitely some good stuff about building yourself up, but it’s a bit watered down.\n\n21) King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine\n\n\n\nMore Jungian philosophy. I think it’s a good model to understand masculinity and a good read for both men and women.\n\n22) The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work, and Sexual Desire\n\n\n\nThis is the written version of number 58 on this list. The first chapter itself is awesome, discussing how things in life are never ‘done’, so you just have to live life and carry on. A lot of people are going to hate this book, but I’d recommend it–there’s some good stuff here.\n\n

Habits & Personal Development

\n\n23) Boundaries\n\n\n\nI like this one. It delves a bit into Christian theology, but don’t let that scare you off. The book talks about personal boundaries, putting expectations/obligations on others, and in turn, accepting expectations/obligations from others. I think a lot of people struggle with this, particularly with family. I strongly recommend this.\n\n24) The Energy Bus\n\n\n\nA good gift for a negative person! The book gives some solid philosophy for life, all spun together with a story-format.\n\n25) Living with a Seal\n\n\n\nThis book kicked my ass so hard, I ran a full marathon a week later. It’s a somewhat chronological account of a guy who (as the title suggests) had a Navy SEAL live with him and train him hardcore for 30 days. A pretty inspirational punch in the gut.\n\n26) Triggers\n\n\n\nThis book is about changing your habits and behavior. The main takeaway I got from this is that your environment exerts a huge influence on your behavior and ‘triggers’. Pretty decent book–it explains why you do what you do, and how to stop that.\n\n27) Extreme Ownership\n\n\n\nI have mixed thoughts on this. Extreme Ownership is about leadership and ownership from a Navy SEALs perspective. I was hoping they would offer a more ‘tactical’ viewpoint, but I still appreciated the concepts and stories inside.\n\n28) The Compound Effect\n\n\n\nMain takeaway: things add up. They might not seem to be doing much, but over time, all your daily rituals add up. A few people recommended this to me because they thought it resembled my strategy in life. Upon reading it, I can confirm: Yep, my life strategy is the Compound Effect.\n\n29) The Power of Ambition\n\n\n\nThis is actually an audio program. It’s a bit long, but it delves into some good detail and goes through areas of personal development and self-help that I believe are worth understanding. Would recommend.\n\n30) How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big\n\n\n\nAnother Scott Adams book. His way of structuring life somewhat mirrors my own–can’t believe I didn’t discover him earlier. It’s an excellent book on the philosophy for life and putting systems in place to make you successful.\n\n31) Way of the Peaceful Warrior\n\n\n\nA lot of people recommended this to me. It was a fun read–it takes a story and uses it to tell a philosophy. It has a good ending as well.\n\n32) Grit\n\n\n\nI thought this would actually be about ‘grit’, but it turned out to be more of a psychology pop science book. In the last few chapters, the author veers off the research and goes more on her intuition. I actually found these parts more valuable. Overall, I’m not too impressed with this one.\n\n33) Action Strategies for Personal Achievement\n\n\n\nVery comprehensive, but if you’ve read Maximum Achievement (from the same author), you might not get as much out of it.\n\n34) Deep Work\n\n\n\nI was anticipating this book for a while but was slightly disappointed when it finally came out. I would’ve found it more useful if I weren’t already practicing most of the advice within it. It didn’t go into as much depth as I’d like either. I’d imagine others might still find it a good read.\n\n35) Choose Yourself\n\n\n\nJames Altucher is an awesome guy, and I loved this book. Great nuggets of wisdom in this.\n\n36) Smarter Faster Better\n\n\n\nThis is from the same guy who wrote The Power of Habit. This wasn’t too good–he angled it too much off his own success. There is some good psychology inside it, but overall it didn’t quite rub off well with me.\n\n37) The Way of the Seal\n\n\n\nBy Mark Divine, a Navy SEAL himself. Talks a lot about mindset, though I don’t agree with it completely. I wouldn’t say it’s a must-read either, but if you’re into that kind of thing, you’ll find some valuable bits inside.\n\n38) The Essence of Success\n\n\n\nA classic self-development program. Really good information with a good philosophy of life.\n\n39) Ego is the Enemy\n\n\n\nA lot of people like this book, but I don’t quite feel it. I felt it was more like an apology for the author’s own ego and mistakes he made, but isn’t widely applicable. Don’t be mistaken, there are some great lessons in this book, and I’m a huge fan of the author, but it feels like it’s missing something.\n\n40) Unlimited Power: The New Science Of Personal Achievement\n\n\n\nA book by Tony Robbins. Not as strong as his other book, Awaking the Giant Within, but still a good book, especially if you’re a fan of his. Speaking of which, if you’re only going to read one Tony Robbins book, I say go with Awaking the Giant Within.\n\n41) The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck\n\n\n\nBy Mark Manson, who I think is a pretty swell guy. His blog is great and has some good stuff, but this book missed the mark for me. It felt like an overdose of exclamation marks and attempts to be funny all the time. The content is great, but the delivery felt flat.\n\n42) A New Earth\n\n\n\nA good psychology for life. I don’t agree with everything inside this, but it’s good if you want to grow as a person. I think this is better than Eckhart’s other book, The Power of Now.\n\n

Power, Negotiation & Persuasion

\n\n43) The Like Switch\n\n\n\nI thought this was okay. It’s written by an FBI negotiator and talks about getting people to like you. It starts strong but loses steam later on. The first few chapters are worth reading, but you’re probably better off getting the CliffsNotes on this one.\n\n44) Never Split the Difference\n\n\n\nOne of my favorite books of 2016. This was also written by an FBI hostage negotiator. It offers great insights into negotiations, particularly from an emotional rather than strategic viewpoint. I’ve read it twice, and I might just add it to my perennial reading list — it’s that good.\n\n45) Pre-Suasion\n\n\n\nI was expecting this to be awesome, but it wasn’t quite that awesome. It gave a few good tactics in the beginning. Then in the end, it degenerated into a sermon on why you shouldn’t use the tactics for bad, but why he included it anyway… That stuff didn’t really need to be there.\n\n46) Trump The Art of The Deal\n\n\n\nWhether you love or hate him, I say read this book. It’s a great way to understand Trump, his character, where he comes from and what he’s about. I found this pretty insightful, I think you will too.\n\n47) Made to Stick\n\n\n\nThis book is about what stories stick in people’s heads. Great if you’re into marketing and you want to master the story-format.\n\n48) 33 Strategies of War\n\n\n\nA book by one of my favorite authors, Robert Greene. Listening to the audio version was challenging as Greene writes at a very high-level with frequent use of dates and times. It’s still a great book with good strategies to apply in life, but I wouldn’t opt for the audio version.\n\n49) Art of Seduction: An Indispensible Primer on the Ultimate Form of Power\n\n\n\nAnother Robert Greene book. The title may mislead you–it’s actually about seduction throughout history and the types of seduction employed. It’s a good book if you want to understand human psychology. Very applicable in real life.\n\n50) Introducing NLP: Psychological Skills for Understanding and Influencing People\n\n\n\nIf you haven’t read a book on NLP, this will give you a good background on it. I was somewhat familiar with it already, but this gave me a better grounding. Overall good introduction to NLP.\n\n

Business & Entrepreneurship

\n\n51) Tools of Titans\n\n\n\nThis one’s from Tim Ferriss. Given that I listen to his podcast, I’ve seen some of the stuff here already. You might want to bear that in mind. Nevertheless, I see this more as a good reference to have–seeing what the best experts in each field are saying, nicely compartmentalized into this one book.\n\n52) The Effective Executive\n\n\n\nI’d say this was good but not great. A lot of the ideas here have already snuck their way into the mainstream. It was probably revolutionary in its time, but I wouldn’t say it’s a must-read anymore.\n\n53) The Millionaire Booklet\n\n\n\nThis one’s by Grant Cardone and likely my best discovery this year. The guy’s a great mentor, especially in a world lacking good role models for entrepreneurs. It’s not too long, so I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a quick read.\n\n54) Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur\n\n\n\nThis is a short book from Derek Sivers. I’m not sure how to describe this except ‘ehhhh…’. Maybe I’m not much a Derek Sivers guy.\n\n55) Scaling Up\n\n\n\nDidn’t like it. I don’t think I’m at the stage of business where I’ll find this useful. It seems targeted at bigger businesses, and I might need to read previous books in the series to get more use out of this. Listening to the audio version didn’t quite do it for me either–if I do revisit it I’ll likely read the print/Kindle version.\n\n56) Be Obsessed or Be Average\n\n\n\nAnother great book by Grant Cardone. The main idea here: screw what other people say. Screw the people who say you work too hard or are too obsessed. Go for it. Be obsessed. This was a good kick-you-in-the-ass book to read.\n\n57) The 10X Rule\n\n\n\nGrant Cardone appears once again with a fantastic book. This was the first book I read for him. As a tip, you’ll notice that the print and audio versions differ slightly–he’s more brutal in the audiobook.\n\n58) Good to Great\n\n\n\nClassic business book. A little bit overhyped, but it had some good bits on company profiles and what makes a great company. Funnily enough, some of the ‘great’ companies turned out to be not so great, but still a very good read for entrepreneurs.\n\n

Everything Else (Mostly Knowledge-heavy Books)

