May 12, 2006
I was in a boring meeting and killed time by jotting down a list of books that I'm either reading now or plan to read in the next couple weeks.
- Ruby for Rails by David Black. You can't get far in Rails development without knowing Ruby well. This is a good introductory Ruby book that goes into more detail than you'd expect and still comes off enjoyably readable. Glenn Vanderburg talks about the notion of using Rails not as a framework or domain specific language for web applications in general, but as a DSL for your web application. If you understand Ruby well, and you understand how Rails ticks, you're on the way to doing this.
- A Little Ruby, A Lot of Objects. I've mentioned this before. A good way to grok OOP, Ruby style.
- Programming Ruby. The PickAxe is the standard with good reason.
- Best of Ruby Quiz. A language's syntax is the easy part. To become proficient, I need to use a language to solve real problems, feel my way around the idioms.
- PHP 5 Objects, Patterns, and Practice. I've been itching to get back into PHP programming, and I immensely enjoyed this book's practicality and clear-headedness. I don't think anyone does a better job writing about PHP than Matt Zandstra. If you want to understand OOP in PHP, both from a mechanical/syntactic perspective as well as design philosophy, this is a very good place to begin.
- Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering. My introduction to Robert Glass's work, I return to this book periodically as a touchstone. Grounded in years of research and practice, Glass discusses what ought to be common knowledge but often isn't. We keep making the same mistakes and we need to be reminded of that so we can do better.
- Software Conflict 2.0, again by Robert Glass. A collection of essays from 1990, still very much relevant.
- Rising Stars, vols. 1-3. J. Michael Straczynski wrote a comic book series? It is marvellous, as you would expect from the man who brought us Babylon 5. (Actually, he's written more than one comic, but I really like this one.)
- How to Break Web Software. This is aimed more at software testers than I expected, which was a foolish assumption on my part. A good book. Oh, which reminds me, I need to reread the OWASP Guide 2.0.
- Software Security, Gary McGraw's latest, focusing on building in security throughout the development lifecycle. I've come to a point where I need to start suggesting policy and practice. There aren't many better places to start than Gary McGraw. I am also eagerly awaiting Michael Howard and Steve Lipner's upcoming book about the Microsoft SDLC: The Security Development Lifecycle.
- Getting Real. Nothing new if you're familiar with 37signals and their philosophy, but an engaging and exciting read. I find myself listening to Jason Fried over and over again.
- In the Company of the Courtesan. I heard an interview with the author and got sucked in.
- Shooting the Thorn Tree. Kiara's Masters thesis. Well, one of them.
- Designing Interfaces. Yes, I am the user interface guy on our team.
- My Job Went to India. I'm not afraid of my job being outsourced, but I have been too complacent in driving my career. Time to take control.
- The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World. Cuz man, things get nuts.
- Beyond Code. See above.
- Spies Among Us. The local OWASP chapter discussed this last month but I couldn't attend the meeting.
- Digital Identity. Phil Windley's high-level discussion if identity management. I really, really need to wrap my head around what's happening in this space.
- The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions. Karen Armstrong's latest.
- Garth Nix's Abhorsen trilogy. Have I mentioned that I'm a sucker for teen fiction?
Okay, got to get cracking.
