7 Books Every Coder Should Read

Who said learning to code had to be all work and no play? Check out this list of seven must-read books that put a fun spin on learning and understanding the world of code.

Code Simplicity by Max Kanat-Alexander

Code Simplicity is a great book for junior and advanced programmers alike. This useful resource presents the principles of design theory and a fresh perspective on the art and science of coding.  Though very helpful, this book isn’t necessarily a “how-to” guide.  It explains the best practices of coding and the reasons behind them; teaching the reader how to rewrite existing code to be more manageable.

A great aspect about Code Simplicity is that it isn’t language or platform specific, so it’s useful for any coder looking to improve their game.

Eloquent Javascript  by Marjin Haverbeke

This book features JavaScript, one of the more complex and popular coding languages.  It helps teach the reader how to write concise, elegant code by starting with the basics and working up to more complicated tasks.  Eloquent JavaScript will help you harness this powerful language in a fun, effective way.

With its easy to follow structure, this book will build your skills gradually once you’ve established a strong foundation.  Each example in this book builds on the previous lesson, helping you to strengthen your understanding and truly learn a single concept before moving on to the next.

HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites by Jon Duckett

This book adds the right touch of color to approaching HTML and CSS in a way that can appeal to a wide audience, not just programmers. This book is aimed toward beginners and readers outside of the field, but also serves as a great resource to pad the knowledge of even the most seasoned coders.

Programmers aren’t the only ones who can use HTML and CSS skills. Students, bloggers, users of e-commerce, or someone who just wants a new hobby can read HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites to learn the fundamentals or as a reference guide.

The Pragmatic Programmer by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas

Any programmer can benefit from this great read, because it’s not directed toward any one specific programming language.  The Pragmatic Programmer has the potential to help programming grads transform into employable, useful team members. By defining the line between programming as a hobby and doing it professionally, your  vision of beginning a programming career will become clearer.

This book will teach you new ways to think  about programming, and how you can apply your skills  to find solutions to real problems, and produce results.

Release It! by Michael T. Nuggard

Not every coding book teaches or discusses the code-writing process. Release It! focuses on maintaining a program once it’s been released. This book uses the assumption that any code can fail, and describes how to fix bugs, and broken integrations so they don’t become costly setbacks.

Learn to prepare yourself for the worst before going into the project, so you’ll be able to handle the heat with confidence in the knowledge it takes to get things running smoothly again. Readthis book and you may be the team hero the next time your system breaks down.  

The Passionate Programmer by Chad Fowler

If you’re the programmer that’s worried about what kind of job you see yourself in once you’re ready to start the job search process, The Passionate Programmer is the read for you. This book will help you determine the characteristics of a tech company that you want to join, and how to discover which one is right for you. .

By the end of this read, you’ll be confident in your ability to carry out a job search; not as a desperate unemployed programmer, but as a confident professional who knows what they want from a company and their career.

The Ruby on Rails Tutorial by Michael Hartl

A must-read for developers, this tutorial (which is also available free online) is a detailed tutorial guide on building rails apps. The Ruby on Rails Tutorial allows the reader to build a website as they go, while teaching you everything you need along the way. This one is the perfect start for someone who’s always wanted to build, design, or automate something.