Pretty much the same books that are beneficial for non-programmers to read.
Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
31–40 of 88 posts
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#32The essentials, looking at my non-CS shelves: * "Alice in Wonderland", Carroll * "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid", Hofstadter * Either "His Dark Materials", Pullman; or "Illuminatus!", Shea and Wilson * "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", Adams (all of its sequels are also good) * "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and "Lila", Pirsig * Either "Watchmen", Moore and Gibbons; or "1984" or "Ani…
> Be wary of anybody who recommends self-help, attitude improvement, psychology, business/management, or similar genres.
This is a fairly broad rejection of multiple genres. While I agree that there are bad eggs in all of those categories (some moreso than others), there also is value to be found, and wariness of someone simply for recommending a book from one of those categories sounds overly harsh and dismissive.
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#33Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
Good man.
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#34My top 3:
- The Mythical Man Month
- Peopleware
- Good Strategy Bad Strategy
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#35Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#36The Systems Bible
Seconded again. Fundamentally changed how I think about systems, and makes me smile every time someone says, "We need a new system for x!"
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#37To be honest there's no telling what anyone means by beneficial, but the argument can (and has) been made that any fiction, especially character driven pieces, are good for building neurological processes; as the imaginative processes when reading this type of book not only "creates" worlds inside one's head, but also engages other, disparate portions of the brain, not typically used when reading text books. This type of reading, in turn, helps the user (in theory) more easily digest and retain information from text books. Almost like working out for the brain..... I'll try and find the study, when I get a chance and come back and put the link in. Sorry I don't have ready access to it at the moment, was just doing a quick read through at work =)
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#38Anything and everything Gerald Weinberg has written. I particularly recommend 'Are Your Lights On?' as a place to get started, 'The Secrets of Consulting' as a steady companion, 'The Psychology of Computer Programming' as the perfect thing to read two-to-five years into your career, and 'Becoming a Technical Leader' when you're looking past individual contributor, but I do mean everything he's written. He's been thinking seriously and lucidly about people in programming longer than many of us have been alive.
BTW, his recommendation would be 'Alice in Wonderland', something he's mentioned using when teaching courses on software engineering.
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#39Soft Skills: The software developer's life manual is a unique guide, offering techniques and practices for a more satisfying life as a professional software developer. https://www.amazon.com/Soft-Skills-software-developers-manua...
In that section, would like to add recommendations for:
- "Being Geek: The Software Developer's Career Handbook" https://www.amazon.com/Being-Geek-Software-Developers-Handbo...
- "Team Geek: A Software Developer's Guide to Working Well with Others" http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920018025.do -- Software engineering teamwork a-b-c. I'd love to work on teams where everyone has read this one.
[edit: 2nd edition of "Team Geek" is titled "Debugging Teams"; having read both, no difference which you get]