\n\n59) The Inevitable\n\n\n\nThis book sets out a few predictions for the future. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it’s reasonably well put together. It does, however, fall back on a recurring theme of a ‘Global Library’ or ‘One-Mind’. Pretty good book nevertheless — would recommend.\n\n60) Cosmosapiens\n\n\n\nThis might just be the best book of the year. If you’re into science, this is a must. It tosses in everything from anthropology, evolutionary biology, cosmology — and it will obliterate everything you thought you knew about science. I’ll warn you — this is fairly long and goes into quite a bit of detail, but it’s worth it.\n\n61) The Hero With a Thousand Faces\n\n\n\nI’ve been meaning to read this for a while, but upon doing so, I think it was a bit above my level. It was long and difficult to understand. I know it had some good concepts inside, but it didn’t quite do it for me. I’ll pass on this one.\n\n62) Evolution 2.0\n\n\n\nThis was an excellent book by Perry Marshall. I actually did an interview with him that you can watch here. This book talks about evolution, and how the way most of us understand it is outdated and misinformed. This isn’t to say evolution itself is wrong, but rather the way most of us learn it is very much false and misleading. Trust me on this one — take a look at the book before you jump to conclusions.\n\n63) Dianetics\n\n\n\nI got a lot of flak for reading this, but I wanted to investigate Scientology for a bit. Without going into too much detail, it’s weird, but it’s not completely crackpot. The stuff inside reminds me of what you might find in New Age philosophy. It’s probably flawed, but if the model works for you, it works — whether it’s true or not.\n\n64) On Liberty\n\n\n\nThis is a classic everyone should read. A basic tenet of the book is that we need to give everyone a chance to speak — even if we find their opinions repulsive. Thinking about it today, it used to be the case that the government would limit our speech, but it seems that these days, society has taken that mantle by shaming dissenting views rather than debating them.\n\n65) Foundations of Eastern Civilizations\n\n\n\nThis is from the Great Courses Series. This was really long, and it’s basically about China and its history. I read this before I headed there this year, and it helped me understand a lot of what I was seeing. It’s a good chronology of China’s history.\n\n66) Emerson, Thoreau, and the Transcendentalist Movement\n\n\n\nAnother picking from the Great Courses Series. I love transcendentalism, Emerson, and Thoreau, and I wanted to understand more on this. This is some really interesting groundbreaking stuff from history, and you start to appreciate its influences on today. As you read more, you start seeing the dots between this and Eastern philosophy/stoicism connect. I highly recommend this.\n\n67) Books That Have Made History: Books That Can Change Your Life\n\n\n\nThis goes through a number of influential books from history and provides a summary for each. I found this quite a useful way to discover what I wanted to read. Overall, it’s quite well put together.\n\n68) The Tao of Seneca\n\n\n\nThis is a reading of Seneca’s Letters to Lucilius. It’s great stuff, but you’re better off reading the letters directly rather than listening to the audio. The language and ideas here get very complex, so much so that you need to cool off and meditate on it for awhile. Again, great stuff, but read — don’t listen — to it.\n\n69) The Bhagavad Gita\n\n\n\nThis was really good. It’s a classic Indian religious text with some very good wisdom inside. I went over some parts a few times–it’s a great book that may blow your mind.\n\n70) Dumbing Us Down\n\n\n\nIt talks about the history of American education and why it’s so awful. Amusingly, it’s written by a teacher who won some prestigious teaching award — basically a huge one-finger salute to the system they were once in. If you’re considering homeschooling or just want to get educated on education, I highly recommend this.\n\n71) Outliers\n\n\n\nThis book is bullshit. It’s one of those victim-mentality, privilege-promoting books. Malcolm Gladwell cherry-picks stories and presents it as research to promote what’s essentially a destructive philosophy to have. Yes, some have setbacks in life. No, the philosophy in this book does not help.\n\n72) My Big TOE\n\n\n\nThis book is crazy. It’s about a guy tripping on acid who comes up with the idea that we’re all living in a virtual reality. It sounds whack, but it provides some salient points. He presents an entire framework for how the world works. Crazy read, but go for it.\n\nAnd with that, we’re done!\n\nAgain, if you’re like to check out my in-depth book reviews, you can do so here. Happy reading.

The post All The Books I Read In 2016 appeared first on Simple Programmer.

The Software Developer (And Other Tech Geeks) Christmas Gift List 2016

John Sonmez — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 15:00:17 +0000

Update: Check out the latest 2020 Software Developer Gift list here

\n\nIn true Simple Programmer tradition, I’ve put together this year’s Christmas List for software developers, programmers, and tech junkies.\n\nProgrammers are picky people and, if your spouse/SO/family member is one, you might be finding it a huge pain in the neck shopping for them this Christmas.\n\nOr maybe you’re a programmer yourself, and you’re tired of receiving yet another loud Christmas sweater from a well-meaning, if misguided, relative.\n\nIf so, you can not-so-subtly share this Christmas List. It contains my top picks for tech items this year – products anyone in the technology field will appreciate.\n\nYou can check out past editions of the annual list here:\n\nSoftware Developer Christmas List 2013\n Software Developer Christmas List 2014\n Software Developer Christmas List 2015\n\nIf reading isn’t your thing, you can watch a video I made on it here:\n\n

\n\n\n\nLet’s get cracking.\n\n

NES Classic Edition

\n\nThis is my childhood right here.\n\nAnyone in their 30s is going to be totally psyched about this. It comes pre-loaded with 30 games that you can plug in and play.\n\nAnd for a nostalgic punch in the gut, it comes with an old-school Nintendo controller.\n\n\n\nThe emulation is great, it feels like playing the original version. No ROM’s or switch out cartridges.\n\nPretty cool gift to get. If anything, it’s for the feels.\n\n

Razor Blade Pro

\n\nI’m currently using a Surface Book, but my main gripe with it is that it can’t play games.\n\nNow, if I did play games, I’d be salivating over this baby.\n\n\n\n32 gigs of RAM. 4K touchscreen display.\n\nIt has one of the highest-end video cards, so you can run most games in ultra.\n\nIt’s a bit on the heavier end, and the price tag is a downer ($3,000), but I’m seriously considering ditching my Surface Book for this mean machine.\n\n

Samsung 960 Pro

\n\nWhenever I see a super-fast SSD drive, I feel a deep urge to switch to a PC again. This one is basically a commercial-grade drive with a consumer-grade price.\n\nThis SSD drive is in one of those M2 formats, somewhat like a chip. It comes in either 1TB or 2TB.\n\n\n\nOne problem though – the 960 Pro isn’t coming out till January. You could pre-order it or get the 950 Pro now instead, but I’m more stoked for the 960.\n\nThe speed on this thing is insane.\n\n

Raspberry PI 3

\n\nI’ve talked about the Raspberry PI in previous editions of the list. This is the updated Raspberry PI, and it’s pretty awesome.\n\nWay more powerful. Way more features.\n\n\n\nThis is great for hobbies. If you’re trying to nudge your children into programming or just want to create some cool projects, you can do a lot of cool things with this.\n\n

Oculus Rift

\n\nYou can only get the developer edition for now, so it’s not really suitable for the casual user.\n\nBut if you want to play around with Virtual Reality, this is a fresh new toy.\n\n\n\nNot a bad choice for a programmer who wants to tinker around. I might even take a shot at producing some VR programming for this thing.\n\n

LG 34UC88-B 34-Inch 21:9 Curved UltraWide QHD IPS Monitor

\n\nI actually did a review on this. You can check it out here.\n\nThis is basically an ultra-wide monitor that’s curved. It looks amazing.\n\n\n\nThe price is a setback, but I don’t mind. The monitor is top-notch. Pretty happy I bought it.\n\n

Garmin Forerunner 235

\n\nThis sucker is on my wrist right now.\n\nI used to wear an Apple Watch, but I switched to this recently. I run a lot and the Apple Watch just wasn’t cutting it for me. Battery life was too short as well.\n\n\n\nNow, the Garmin Forerunner 235 doesn’t do everything I’d like it to, but the battery life is like 9 days and it gives a ton of geeky statistics about your run.\n\nIt also tracks your sleep patterns, which is cool. The Apple Watch technically does this as well…but you’re probably going to be charging it while you sleep since the sucker lasts for barely a day.\n\nYou can also install apps on the Garmin Forerunner. Not Apple-ish apps, but it’s something.\n\n

Apple Watch II

\n\nAdmittedly, I’m not getting this – I’m pretty satisfied with my Garmin Forerunner, since I run a lot.\n\nWith that said, this comes with an inbuilt GPS, which is cool. It’s generally faster and better, though not quite there yet.\n\n\n\nStill a good gift, and some people will get a lot out of this.\n\nSometimes I still miss my old Apple Watch…\n\n

Schlage Sense Smart Deadbolt

\n\nI’ve been experimenting a bit with home automation and found this pretty interesting.\n\nIf you’re seriously considering getting this, check out my video review on it here.\n\n\n\nEssentially, it gives you keyless entry to your house. You either punch in a few numbers or use your smartphone to unlock it.\n\nQuite a convenient upgrade.\n\n

Ring Wi-Fi Enabled Video Doorbell

\n\nAgain, I did a video review on this, so you can check it out in detail here.\n\nYou can answer your doorbell from your phone and you get a second camera monitoring your front door.\n\n\n\nIt’s been super useful. You can talk to people when they drop off packages, one of those cool features that actually ends up being useful.\n\nI dropped $200 on this thing. Totally worth it: one of the best purchases I made this year.\n\n

AusKit Twist Tie

\n\nI have quite a few of these. It’s an easy way to tie those pesky cords together.\n\nDefinitely beats using a Velcro strap or just bunching cords together.\n\n\n\nMost of the things on this list are pretty expensive and tech-heavy, but if you’re looking for a simple gift, this will definitely be within your budget.\n\n

Akker 40W 4-Port USB Wall Charger Power Part 4

\n\nI picked this one specifically because it’s nice and compact for travel, but also because it has four ports.\n\n\n\nIt charges up to 2.1 amps (i.e. the max charge).\n\nIt also has this ‘IQ smart charging’ thing which comes in handy. Just flip this out, plug it in and it charges.\n\n

