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I was a shy kid growing up, so I spent a lot of time reading books. I devoured sci-fi, non-fiction, and every programming book I could find. When the library didn’t have the C++ book I wanted, I taught myself to code by buying book after book from our local Borders (RIP). I was tearing through so many coding books that my dad started returning the ones I’d finished to the bookstore so that we could afford to buy more.
I’ve always thought it’s so cool that the smartest person in the world on a topic I care about spends 2+ years of their life distilling their best ideas into an enjoyable read, and I can get this for just $20. Amazing.
There’s endless free content flying at us hourly now—newsletters, podcasts, tweets, oh my—but how many blog posts or tweets have had anywhere near the lasting impact on your life as a great book?
To continue my essential-reads series (don’t miss part 1 and part 2 of my favorite online essays), I’ve put together a collection of my all-time favorite books, organized by their jobs-to-be-done. When your manager tells you to work on a particular development area—or if you’re just feeling the itch for self-improvement—these are the books I recommend you read.
