In the past, I would normally write about my New Year’s resolutions, but most of my goals are too personal so I don’t feel comfortable sharing them anymore. Instead, I thought I would share the books I plan to read this year.
I don’t have a preferred method of reading, as the reading mode depends on the content of the book. If a book has a lot of coding examples or diagrams, I prefer to consume it in print or on my iPad. Other books, I typically read on my Kindle, especially when I’m traveling. Less intense books or books I want to read again, I listen to as audiobooks while traveling short distances or working out.
I love reading, but I’ll admit that I’m not very consistent. I go through phases where I read a lot, and then I won’t touch a book for months. That being said, last year I managed to read or listen to 13 books.
The following are the books I plan to read, roughly in the order that I plan to read them. Do I expect to finish all of them? No. Do I expect this list to change throughout the year? Most definitely. But as Winston Churchill once said, “Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.” Wish me luck!
Technical
Clean Architecture - I am already halfway through this one. This is one of the classic books I believe every developer should read. I have read “Clean Code” and “The Clean Coder,” and found them to be great, so I’m continuing on with the series. Understanding how to architect code is very important for any developer, as is understanding why developers have converged on certain standards.
Head First Design Patterns - Also one of those books that many developers recommend. I find that I don’t apply patterns that I don’t encounter frequently in my day-to-day work, so I want to refresh my memory on them. I decided to go for Head First Design Patterns over Design Patterns (commonly known as Gang of Four Design Patterns) this year, but I plan to read it next year.
Domain Driven Design - In a previous role, I read part of this book in a book club. I came in halfway and missed some of the earlier content. I plan to give it a full read, but as many of you know, this is a notoriously difficult book to read. As I write more and more complex code, I am starting to realize that I’m missing some obvious domain design decisions, so I want to refresh myself with the authoritative source.
Refactoring - This book is widely recommended for developers, it is written by Martin Fowler after all. Specifically it was recommended to me by a mentor of mine as a book all developers should have read. Although I feel confident in my ability to refactor code, I plan to read it to bolster my knowledge and understanding of the best practices and techniques.
Stretch targets
Functional Programming in Kotlin - Improving my functional programming skills has been a goal of mine for a while. I use Kotlin frequently in my work as a developer, so I thought I’d combine the two and learn functional programming in Kotlin. The book is based on the popular Functional Programming in Scala book.
Designing Data-Intensive Applications - I have always been interested in learning about machine learning, but I am most interested in writing application code that leverages machine learning. So I want to read this book to understand why certain technologies are commonly used in data-intensive applications, so that I can make better architectural decisions.
Machine Learning: Predictive Data Analytics - Machine learning has always interested me, and it is something I want to learn more about. I’ve found that many online courses are too basic, and many books are too heavy and impractical. This one, however, has good reviews and seems to balance theory and practical examples well.
Non-Technical
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us - This book was suggested to me by a coworker whom I respect a lot. I’m partway through it and have found it to be very insightful and useful for managing one’s own motivation. It’s heavily based on research but still very approachable, with a lot of ideas for how to work on oneself.
Second Brain - This has been suggested by a few content creators I follow and respect. It sounds like parts of it are something I already do in my Bullet Journal, and from bits and pieces I’ve picked up on YouTube, I’ve put into my Notion. It sounds like an interesting read and worth a try.
The Pyramid Principle - As anyone who has worked with me or knows me well knows, I sometimes struggle to put my thoughts together. I have been suggested this book as a way to structure my thoughts and writing to make them easier to understand. I’ve had this book on my list for a while and have read part of it. The part I read has already influenced the way I write, hopefully I will get to it this year.
Three Body Problem - With the upcoming TV show adaptation, I want to read it before it airs. This book always seems to pop up on Hacker News as a suggestion, and some friends have also recommended it, so it’s worth a read.
Stretch targets
Hell’s Angels - As a huge fan of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, I naturally should read more of Hunter S. Thompson’s books. I’ve had this on my reading list for a while and I hope to get to it this year.