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II Mirrorless Digital Camera

\n\nI bought this for my wife and she really likes it so far.\n\n\n\nI shoot my YouTube videos with a Cannon T5I, but when I go traveling, this is way more handy. It’s a superbly compact yet high-quality camera.\n\nIt comes with wireless sync and a bunch of other cool features too.\n\n

AmazonBasics Single Monitor Display Mounting Arm

\n\nI’m using this right now. Not too expensive, but very flexible.\n\n\n\nYou can turn it in all directions and it frees up a bit of desktop space.\n\nMonitor stands usually take up surface real estate, and they aren’t widely adjustable, but this works way better than I expected. Great if you’re doing the whole standing-sitting desk thing as well.\n\n

MYOHO 3.3 feet / 1 m Universal 2-in-1 Charge & Sync Cable

\n\nA pretty functional tool. It has Micro USB and Lightning combined, which is very convenient.\n\n\n\nI had something like this on last year’s list, but these ones are way more durable. They don’t break.\n\nI have six of these buggers.\n\n

Lizone® Extra Pro 26000mAh External Battery Charger

\n\nThis one charges your laptop, phone, batteries…it’s basically an external battery pack.\n\n\n\nThey have a 40,000mAh version, but I opted for the 26,00mAh one instead. A number of airlines restrict the use of the 40,000mAh version, so I’d go for this instead.\n\nHaving this around is great for my peace of mind. No need to worry about dead phones when I’m out on a long haul.\n\n

3Doodler 3D Printing Pen Pack

\n\nI swear, both this, the Oculus Rift and the NES are tugging away at my inner child.\n\nThe 3Doodler is a pen for 3-dimensions. It works sort of like 3D printing, except you’re drawing in 3D.\n\n\n\nQuite a creative tool. It’d be fun to play around with it, and once you’re bored, at least it’s still a novelty item to show off to friends.\n\n

PancakeBot PNKB01BK 3D Food Printer

\n\nThis is not a joke. PancakeBot. It exists. You can buy it.\n\n\n\nThe way it works is that you give it an image, say of a cat, and it’ll draw it for you with pancake batter. Sort of like pancake art.\n\nIt’s quite a unique idea. A bit on the pricey end of things, but seems like a fun thing to own.\n\n

Kano Computer Kit

\n\nI’m planning to get this for my daughter. It’s a put-together-your-own-computer kit.\n\nI think it’s great to get kids into programming, and this seems like a fun way to get them acquainted.\n\n\n\nIt has some programming assignments and basic tasks for them to do. The kids build their own computer, and then it’s theirs.\n\nA cool and useful tool, I’m keen on seeing how my daughter finds it.\n\n

Autonomous SmartDesk 2

\n\nI use this. You can raise and lower the desk according to how you want to work.\n\nIt’s really cheap for an adjustable standing desk. I tend to use it in stand mode the whole time.\n\n\n\nI’d say this is one of my better investments, as I get to burn extra calories and I have more energy.\n\nOne small downside is that you have to put this together yourself, but it doesn’t take too long.\n\n

TechMatte MagGrip Air Vent Magnetic Universal Car Mount

\n\nThis gadget is freaking awesome.\n\nIt’s a little magnetic car mount. Now, I know you’re getting all skeptical – this thing? How can this be described as ‘freaking awesome’?\n\nYou’d be surprised just how convenient this is.\n\n\n\nIt has a powerful magnet that you put on your dashboard with a suction cup. Then you have some strong magnets you put at the back of your phone case.\n\nSay you’re driving and using your GPS, you just stick your phone there. Simple.\n\nIt’s a small thing but it makes life infinitely more convenient.\n\n

How about a gift from Simple Programmer?

\n\nFinally, you can check out a few Simple Programmer products.\n\nThere’s 10 Steps to Learn Anything, which anyone in the technology field will find very useful.\n\nThen there’s the classic How to Market Yourself as a Software Developer, which many have used to brand themselves as developers and command a higher pay.\n\nSoft Skills: The Software Developer’s Life Manual is a comprehensive guide for all the software developers out there.\n\nIf you know someone who’s thinking of getting into blogging, you can get them 10 Ways to Make Money From Your Blog. And no, advertising isn’t the only way.\n\nLast but not least, I’ve put together a course on Real Estate Investing for Software Developers.\n\nHappy holidays!\n\nLooking for more gift ideas?\n\nJust a reminder, if you still need more ideas, you can check out past editions of the annual list here:\n\nSoftware Developer Christmas List 2013\nSoftware Developer Christmas List 2014\nSoftware Developer Christmas List 2015

The post The Software Developer (And Other Tech Geeks) Christmas Gift List 2016 appeared first on Simple Programmer.

Top 10 Books In 2017

\n\nHere are all the books in no particular order\n\n

1- How To Win Friends & Influence People\n

\n\nDale Carnegie’s time-tested advice has carried millions upon millions of readers for more than seventy-five years up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. Now the first and best book of its kind has been rebooted to tame the complexities of modern times and will teach you how to communicate with diplomacy and tact, capitalize on a solid network, make people like you, project your message widely and clearly, be a more effective leader, increase your ability to get things done, and optimize the power of digital tools.Dale Carnegie’s commonsense approach to communicating has endured for a century, touching millions and millions of readers. The only diploma that hangs in Warren Buffett’s office is his certificate from Dale Carnegie Training. Lee Iacocca credits Carnegie for giving him the courage to speak in public.Dilbert creator Scott Adams called Carnegie’s teachings “life-changing.” To demonstrate the lasting relevancy of his tools, Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc., has reimagined his prescriptions and his advice for our difficult digital age. We may communicate today with different tools and with greater speed, but Carnegie’s advice on how to communicate, lead, and work efficiently remains priceless across the ages.\nExtracted from Amazon.com\n\n

2- The Richest Man In Babylon

\n\nBeloved by millions, this timeless classic holds the key to all you desire and everything you wish to accomplish. This is the book that reveals the secret to personal wealth. Countless readers have been helped by the famous “Babylonian parables,” hailed as the greatest of all inspirational works on the subject of thrift, financial planning, and personal wealth. In language as simple as that found in the Bible, these fascinating and informative stories set you on a sure path to prosperity and its accompanying joys. Acclaimed as a modern-day classic, this celebrated bestseller offers an understanding of—and a solution to—your personal financial problems that will guide you through a lifetime. This is the book that holds the secrets to keeping your money—and making more.\nExtracted from Amazon.com\n\n

3- The War Of Art

\n\nA succinct, engaging, and practical guide for succeeding in any creative sphere, The War of Art is nothing less than Sun-Tzu for the soul. hat keeps so many of us from doing what we long to do? Why is there a naysayer within? How can we avoid the roadblocks of any creative endeavor—be it starting up a dream business venture, writing a novel, or painting a masterpiece? Bestselling novelist Steven Pressfield identifies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success. The War of Art emphasizes the resolve needed to recognize and overcome the obstacles of ambition and then effectively shows how to reach the highest level of creative discipline. Think of it as tough love . . . for yourself. Whether an artist, writer or business person, this simple, personal, and no-nonsense book will inspire you to seize the potential of your life.\nExtracted from Amazon.com\n\n

4- The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It

\n\nIn this first new and totally revised edition of the 150,000-copy underground bestseller, The E-Myth, Michael Gerber dispels the myths surrounding starting your own business and shows how commonplace assumptions can get in the way of running a business. He walks you through the steps in the life of a business from entrepreneurial infancy, through adolescent growing pains, to the mature entrepreneurial perspective, the guiding light of all businesses that succeed. He then shows how to apply the lessons of franchising to any business whether or not it is a franchise. Finally, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business. After you have read The E-Myth Revisited, you will truly be able to grow your business in a predictable and productive way.\nExtracted from Amazon.com\n\n

5- As a Man Thinketh

\n\nEminently quotable and full of practical advice for individuals who want to better themselves, As a Man Thinketh is an essential little volume published in 1902 which explains and promotes the direct connection between our thoughts and our happiness. Do you believe in the power of positive thinking — yet remain unclear as to how that power can be harnessed in your life? James Allen’s As a Man Thinketh explains and promotes the direct connection between what we think and the direction our lives take. Part of the New Thought Movement, Allen reveals the secrets to having the most fulfilling existence possible, and it’s easier than any of us could have imagined. You, too, can learn how to master the output of your brain in order to obtain the personal success of which you have always — until now — merely dreamed.\nExtracted from Amazon.com\n\n

6- The Way Of The Superior Man

\n\nWhat is your true purpose in life? What do women really want? What makes a good lover? If you’re a man reading this, you’ve undoubtedly asked yourself these questions—but you may not have had much luck answering them. Until now. In The Way of the Superior Man, David Deida explores the most important issues in men’s lives—from career and family to women and intimacy to love and spirituality and relationships—to offer a practical guidebook for living a masculine life of integrity, authenticity, and freedom. Join this bestselling author and internationally renowned expert on sexual spirituality for straightforward advice, empowering skills, body practices, and more to help you realize a life of fulfillment, immediately and without compromise.\n\n”It is time to evolve beyond the macho jerk ideal, all spine and no heart,” writes David Deida. “It is also time to evolve beyond the sensitive and caring wimp ideal, all heart and no spine.” The Way of the Superior Man presents the ultimate challenge—and reward—for today’s man: to discover the ‘unity of heart and spine’ through the full expression of consciousness and love in the infinite openness of the present moment\nExtracted from Amazon.com\n\n

