It's been awhile since my last "reading list" post, so I thought I'd make another. The following are books I've picked up over the past six months or so:
- The End of Eternity -- You have to throw a little classic sci-fi into the mix, and this Isaac Asimov story doesn't disappoint.
- The Big Moo -- Grab a copy if don't have it. Very inspirational.
- Getting to Yes -- I have just started this one, so not much to say yet. But it was recommended as a good book on improving negotiation skills.
- The Tipping Point -- Fantastic. Grab Blink while you're at it.
- Freakonomics -- Haven't started it yet.
- Ambient Findability -- This one's been on my wishlist for awhile now, and I just got it for my birthday. I saw Peter Morville's presentation at SXSW this year, so I look forward to the book.
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion -- I grabbed this when I bought "Getting to Yes".
- Head First Design Patterns -- I'm still working on this one, but it's definitely interesting.
- Behind Closed Doors: The Secrets of Great Management -- This was an odd book. It reads like a documentary about a good manager. It made it feel like I was "at work" while reading it, but it does have some good advice if you're thinking of moving into a managerial role.
- Pragmatic Version Control: Using Subversion, 2nd Edition -- I use Subversion pretty regularly, but I'm self-taught and I thought it might be nice to pick up some best-practices for working with branching and external projects.
- Practices of an Agile Developer -- Shouldn't be anything new, but it does a great job describing how an Agile team can work, without coming across as "eXtreme" ;-)
- Ship It! A Practical Guide to Successful Software Projects -- Like "Practices of an Agile Developer", this is one of those "I wish this is how things went" books. It describes a lovely goal for software projects, and did help push me a little to ensure that all the toys I'm working on have fully automated test suites.
- The Art of the Start
- Micro ISV -- A decent read about starting one-person software development companies.
- Ultimate Garage Handbook -- A thin book on turning your home garage into a shop. It's more of an intro then a complete how-to guide, but it still covered a few things I didn't know.
- Fab -- Too much theory and not enough practical. Skip this one.
- Stealing the Network: How to Own an Identity -- This is part three in the series, but really it's the sequel to part two. If you enjoyed the first two, you probably want this one as well.
- Work the Pond! -- This is a quick read on business networking. I picked up a couple tips, but if you're only going to read one book on the value of networking, read Never Eat Alone.