Just like many other developers I know, I have a stack of books I intend to read high enough that I could not hope to finish them ever. I know that the stack will increase in size as fast as I finish the books. I have plenty of technical books I intend to read as well as a large quantity of those which are purely for my own entertainment.
Required Developer Reading
I think it is very important to continue reading and learning to be a better developer. Here at Nimble Pros we make sure that our developers know what they should be reading, so every time we hire someone I make sure that they get there hands on these books. While not required, we highly encourage our developers to take the time to read these excellent books.
Code Complete – This is a classic that is on a lot of reading lists. I read this one a few years ago, and I really think that you should read it if you have not. It is a fairly large book that covers a variety of topics with a great deal of depth and breadth. It really is worth the time and effort to read.
Working Effectively with Legacy Code – While the name of this book is somewhat misleading based on people’s definition of “legacy code”, I still believe this is one of the most important books for every developer to read. Michael C. Feathers wrote an excellent book with this one. Every developer is going to need to work with legacy code constantly during their time as a developer. We don’t always work on green-field projects, and this book takes a hands-on approach to explaining how to deal with and fix up legacy code.
I am Currently Reading
Yesterday, I started reading Clean Code, which is a book I am already fascinated with. I mention this because I believe it will make the above list once I am done reading it. I have only just started reading it, but I’ve already got plenty of notes I’ve taken as I’ve been reading it. I plan on discussing as much as I can about the book and its topic as I read it.
Look forward to some blog posts responding to this great book.
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