7- Moral Letters to Lucilius – Letters from a Stoic

\n\nWritten as much for a general audience as for Lucilius, these engaging letters offer advice on how to deal with everything from nosy neighbors to sickness, pain, and death. Seneca uses the informal format of the letter to present the central ideas of Stoicism, for centuries the most influential philosophical system in the Mediterranean world. His lively and at times humorous expositions have made the Letters his most popular work and an enduring classic. Including an introduction and explanatory notes by Margaret Graver and A. A. Long, this authoritative edition will captivate a new generation of readers.\nExtracted from Amazon.com\n\n

8- Atlas Shrugged

\n\nAtlas Shrugged is the astounding story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world–and did. Tremendous in scope, breathtaking in its suspense, Atlas Shrugged stretches the boundaries further than any book you have ever read. It is a mystery, not about the murder of a man’s body, but about the murder–and rebirth–of man’s spirit. Atlas Shrugged is the “second most influential book for Americans today” after the Bible, according to a joint survey conducted by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club.\nExtracted from Amazon.com\n\n

9- Psycho-Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life

\n\nSince its first publication in 1960, Maltz’s landmark bestseller has inspired and enhanced the lives of more than 30 million readers. In this updated edition, with a new introduction and editorial commentary by Matt Furey, president of the Psycho-Cybernetics Foundation, the original text has been annotated and amplified to make Maltz’s message even more relevant for the contemporary reader. Maltz was the first researcher and author to explain how the self-image (a term he popularized) has complete control over an individual’s ability to achieve (or fail to achieve) any goal. And he developed techniques for improving and managing self-image—visualization, mental rehearsal, relaxation—which have informed and inspired countless motivational gurus, sports psychologists, and self-help practitioners for more than fifty years. The teachings of Psycho-Cybernetics are timeless because they are based on solid science and provide a prescription for thinking and acting that lead to quantifiable results.\nExtracted from Amazon.com\n\n

10- Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed

\n\nYou learn ideas, concepts, and methods used by high-achieving people in every field everywhere. You learn how to unlock your individual potential for personal greatness. You will immediately become more positive, persuasive, and powerfully focused in everything you do. Many of the more than one million graduates of the seminar program upon which this book is based have dramatically increased their income and improved their lives in every respect. The step-by-step blueprint for success and achievement presented in these pages includes proven principles drawn from psychology, religion, philosophy, business, economics, politics, history, and metaphysics. These ideas are combined in a fast-moving, informative series of steps that will lead you to greater success than you ever imagined possible — they can raise your self-esteem, improve personal performance, and give you complete control over every aspect of your personal and professional life.\nExtracted from Amazon.com\n\nWhat do you think about these top 10 books? Do you agree with them? Would your top 10 books list be different? Leave a comment below and tell me what are your opinions!\n\nIf you’re reading to quickly learn concepts and skills, do take a look at my course: 10 Steps to Learn Anything Quickly

The post Top 10 Books To Read In 2017 appeared first on Simple Programmer.

All The Books I Read in 2015

John Sonmez — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 13:00:21 +0000

It’s time again for my annual review of all the books I read in the past year.\n\nI decided to start doing this every year so that I could share some of the best books I read and also to remind myself about the ideas they discussed. Writing out a list like this can serve as a nice reference if I ever wanted to go back and see what I was learning and how it was affecting my life.\n\nYou can check out all the books I read last year, in 2014, here.\n\nIn 2015, I read a total of 57 books!\n\nI was pretty shocked when I added them all up. I knew I read a lot of books last year, but I didn’t realize it was that many–especially since there were some sizable books in that list.\n\nIf you’re reading to quickly learn concepts and skills, do take a look at my course: 10 Steps to Learn Anything Quickly.\n\n

How Do I Read so Many Books?

\n\nBefore I get into the list, you may be wondering how I manage to read so many books each year and if I actually read those books or not.\n\nWell, I definitely read them. I don’t skim books, unless I’m doing it for research purposes.\n\nMy biggest secret is utilizing Audible to read audio version of the books.\n\nI am almost always listening to an audio book whenever I am:\n\n

Driving

Running

Lifting Weights

Traveling

\n\nI also listen to the books on 3x speed. (It takes some time to get used to, but I actually would like an even faster speed now.)\n\nI usually walk on the treadmill every evening for about 30 minutes, during which time I read a book on my Kindle.\n\nI also try to use downtime when I am waiting in line or unable to do something else to read books using the Kindle app on my phone.\n\n

How I Pick My Books

\n\nIt is also worth mentioning how I pick the books I read.\n\nIn making your selections, it’s pretty important to not just read any books, but to read good books, so I am pretty careful about choosing what I read.\n\nAlmost every book I read has been recommended by at least one or more people, usually the latter rather than the former.\n\nEvery chance I get to talk to someone rich, successful, famous, or who I think has a large amount of wisdom, I ask them about what books they can recommend.\n\nI keep a wishlist of books in Amazon, so whenever I am looking for my next book to read, I have plenty to choose from. This prevents me from running out of good books and either stalling or reading a lower quality book.\n\n

