Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?

Here are some books I listened to on Audible in the last year and a half, listing those that I enjoyed the most. Each of these books changed me in some ways, I never thought how much fun it is to listen to biographies and how many lessons there are.

0. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition

1. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

2. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

3. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

4. Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography

5. What Got You Here Won't Get You There

6. The Power of Vulnerability: Teachings of Authenticity, Connection, and Courage

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

8. The Like Switch: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Influencing, Attracting, and Winning People Over

9. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

10. Pre-Suasion: Channeling Attention for Change

11. Thinking, Fast and Slow

12. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

13. Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life

14. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

15. Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity

16. Sapiens

17. The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

18. If you like space: Endurance: A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery

19. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

20. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

21. Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

22. The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, and Security in Technology Organizations

In what ways? From an ethical perspective, books like Orwell's famous 1984 are good reads that can help reflecting on privacy and its implications on societal and individual levels, helping decide on whether or not to participate in produciton of software that is antagonistic to data privacy. Also, Aprender a rezar na era da técnica of Tavares is a contemporary novel that can be useful in a similar vein. So also the Anarchist Banker of Pessoa. Maybe also the A Caverna of Saramago. All these books depict the clash of morality and modernity in some ways, and us as programmers are of a profession that is central to the change of times; thus, our perception of ethics is of immense importance to the furthering of the world.

P.S.: also, given many of us publish open source stuff and write blogs etc., reading some literature will always help regardless of whether the contents are relevant or not. I observe from various past threads and this one that the crowd here really likes sci-fi novels and self-help stuff, and also biographies to some extent; but the rest of literature is not as popular. Certainly many lack the time, but reading a 200-300 page novel in a week or two should still be possible even with a very tight schedule (hint: less driving and more public transport helps, if available).

"Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss https://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-Negotiating-De...

Chris was an FBI hostage negotiator. His book takes you through some of his hostage negotiations and demonstrates his techniques.

As a software developer, I "negotiate" all day long from code reviews to getting a promotion. His advice has helped more times than I can count.

I would suggest "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Pirsig.

"Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed" by James C. Scott (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0300078153)