The Pragmatic Craftsman :: Simplicity from complexity : by Stanley Kubasek ::

What was the last book you read?

Has it been long?

The bottom line, to become a better coder, better [anything], you have to do the things you are used to do… better. Reading books is one of the best ways to acquire knowledge, to deepen your knowledge, to improve yourself: to become better.

How much do you have to read?

The Pragmatic Programmers (very good book, btw), recommend reading a book every quarter. Steve McConnell in Code Complete (excellent book), recommends reading around 35 pages a week.

Is that a lot?

My guess it is that you’re most likely reading that much already, so keep doing it. Shifting to a book a month might make it more challenging,

The software development world is constantly changing. If you’re not following it, by reading and practicing, you’re falling behind.

Nowadays, though, it seems to me that people are reading everything but books. People read blogs, articles, etc. I don’t think that’s bad, I just think that a good book is more valuable. You should still have books as your primary source of knowledge. A book gives you a more complete knowledge. A book requires a lot more knowledge to create than a blog entry or an article.

Where to start? What to read?

We don’t have the time to read all of the books (I wish). So read the best. Read the classics. Just start reading and applying the knowledge you gain. A great book to start is Code Complete. It will help you guide your career.

One effective way to stay on top is to read and then apply the knowledge you learned. Repeat continuously.

RelatedContinuous Learning by Reading, my previous entry