The List, in No Particular Order

\n\nWithout further ado, let’s dig into my 2015 book list:\n\nThe Millionaire Fastlane\n\nThis is one of those books that I may buy a few copies of to hand out, because it is just that good. Don’t let the title fool you on this one; it’s not fluff.\n\nThe author talks about how most people are what he calls “sidewalkers” who spend money with no plan for the future.\n\nThen, he introduces the “slow-laners,” where I was for most of my life. He talks about how the slow-laners are better than the sidewalkers, but by the time they get “rich” and can retire, they’ll be old and not able to enjoy it.\n\nFinally, he introduces the idea of becoming a “fast-laner,” mostly by becoming an entrepreneur and starting your own business. He doesn’t stop there, though; he goes on to tell you about the kinds of businesses that make the most sense and gives you some real, practical advice on how you can build a very successful and scalable business to take you right into the fastlane.\n\nI know this advice works, because it is exactly what I discovered on my own after repeatedly banging my head against the wall.\n\nThis is easily going to be one of the top books that I recommend everyone read.\n\nFight Club\n\nI had never read this classic book—and I enjoyed the movie—so I decided to give it a try.\n\nThe book was pretty good, but not phenomenal. Quite a bit different than the movie in many areas.\n\nIt’s definitely one of those books that gets you thinking, but I wasn’t all that impressed with the writing. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I hadn’t seen the movie first.\n\nLower Your Taxes – BIG TIME!\n\nI saw this one in a bookstore and flipped through it. I decided to buy it since it looked pretty good and I could always use some advice on lowering my taxes.\n\nAfter reading it, I didn’t really end up with anything revolutionary. I was pretty much already doing most of the tips in the book, although there were a few things around sales or property that I’ll probably go back to and look at when the time comes.\n\nOne idea that really struck me, though, is that everyone should have some kind of side-business, at least for tax purposes.\n\nSo if you pay a lot of taxes from your salary, but you don’t have a side-business, you’ll probably get a lot of value out of this book.\n\nWith: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God\n\nI don’t read a lot of religious books, but a reader of this blog—and someone whose opinion I value—gifted me this book and recommended I read it.\n\nAfter reading it, I can see why. I got a lot of value out of the book, as I discovered some viewpoints I was holding that didn’t make much sense.\n\nI feel like after reading this book, I can relate to God in my life in a much more sincere, less demanding way.\n\nDefinitely a book I’d recommend.\n\nThe Science of Getting Rich\n\nThis book is a classic (isn’t it an interesting title?)\n\nI heard many other books mention it, and this is one of the first real success books that has ever been published.\n\nThis book is essentially about the law of attraction. It has influenced many of the later authors of other popular books based on that concept.\n\nI found the advice in the book to be very practical and still relevant today. The author encourages you to overcome your misconceptions about money and wealth, and learn how to go after your goals in a way that doesn’t diminish others.\n\nHonestly, despite the misleading title, this is actually a really good book with plenty of practical advice.\n\nA Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy\n\nI’m pretty big on the Stoic philosophy, so when someone recommended this book, I was pretty excited to read it.\n\nIt’s a decent book, but I have to admit I am a bit disappointed.\n\nIf you’ve never read anything about Stoic philosophy, this book is a gentle introduction, but the author seems to want to reinterpret Stoic philosophy and create his own half-assed brand of it, which ultimately defeats the whole purpose.\n\nIt also seems to miss some of the core attributes of Stoicism by trying to take a too-analytical approach to it.\n\nNot a horrible book, but just read Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, or better yet, Seneca’s letters to Lucius for a better understanding of real Stoic philosophy. I’d also highly recommend Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way for a modern interpretation.\n\nSoftware++: Must-Have Skills for Software Engineers\n\nOne day, I got an email from Cory Berg, the author of this book, telling me that I had essentially beat him to the punch when I wrote Soft Skills: The Software Developer’s Life Manual. In the same email, he introduced me to his own book.\n\nSo I was naturally interested to see how much we really did have in common.\n\nA lot, as it turns out. I really liked the storytelling approach of the writing and the practical application of soft skills, based around dealing with people at your job.\n\nDefinitely a book that I’d highly recommend to software developers—especially if you liked my book.\n\nOS X Yosemite: The Missing Manual\n\nI picked up this book when I decided I was going to go all Mac.\n\nI wanted to learn the ins and outs of OS X, like I did with Windows.\n\nWhile the book is long and very detailed, it wasn’t very interesting and didn’t go as in-depth as I would have liked.\n\nThe book really is more of a reference book, so it was difficult to learn from.\n\nI think I would have much rather read an OS X book that took you through all the different tasks you might want to do and showed you all the little tricks for getting them done better.\n\nAnyway, it’s a good book for what it is but it’s not exactly a life-changing one.\n\nThe Checklist Manifesto\n\nNow, here is an interesting book that will convince you just how important and valuable checklists can be.\n\nI really liked how the author told an intriguing story as he demonstrated the real value of using checklists.\n\nI was pretty shocked how impactful a simple checklist was—even for doctors doing what should be a pretty simple and straightforward procedure.\n\nThis book absolutely made me a believer in checklists, and it was also quite entertaining. I’d highly recommend it.\n\nPlatform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World\n\nAnother one of those books that I wish I had read years ago.\n\nI found the advice here to be great, but it was mostly what I was already doing to grow the Simple Programmer brand and this site.\n\nStill, it was a worthwhile read, because I did pick up a few tips, and it is always good to get reinforcement on what you are already doing right.\n\nIf you are thinking about starting your own online business based on a blog or other online presence, this book will definitely be valuable and can get you going much faster than you could probably do discovering all this stuff on your own from multiple sources.\n\nAwaken the Giant Within\n\nThis was one of my first real introductions to Tony Robbin’s personal development teachings.\n\nIt really is a great book. My wife actually read it first, and sent me to a Tony Robbins seminar in response—which turned out to be an amazing experience in itself.\n\nThis book is all about understanding what makes you tick, figuring out what is really important to you in life, and then implementing a practical plan to make it a reality.\n\nThere are so many exercises and practical advice that you’ll probably need to read it several times to get the most out of it.\n\nThis is another book that applies to just about everyone and that I’d highly recommend reading. It could drastically change your life. I know it has changed mine.\n\nFear of Life\n\nThis is a pretty long book, and I almost quit reading it several times due to the author’s emphasis on everyone in the world having an Oedipus complex, but I decided to stick it out through the end.\n\nI’m still a bit torn. I picked up a decent understanding of traditional psychology, but I’m not sure I agree with a large portion of the book.\n\nThat said, reading books that you don’t necessarily agree with or which make you feel slightly uncomfortable are often good reads, because they can grow and expand your perspective.\n\nI do tend to agree that emotional patterns can be trapped in our physiology, which is something I would not have considered before reading this book. Definitely an odd text.\n\nThe Essential Writing of Ralph Waldo Emerson\n\nI’m still reading this book, and it is perhaps the most difficult read I’ve encountered.\n\nI’ll be 100% honest with you here. I feel like I’m only grasping about 50% of the book—if that much.\n\nThis is a pretty large collection of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writings, which were written in the 19th century, so the language is difficult. Emerson also constructs very complex sentences which are a bit difficult to digest.\n\nI’m actually really liking what I am understanding, and as I read more and get more used to the language, I’m understanding more of it.\n\nI’m learning a great deal about transcendentalism—which is a fascinating idea that has a huge connection to many of the self-help, self-development books, like Think and Grow Rich, of that era.\n\nDefinitely worth reading, but be prepared to struggle.\n\nSuperhuman Social Skills\n\nThis book is a fairly short book from Tynan, who is an internet personality and blogger that I tend to have a ridiculously large amount in common with in terms of how we think and our general philosophies about life.\n\nI found the book to be pretty good, but perhaps not as good as his book, Superhuman by Habit.\n\nI would have liked this book more if I hadn’t already been doing a lot of what Tynan recommends.\n\nTynan has a vast social network, so his advice—although at times it seems like common sense—is definitely worth heeding. There is a great collection of tips on how to interact with people and build quality friendships.\n\n Ultimate Cuts: 7 Secrets to Burn Fat Fast as Hell\n\nMy friend Brandon Carter wrote this book, so I decided to check it out. Considering the low price on Amazon, I was surprised by the value of the content.\n\nIt’s a fairly short read, but it has some real solid advice about burning fat from someone who has a proven track record of doing it.\n\nI learned a few tricks that I’ll definitely be applying in my dieting and workouts.\n\nBrandon is also an awesome guy and an avid reader. I spent some time with him sharing and comparing our book lists from our Audible apps on our phones.\n\nMaximum Achievement\n\nI actually got this recommendation from Brandon Carter, as it is one of his top books.\n\nLike so many others, I wish I had read this much earlier in life. The author, Brian Tracy, adds a practical aspect to the concepts in books like Think and Grow Rich by giving you detailed explanations about the specific natural laws involved in really being successful in life.\n\nThis book is basically a guidebook for success. It contains very detailed instructions about how to effectively set goals and achieve whatever you want in life.\n\nI was a big fan of Brian Tracy’s Eat That Frog book, but this one is even better.\n\nHow to Win Friends and Influence People\n\nI read it again this year and I will probably continue to read it again every year, because it is just that good and I always get something new out of it.\n\nThis book is a life-changer, particularly in the way you think about the interactions you have with people, which can potentially open up many opportunities in your life and career.\n\nI highly recommend everyone read this book more than once.\n\nGrowth Hacker Marketing\n\nAnother excellent book from one of my favorite authors, Ryan Holiday.\n\nI got to speak with Ryan on the phone about marketing my own book, Soft Skills, and I have to say that Ryan really knows his stuff.\n\nThere were quite a few concepts from this book that I have applied to help grow my business, and I found Ryan’s unique perspective to be very valuable.\n\nPlenty of great advice for launching a book, start-up, or even a blog. Definitely a worthwhile read.\n\nMoney: Master the Game\n\nI was a bit skeptical because of the amount of hype around this book. What could Tony Robbins teach me about finance and investing that I haven’t learned elsewhere, and how could this book have value to novices and experts alike?\n\nIt turns out Tony interviewed some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry and then condensed their knowledge into a very digestible and actionable—although quite long—format.\n\nThis is a book that everyone should read, so that they have a basic knowledge of the financial industry and can learn how financial investing and markets really work.\n\nThis is a book that will slap you right in the face if you are relying on a company-provided 401k that is invested in mutual funds.\n\nI didn’t get as much out of this book, simply because I invest in real estate instead of the stock market or other asset classes, but I’ll most likely be rereading some parts in the future when I diversify a bit and re-enter the stock and bond markets.\n\nA lot of people have complained about this book, but it has some extremely valuable advice.\n\nOne idea I personally got out of the book involved practically thinking about how much money you actually need to reach your goals in life.\n\nTraction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers\n\nI read two books called Traction this year, and this was the one I found the more valuable with TONS of great advice.\n\nI’ll definitely be rereading parts of this book as I start expanding Simple Programmer in the next year.\n\nThis author covers just about every single technique you can use to gain more customers for your business and to grow, grow, grow.\n\nIt’s basically a complete playbook for internet marketing techniques.\n\nI highly recommend this book to anyone who has any kind of business.\n\nSmartcuts\n\nI have to be honest, I don’t remember a lot about this book.\n\nI remember I liked it and that it had some really good stories about how you could skip rungs on the ladder by thinking outside of the box and thinking big.\n\nThe writing proved very interesting to read because of the story-driven approach.\n\nI need to make a resolution next year to start taking more detailed notes on books, so that I can remember what I learned from them better.\n\nAn Unwelcome Quest\n\nThis book was the third installment in the Magic 2.0 series which I really liked.\n\nI was pretty excited to read this book, and it didn’t disappoint. I really want more books in this series, because I find the concept to be so interesting, and the stories are very well written.\n\nThe characters are three dimensional, and the plot is entertaining and keeps you hooked.\n\nThe only thing I didn’t like is that it started to get a bit preachy in a politically correct way.\n\nBut the fact that the author could introduce some politically correct and overly progressive dialogs and for me to still give it five stars attests to the quality of the story and the characters.\n\nThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People\n\nI decided to reread this book since I hadn’t read it in quite a few years, and I’m glad I did.\n\nI got a lot more out of the book this time than I ever did before—perhaps because I am finally starting to apply some of the concepts in my life.\n\nI’d add this book to the must-read list for anyone who wants to be successful in life.\n\nThere is a ton of great advice about how to be productive, deal with people, and prioritize your life.\n\nIf you’ve never read this book, read it. If you’ve already read it a long time ago, consider reading it again.\n\nEssentialism\n\nThis book got me all fired up about reducing the complexity in my life and narrowing my focus.\n\nI didn’t exactly achieve the level of essentialism I had originally aspired to, but this book definitely spurred some changes in my life that greatly increased its quality.\n\nIn fact, Simple Programmer might not exist today if I had not read this book, because it made me realize that I was doing too much and that I needed to start dropping some things and getting other people to do some of the work that I didn’t need to do anymore.\n\nA highly impactful book that all overachievers should definitely read.\n\nThe E Myth Revisited\n\nThis is another book that likely had a part in saving Simple Programmer from being scrapped this year, as it taught me the value of having systems in place in order to allow other people to help me free myself from a large portion of my business.\n\nThis is a must-read business book for anyone who is running a business or thinking about running one.\n\nThe author, Michael Gerber, takes a story-driven approach to teaching and tells some fascinating stories that keep your interest and drive home the points.\n\nI learned a lot about how important systems are in any business and how to build good ones that can automate a large portion of almost any company.\n\nThis book essentially allowed me to travel Europe for three-and-a-half months while still running Simple Programmer, just working on Fridays.\n\nThe One Thing\n\nThis book reminded me a lot of Essentialism, but the one thing that struck me was the idea of thinking about the one thing you could focus on in order to make a majority of the other things easier or not necessary.\n\nIn your daily life, the same concept can be applied in order to greatly simplify the concept of a to-do list, shrinking it down into one thing you need to accomplish each day.\n\nIt’s an extremely powerful concept when applied and one I’ve started to use to simplify my planning and reduce stress.\n\nInfluence\n\nSeveral people recommended this book and I kept hearing about it as a classic in marketing, so I decided to finally give it a read. I’m glad I did.