The Pragmatic Programmer

I liked this book, but if I had to suggest just one book for someone to read to become a better programmer I'd choose Clean Code instead. There are a lot of good tips in here, but there's also a lot of outdated information (I should have checked that I had the 2nd edition). Some of the stuff they recommend is no longer applicable because tools exist for that task.

In general though, a lot of the advice is timeless and useful, even if the perspective seems to be from a consulting standpoint and not as a member of a team working on software that's continuously being updated. Again, maybe a difference in the times (everything now is continuously shipped SaaS products).

I think a lot of the ideas in this book were probably revolutionary at the time this book was published, but are common knowledge now (or common sense). Still, its good to get reminders and I did find myself highlighting a number of passages as I went along.

A great book presenting the best practices of what it takes to be a great developer. I'm reading the book while already knowing quite a bit of the topics discussed, but the book still managed to surprise with little bits of additional insight or perspective. I find the way the things are discussed to be very accessible and fun to read. Every developer looking to learn about best practices (and not just to blindly follow them, but understand the principles behind them) should read this book (among others).

Solid Advice For Programmers Of Any Experience Level. This book, originally released just months before I started college and updated 5 yrs ago from the time I read it as this 20th Anniversary Edition, really does have solid advice for programmers of any level and within any organization. Some/ much of it is stuff that I was trained as simply being "good practice", but there are aspects to the discussion here that we *all* fail in at some point or another, and thus are good reminders of what the ideal *should* be. For those mid career coders trying to figure out where to go next, this is one of those books that can truly reignite your love of sitting down and writing code, free of all the corporate bullshit that exists any time you're writing code for someone else. For those early career coders, this can serve as a guide book for some of the pitfalls to watch out for and what the ideal should be in most situations you'll encounter. And for those truly "seasoned" veterans looking to end their career on a high note with style and grace, this can serve as a solid retrospective of all that you've seen and done and how much you've seen this industry grow, change... and do neither of those things. ;)

Truly a great text on the art of programming, and should be on every coder's shelf right beside The Mythical Man Month. (Which, for those outside the industry/ who may have never heard of it, is basically the highest praise one can possibly give a book about programming.) Very much recommended.