\n\nAnyone involved in any kind of sales should definitely read this book. It contains some extremely effective techniques that you’ll find you’ve most likely already succumbed to as an unwitting consumer many times in the past.\n\nThis book examines at a very deep level the way we are influenced as human beings—especially with regards to sales and selling techniques.\n\nIt also contains practical techniques and advice that you can use as either a defense against selling techniques or to your advantage when you are in the position of selling yourself.\n\nWhat I Learned Losing a Million Dollars\n\nThis book was an entertaining story and contained a very good lesson about how having some initial success can lead a person into thinking they know a lot more than what they actually do.\n\nI’m not sure I 100% believe the story, but it has a very important lesson that I’ll never forget.\n\nWas definitely worth the read.\n\nAntifragile\n\nThis was the first book I read by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, and it was so good that I immediately purchased all of his other books.\n\nAntifragile really got me thinking about what it means to be robust and how I could devise ways to make my life not only resistant to change, but also to actually benefit from it.\n\nThis book could have been called A Scientific Approach on How to Embrace Chaos and Benefit From It, but Antifragile sums it up nicely.\n\nNassim injects his full personality into this book and really makes you think and question some of your assumptions from a quasi-scientific / philosophical approach. I found it both an entertaining and thought-provoking read.\n\nTraction: Get a Grip on Your Business\n\nI didn’t really like this book.\n\nIt might have been because my business wasn’t at the level where it could benefit from many of the concepts or ideas laid out here, but personally I also found it a bit “preachy” and felt that the tone was a little too impersonal for my taste.\n\nI’m sure the advice is solid, but it just didn’t appeal to me, and as a small internet business owner, I didn’t really find it all that valuable.\n\nLeap First\n\nI feel like this would be a good book to convince you to take a risk and quit your job, but I didn’t get a lot of value out of it.\n\nIf I had read this book ten years ago, I would have probably found it more profound, but at this stage in my life, it was mostly redundant and didn’t provide me with any new insights.\n\nThink and Grow Rich\n\nI decided to reread this book, since so many people recommended that I should and I wanted to listen to the audio version.\n\nThis is one of those books that you will probably find on just about any highly successful person’s bookshelf.\n\nIt’s amazing the number of multi-millionaires that have not only recommended this book, but also have ascribed a large portion of their success to it.\n\nI did get more out of the book this time around and plan on reading it again someday.\n\nThe Richest Man in Babylon\n\nWow. If you haven’t read this short book, go buy it and read it now.\n\nReally, everyone should read this simple, yet profound book on personal finance.\n\nThe volume is composed of several stories that illustrate a complete financial strategy which is all but guaranteed to make you rich over the course of your life.\n\nThis is a book that should be required reading for every high school student before they embark on their adult lives.\n\nIf everyone read and followed the advice here, credit card debt and bankruptcy would be eliminated.\n\nThe thing I love the most about this book is how simple and timeless the concepts in it are.\n\nMan’s Search for Meaning\n\nThis book will really slap you in the face and give you some perspective.\n\nIt is the story of a Nazi concentration camp survivor and how he dealt with one of the worst possible things a human being could experience, but still maintained a feeling of control and purpose in his life.\n\nThis story really got me reconsidering how I decided to interpret events in my own life and helped me realize how pointless and ineffective the victim mentality is.\n\nIf Victor Frankl can find joy and meaning in the midsts of his extreme suffering, surely we can find it in our comfortable lives, too.\n\nBigger Leaner Stronger\n\nAs a student of just about every diet and muscle building program in existence, I found this book to be a bit redundant, but I still think it is a valuable summary about how to build muscle and lose fat, with no bullshit.\n\nI felt like this book did a great job of putting together all the essential, up-to-date information about muscle building and losing fat that could save someone years of struggle.\n\nBigger Leaner Stronger also does a great job of explaining the scientific terms and basic vocabulary of the fitness industry and providing good evidence for everything the book recommends.\n\nAs a Man Thinketh\n\nHow did I not read this earlier in my life?\n\nI listened to the audio version of this book three times in a row, because it was so short yet so powerful.\n\nI don’t think I know of a book that contains such a concise summary of all the most important and valuable lessons in life.\n\nIf you want to change your life and expand your perspectives, this book is a great place to start.\n\nI found so many profound statements in this book that I will probably buy the Kindle version, just so I can highlight several passages and review them regularly.\n\nGates of Fire\n\nI finally got around to reading this fictional account of the battle at the gates of Thermopylae.\n\nWhat a story. I could not put this book down. Steven Pressfield was one of my favorite authors because of his book, The War of Art, but now I understand the true depth of his talent.\n\nThis book will show you what it is like to be a warrior who lives by a high code of honor. It will show you the depth of what it means to be a man and to go to war. It will make you weigh the price of a human life and to really feel the thoughts and emotions that any combatant in a life-or-death battle must face.\n\nForget the movie 300. This book is 1,000 times better.\n\nDavid and Goliath\n\nOkay, so this book presents a very interesting perspective on the possible benefits of being the underdog in a given situation and how you can use that position as a strategic advantage, but… I think it takes it a bit too far.\n\nDon’t get me wrong. It’s a great book for expanding your viewpoint to realize that bigger and stronger is not always better, I just wasn’t 100% convinced that being disadvantaged is actually as much of an advantage as the book might lead you to believe.\n\nWorth a read, but reserve judgement.\n\nFooled By Randomness and The Black Swan\n\nI’m including both of these books here since I read them so close together, and they touch on such similar subjects that I honestly can’t remember which book talked about what.\n\nWhat I do remember is that both were excellent books, just like Taleb’s Antifragile.\n\nTaleb really hits home the point that we don’t have a good grasp on statistics and that even professionals are mostly unable to intuitively understand the true randomness of events.\n\nIf you think you can beat the stock market, you should definitely read both of these books and think again.\n\nI especially liked the philosophical approach pointing to the truth that there are very few things we can truly know.\n\nTaleb is is one of my favorite authors, and his entertaining books will expand your mind and make you rethink some of what you’ve generally accepted or assumed all through your life.\n\n13 Things Mentally Strong People Do\n\nNot a bad book. Lots of great advice. I just found it to be a little basic, since I felt like I was already living most of the things mentioned here.\n\nStill, if you feel like you need to be more mentally strong and able to withstand the ups and downs in your life—ok, mostly the downs—this is a practical, down-to-earth text to help you get a little bit more of that mental toughness and to understand why it’s so important.\n\nThe Motivation Manifesto\n\nAlthough I agree with pretty much 100% of what is stated in this book, which has some excellent wisdom that could help a lot of people, I found myself embarrassed just listening to the audio version of the book.\n\nAlthough I have immense respect for Brendon Burchard, I feel like he really overdoes it in this book.\n\nHe lays it on pretty thick and really brings out the flowery language instead of stating the wisdom in the book in a more plain fashion.\n\nAt times it is inspiring, but mostly it’s just overdone.\n\nThe Martian\n\nI can’t say enough good things about this book. Fantastically interesting story, humorous, and with great characters, to boot.\n\nIt really is just a great read; I couldn’t put it down.\n\nFrom the first moment I started reading, I was hooked and that was even after hearing all the hype about it.\n\nIf you’ve seen the movie and liked it, you’ll love the book.\n\nIf you haven’t seen the movie, do yourself a huge favor and definitely read the book first.\n\nOne of my top fiction books of all time.\n\nThe Impersonal Life\n\nNot quite sure how I feel about this book.\n\nIt’s basically written as God telling you that you are just a cell in God’s body and that your very existence is just an illusion that you are refusing to let go of, but “hey, everything is going to be ok and don’t worry.”\n\nOn the one hand, this sounds great; on the other hand, it’s terrifying as hell.\n\nI’m not sure I 100% buy in to the whole transcendental viewpoint, but this book definitely made me strongly consider it like I never had before.\n\nRead this book if you are brave; otherwise, skip it.\n\n Soft Skills: The Software Developer’s Life Manual\n\nYes, this is my book and I technically read it twice this year.\n\nOnce, because I had to record the audio version of the book, which I did in a week and you can get it here.\n\nAnd a second time, because I had to listen to the audio version of the book after it was published to make sure it sounded good and there weren’t any major errors.\n\nStrange as it sounds, I was actually taking some notes, because I forgot about some of the things I wrote about in the book and needed to re-apply them to my life today.\n\nI won’t give you a review of my own book, but I obviously like it and recommend it.\n\nShop Class as Soulcraft\n\nMuch better of a book than I expected.\n\nI read this one because several people recommended it, and I thought it might be worth seeing if any of the ideas in the book add some more enjoyment to my own work.\n\nI don’t entirely agree with the book, but it made sense and was an entertaining read. It didn’t convince me to commit towards the author’s viewpoint, but it did shift my opinions.\n\nI can definitely see how skilled manual labor can be satisfying and rewarding work and how much of the work we do today lacks those qualities.\n\nThe Charisma Myth\n\nI didn’t really like this book. I was looking for much more practical advice, and I felt like The Charisma Myth was another one of those books that used the same old, overused psychology studies you find in so many business books today.\n\nThere were certainly a few useful tidbits of advice, but I felt like the value of the book could have been stated in about 50 pages.\n\nI’m perhaps a bit jaded because much of the book was not new to me, and I was looking for some brand new, practical advice that I could start applying today, so your mileage may vary.\n\nMindset: The New Psychology of Success\n\nLet me start off by saying that I can understand why so many people recommend this book and that I do think the advice and viewpoint within—for the most part—is really good and could help a lot of people find success in their lives.\n\nWith that said, I didn’t really like the book myself.\n\nI tend to already have the kind of mindset that the author encourages. I’ve never felt like there was something I couldn’t accomplish. I tend to view obstacles and setbacks as challenges.\n\nBut if I didn’t or if I was pessimistic, I’d certainly have gotten value out of this book.\n\nIt also contained many of the psychology studies I had already been pretty familiar with.\n\nWorth a read, unless you already have this mindset.\n\n Built to Sell\n\nAnother great book that just about anyone starting or running a business should read.\n\nThis book reminded me of The E-Myth Revisited and had a similar impact on my thoughts about business.\n\nBuilt to Sell keeps you interested by taking you through the fictional story of a business owner who runs an advertising agency that he just wants to get rid of, but finds he can’t since it isn’t sellable.\n\nA wise billionaire friend of his guides him through the painful process of specializing and removing himself from the critical operations of the business.\n\nI definitely learned a lot from reading this book and highly recommend it.\n\nPitch Anything\n\nI’m tempted to say this book isn’t really about pitching, since it’s so much more.\n\nPitch Anything is a guidebook for dealing with any kind of human interaction where you are trying to sell an idea, gain credibility, or influence someone—especially if they are more powerful than you.\n\nThere is some great psychology and tactics in this book that I haven’t seen anywhere else.\n\nAs a result, it’s definitely a book I’d recommend for just about anyone who has ever tried to pitch any kind of idea, whether it be for funding, best practices, or even where to go for dinner.\n\nOutwitting the Devil\n\nThis is a very strange book. It comes from Napolean Hill, the author of Think and Grow Rich.\n\nIt wasn’t released until pretty recently, even though it was written in the early 1900s. The reason was because Napolean’s wife didn’t want to be alive when it was released and his heir also had a problem with its release.\n\nThere is nothing super controversial in the book, but he does attack organized religion and education.\n\nI found this book to contain an exceptional amount of wisdom in it. Not that I agree with everything, but the conversation with the devil is quite thought-provoking and has some great pearls in it.\n\nDefinitely get the audio version of the book, though, because the voice of the devil is perfect.\n\nI realize not everyone will appreciate this book, but I felt like it had a huge amount of wisdom in a very digestible format.\n\nWillpower\n\nA very scientific approach to the topic of willpower. Lots of psychological studies as evidence. Most of this stuff I had heard before in some form or another, but this book presents it all in one place.\n\nStill, I didn’t really like it. I don’t think willpower can be boiled down to a set of external conditions, like how much glucose is in your blood or whether you just did some vexing math problems.\n\nI also didn’t appreciate the attacks on self-development books. Although I consider myself to be highly skeptical and analytical, some of the most valuable things I have learned and applied in my life have been pretty far out there and unexplainable.\n\nStill, I have to say that Willpower is worth reading and that you should know about all the studies that have shown what is likely to greatly influence your willpower.\n\nTitan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.\n\nI don’t read many biographies, but I decided to read this one since it was recommended so often, and I really do like industrialists.\n\nThis is a very well written account of the life of one of the richest men in history—and the most philanthropic.\n\nThere are a ton of lessons to learn from John D’s life, both in business and in a personal nature. This book also provides an excellent lesson on the politics surrounding monopolies and capitalism.\n\nI found the book to be educational for me in many areas and really filled in some gaps in my historical and economic knowledge.\n\nIt’s also pretty darn interesting. Definitely recommend it.\n\nThe Personal MBA\n\nWow. I wish I had found and read this book before I read the 50 other books that this book draws from and summarizes so nicely.\n\nThere is a shit-ton of valuable advice here, which the author drew from reading many of the books on this list and others.\n\nThis book is a really condensed way to pick up a ton of useful business and life knowledge fast.\n\nAnd even if you already read most of the books that are referenced here, you’ll probably still find this book as an excellent review—I know I did.\n\nI highly recommend this book for the beginner and the advanced. There is value in this book for just about anyone.\n\nTuesdays With Morrie\n\nLots of people recommended this book, and I liked it but I didn’t think it was great.\n\nDon’t get me wrong. It was good, just not great.\n\nIt was interesting to hear the story of Morrie’s last days and how he died with dignity and love instead of wallowing in self-pity. I just didn’t find it as deep and as moving as some people did.\n\nThere were some good life lessons, but nothing that really made me have an “ah-ha” moment.\n\nJust my opinion, though. Not a reflection of the man or the author.\n\nRelentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable\n\nStill reading this one, but I should be done by the time this post is published.\n\nSo far, so good. Very much a kick-you-in-the-ass book that makes you ask yourself why you are such a pansy.\n\n Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?\n\nReally good, short, succinct, and understandable book on basic economics, especially with regards to monetary systems and inflation.\n\nI learned why coins like quarters have grooves on the edges, and I got a bit of a better understanding of what actually causes inflation.\n\nI definitely recommend this book to just about anyone, since the knowledge is critical to any kind of financial prosperity.\n\nThere is a slight political slant—ok, maybe more than that—but the author admits it upfront. Worth a read for sure.\n\n

Onto Next Year

\n\nWow, I never expected this post to be so long.\n\nI imagine I’ll probably read a similar number of books next year, so I need a better strategy.\n\nI forgot a lot about some of the books I read, so some of them were hard to summarize here, and this also turned out to be a ton of work.\n\nMy plan for next year is to take better notes and do short write-ups immediately after finishing a book rather than writing it all at the end of the year.\n\nNo guarantees, but that is my plan for now.\n\nHappy reading and let me know if you like this kind of write-up and what would make it more valuable for you.

The post All The Books I Read in 2015 appeared first on Simple Programmer.

The Ultimate List of Programming Books

John Sonmez — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 15:00:00 +0000

Quite often I am asked about the top programming books that I’d recommend all software developers should read.

I’ve finally decided to put together a list of the programming books that I find most beneficial and that I think every programmer should read.

Now, just like my Ultimate List of Developer Podcasts, this is my list, so I get to make the rules. (Which means I get to advertise my book at the top of this list–actually both of them.)

First, off:

My most recent book is a massive tome called “The Complete Software Developers Career Guide.”

And it is massive, weighing in at about 800 pages for the printed version.

I wrote this book primarily because there just wasn’t a good book out there–or really any book for that matter–which told software developers everything they needed to know about how to have a successful career in software developer and to answer all the common questions I get like:

How do I get started as a software developer?
How do I learn a new programming language?
College, boot camp, self study?
How do I deal with my asshole boss? My coworkers? Discrimination?
How do I find a new job? My first job?
How do I get a raise?
What do I actually need to know to be a software developer?
How do I MAKE MORE MONEY and advance my career?

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Anyway, the goal was to create the one stop how-to guide for all software developers, regardless of career level, to manage their careers.

The book has been a huge success so far actually debuting #5, yes that’s right, #5 on the Wall Street Journal Non-fiction Best Seller list on the week of it’s release.

It’s a book every software developer should have. Period. (And not just cause I wrote it.)

Next…

After reading all the books on this list, being in the software development field for over 15 years and training hundreds of thousands of software developers through my online courses at Pluralsight, I wrote my own book called “Soft Skills: The Software Developer’s Life Manual.”

Now, obviously I highly recommend this book—but not just because I wrote it.
I wrote the book because I felt that there was a large gap of knowledge missing in the programming books that were out there.

There are many excellent books—as you’ll no doubt encounter on this list—but, there weren’t any books that provided a comprehensive treatment of the soft skills required to be successful as a software developer—and to live a better life in general.

So, that is what “Soft Skills: The Software Developer’s Life Manual” is. I wanted to write the book that I wished someone would have given me 15 years ago when I first started my career as a software developer.

Ok, that is enough plugging my own book. If you want to check it out, you can find plenty of reviews for it here.

(And before you binge read this whole list, you might want to check out my guide: 10 Steps to Learn Anything Quickly)

Foundational programming books

This first list of books are ones that I consider to be a good starting point and provide a solid foundation for any software developer:

Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction, Second Edition

This book is one of the most transformative books I’ve ever read. Immediately after reading this book, the way I wrote my code and the way I thought about writing code completely changed.
The book is full of great advice about how to write good code, regardless of architecture or programming language. Code Complete goes into the details of the structure of writing good code. I’ve never found another book that even comes close to touching many of the topics in this book. I consider this book a must-read for all serious software developers. The book is a bit dated, but still has extremely valuable information.

Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship

This is another one of those books that completely changed the way I wrote code. I can neatly divide my programming career into pre-Code Complete, pre-Clean Code and after. I recommend this book after reading Code Complete, because while Code Complete deals more with the structure of individual lines of code and methods, Clean Code deals with some of the same concepts, but at a slightly higher level.

It’s pretty difficult to read this book and not become a better programmer.

Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

I debated putting this one on the list. Is it really foundational? It depends on how solid of a foundation you want to have. If you want to have a really solid foundation, then the answer is a resounding “yes.”

The book is challenging. It deals with functional programming. It was written for the famous introductory programming course at MIT. But, I’d recommend you not only read this book, but go through all the exercises in it. It will be a difficult journey, but you’ll come out the other side a much better programmer than you were before.

Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software

This classical book is critical reading to really understand what design patterns are and become familiar with the most common design patterns you are likely to encounter in your career. It’s not a particularly easy read and the descriptions and examples might be a bit difficult to follow—especially if you don’t have a solid grasp of UML—but, it’s a book I consider a “must read.” If you are having trouble with this book, you might want to start with “Head First Design Patterns.” which teaches the design patterns in this book in a much more digestible way—still, there is no substitute for the original.

Head First Design Patterns

Read the classic first, then read this one, then go back and read the classic one with a renewed understanding. This book makes design patterns much easier to understand. It’s also a useful book for learning how to teach complex topics and make them interesting.

Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code

Although modern IDEs have automated many of the refactorings mentioned in this book, refactoring is still a very important concept to understand in order to write good, clean code—especially in today’s Agile environments. This book covers just about all of the major refactorings that all software developers should know how to execute in any code base. Learning how to refactor your code allows you to breathe new life into it and to have it improve over time as it is maintained, rather than rot.

Working Effectively With Legacy Code

Unless you are fortunate enough to always work on green-field projects, you’ll mostly likely encounter legacy code in your career—and lots of it. I included this book, because it is the foundational programming book on working with legacy code. If you are working on a large code base more than 5 years old, this book might be your new bible. Read it and take it to heart.

Professional development programming books

This section contains programming books that I have found most beneficial to my professional development as a software developer.

The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master

When I first read this book, it wasn’t my favorite. I still don’t agree with everything said in the book, but even with my misgivings, I have to acknowledge this is a programming book that every software developer should read when they want to transition from being just a coder to something more. There is some extremely pragmatic advice in this book that will bestow upon you lessons that otherwise would take years or even decades to learn.

The Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers
This book is all about being a professional programmer. This is a tough read. A lot of developers won’t like this programming book, because the advice is sometimes difficult to swallow. But swallow it if you can, because Bob Martin, the author of the book, is a veteran in the industry and has managed to stay relevant decade after decade of pumping out code. I really found this book helpful in shaping my career and making tough decisions.

The Passionate Programmer: Creating a Remarkable Career in Software Development

This book was one of the main programming books that influenced me to treat my career in software development as a business rather than just something I did. The book is full of all kinds of wisdom about how to increase your skills, maximize your time, keep your career and passion alive and more. I highly recommend reading this book if you want to move beyond programming as just a job.

The Mythical Man Month

All those problems you thought were unique to your project, well I’ve got news for you, they aren’t. They are inside this book. If you want a very practical programming book about complex software development projects, this is it. This book is like a catalog of the most common problems that plague non-trivial software development projects and the book has more than stood the test of time.

Architecture based programming books

These are programming books that an aspiring architect or software developer who cares about architecture should read.

Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software

Buckle your seat belt, this is a difficult read. The first time I read this book, I didn’t get it. The second time I read it, I sort of got it. It wasn’t until my third pass through the book that it finally clicked all the way. This book will help you learn how to create a maintainable architecture that is based on domain modeling. Once you learn what is in this book, you can’t go back. You won’t think about software development architecture in the same way again.

Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture

If you are doing any kind of enterprise application development, you’ll find this book extremely useful. It contains great information about how to design and build an enterprise application from start to finish. What I found most useful though, was the many patterns contained in the book that are often seen in enterprise applications. This is a book I referenced all the time when I was building large enterprise applications for my job.

Enterprise Integration Patterns: Designing, Building, and Deploying Messaging Solutions

This is the absolute guide-book for implementing message bus or service bus architectures. Don’t let the name of the book fool you, this book is all about message buses and all of the patterns used to implement them correctly. If you are doing any kind of integration between applications or services using a bus, you will absolutely love this book.

Refactoring to Patterns

It is one thing to read and learn about design patterns, it is another thing to implement them. It is yet another thing to actually take existing code and refactor that code into design patterns. This is a programming book that teaches you—scratch that—shows you how to move existing code into patterns and how to even move it out of patterns. Should be on every architect’s bookshelf.

Agile programming books

These programming books are some of the best books on Agile development that I have found. I recommend them to anyone working in an Agile environment, whether you are using Scrum, Kanban, XP or something else.

Agile Software Development, Principles, Patterns and Practices

Yes, this is another Bob Martin book, and it is excellent. There is also a C# version of this book. This book takes you through all the core tenants of Agile development without all the fluff. Not only that but it introduces the SOLID design principles which are fundamental to understanding how to write clean, maintainable code. This book was the book that convinced me to actually start doing pair programming.

Agile Estimating and Planning

So many teams get this wrong. This book shows you how to do it correctly. The first time I read through this book, I realized that sound principles could be applied to estimation and planning on an Agile team. Highly recommended for anyone working in an Agile environment.

User Stories Applied: For Agile Software Development

Another great Agile book that helps with a major trouble area: user stories. I’ve worked with some pretty crappy user stories when working on Agile teams, simply because no one knew how to make good ones or what user stories were actually supposed to look like. This book solves that problem.

Extreme Programming Explained

What I consider to be the classic Agile book. A little extreme for some—this is not SCRUM, this is real XP. This programming book is an extremely prescriptive description of how to implement extreme programming, but the ideas in this book can be applied to many different kinds of Agile environments.

Algorithm and interview question programming books

These programming books will make you better at writing algorithms and will help you pass interviews—especially programming interviews where you have to write code.

Programming Pearls

The classic book of programming problems. Read this book and actually do all the exercises. If you survive the ordeal, you’ll be a much better programmer and garner a deep understanding of algorithms and algorithm design as well as some critical problem solving skills.

Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutions

This book is not only one of the top-selling programming books on Amazon, it is one of the top selling books on Amazon, period. And for good reason. The book is full of great interview advice and real programming problems that will not only help you pass a coding interview, but make you a better programmer overall. Go through the book and do the exercises. If you can master the exercises in this book, it will be very difficult to stump you in a programming interview.

Introduction to Algorithms

This book is considered one of the best books on learning algorithms, and for good reason. It is a solid programming book for anyone interested in increasing their ability to write and understand algorithms, which is the core of writing code. If you are going to read any book on algorithms, start with this one for sure.

Language specific and programming language related programming books

This is a mix of really good language specific programming books and books that are related to programming languages in general. I know I’ve probably missed a few here, so help me out.

JavaScript the Good Parts

This book might become outdated as JavaScript evolves, but for now, this book is essential. JavaScript was a language that was never designed for the use it is used for today. That means there are quite a few pitfalls in writing JavaScript code. This book has saved me on more than one occasion. If you are going to write JavaScript, you are going to want to read this book.

Thinking in Java

This book not only teaches you how to start programming in Java, but it teaches you how to teach a programming language. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a better book on learning a programming language than this book. Even if you have no interest in Java, I recommend reading it.

Effective Modern C++: 42 Specific Ways to Improve Your Use of C++11 and C++14

I’ve linked to the modern version of this book, but the whole series of older books is damn good. I learned so much from reading the original Effective C++, More Effective C++ and Effective STL books, that even though I don’t write any C++ code today, I still have fond memories of these books. I’ll admit, the earlier books probably won’t do you much good today if you are writing in modern C++, but if you are obsessed with becoming the best C++ developer possible, you have to read this updated version of the classic.

Effective Java

The Java counterpart is almost as good as the C++ original. Some of the recommendations are dated by the changes to the language, but overall this is still a really good book.

C# In Depth

Do you know C#? Do you really know C#? If you read this book you will. I’ve never read a book that dove as deeply into a language as this book does. Before I read this book, I considered myself an expert in C#. I would have given myself a 10. After, I realized how far from the mark my original estimation of my knowledge was.

Seven Languages in Seven Weeks: A Pragmatic Guide to Learning Programming Languages (Pragmatic Programmers)

I love this book, because it stretches you and makes you a more open-minded programmer. This is a programming book that has the potential to take you to the next level and see beyond pretty religious technology tendencies. This book helped me to see how similar so many programming languages are, appreciate their differences and see just how fast I could learn.

OPs, QA and deployment related programming books

These books are programming books related to anything outside the scope of normal programming activities, including testing, operations and deployment.

Testing Computer Software

Every developer should read this book to gain a good understanding of QA and testing. This book is very easy to digest, yet a comprehensive book all about testing. After reading this book, I was able to communicate with QA better, write more testable code and avoid defects by learning how to test my own code before throwing it over the wall.

Ship it! A Practical Guide to Successful Software Projects

Lots of great content and practices in this book. Some of them are a bit extreme, but they are all very effective. This book can help you take your software development shop to the next level. It’s a great book to read and then to give to your manager to highlight the value of some best practices like: continuous integration, automated testing, scaled back planning, etc.

Continuous Delivery: Reliable Software Releases through Build, Test, and Deployment Automation

I didn’t really believe continuous delivery was possible until I read this book. This book actually shows you how to build an entire system that will build and deploy tested code right into production. This book goes well beyond continuous integration and takes the entire delivery process into a continual flow. A programming book I highly recommend if you want to automate your entire deployment process—and trust me, you do!

Soft Skills and other fun programming books

These programming books are really not programming books at all, but are books that I have either found immensely valuable in my career, or books that most software developers have really enjoyed.

Soft Skills: The Software Developer’s Life Manual

Yes, this is my book. I mentioned it before, but I wanted to include it in its proper place as well. In this book I cover everything non-technical that a programmer could possibly be interested in, from career, to personal branding, blogging, learning, teaching, being productive, finances and even a bit on fitness and relationships.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

I really can’t praise this book enough. Yes, it has nothing to do with programming. You might be surprised to find this on a programming books list, but this is a life-changing book. As a software developer, you will deal with people during your entire career. If you learn how to deal with them effectively, you’ll have a much better go of it. So, I highly recommend reading this book. This book changed my life and set me on the path I am on now.

Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

This is a fascinating book. Again, it’s not explicitly a programming book, but it is all about how computers work at the very lowest level. After reading this book, you’ll understand what the code you are writing is actually doing and how a CPU actually executes your code. This is both a fun and fascinating read.

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

Another non-programming book on this programming book list, but a book that almost all programmers will find fascinating. This is a huge book that is one of the most pleasurable books I have ever read. I didn’t ever want to put this book down and I was extremely sad when I reached the end.

The War of Art

This one is another stretch. It is in no way a programming book—not even close—but it is a book that helped me achieve an extremely high level of productivity. This book is the reason why I can sit down and spend 4 hours writing this blog post. It’s an excellent book that will inspire you to be your best, and finally beat procrastination.

What programming books did I miss?

Any programming books that should be on this list?

If so, let me know and I’ll add them.

And if you’d like to see my “top 10” list of books I think every developer should read, I’ve put together a list you download.

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