You must read at least one book to ride
Reading even a single well-chosen book in a field can be a powerful differentiator in software engineering, argue commenters reacting to a post lamenting how many professionals never seriously study their craft. Participants debate how much books versus practice, intrinsic curiosity, and focused attention actually drive competence, and share tactics for finding “the right” technical and non-technical books amid a sea of low-value self-help and pop-business titles. The conversation broadens into concerns about industry norms that tolerate mediocrity, hiring processes that fail to reward deep learning, and the loneliness of caring about quality in environments where many colleagues see programming as just a paycheck.
Finding and Choosing Good Books
- Many agree that “reading at least one good book” in a domain is a big accelerator, but finding the right book is hard.
- Suggested strategies: follow bibliographies/footnotes of books you liked; read more from authors you already value; use Goodreads lists; look for recommendations in communities and from respected practitioners.
- Tools mentioned: LLMs for highly specific, personalized recs; Gnod/Literature Map for author discovery (with mixed reviews and data‑quality concerns); HN itself as a meta‑search (“HN best book on X”).
- Some say recommendations from people whose taste you trust outperform algorithms.
Motivation, Focus, and Reading Habits
- Several distinguish between:
- People who don’t care to learn more.
- People who want to learn but don’t execute.
- People who read, reflect, and practice.
- Reading books (including non‑technical) is credited with improving attention span, reducing doomscrolling, and boosting day‑to‑day productivity and creativity.
- Some describe “training” focus like a muscle, including in the context of ADHD, through deliberate, repeated practice.
Quality and Type of Books
- Strong skepticism toward self‑help/pop‑business books: often padded, story‑heavy, and built around overextended slogans.
- Counters: stories significantly aid recall and help readers see themselves in examples; application matters more than mere “knowing.”
- Some recommend high‑quality fiction or philosophy (Locke, Hume, Nietzsche, Singer, Orwell) as powerful for reasoning and perspective.
- Technical books vary widely: the “right” book for one person (e.g., Strang for linear algebra) can be unusable for another; fit and pedagogy matter.
Industry Skill Levels, Hiring, and Signals
- Many report working with engineers who never seriously try to improve, ship naive or fragile code, and lack curiosity.
- Others argue reading alone is an imperfect signal; prior results and practical competence matter more.
- Proposed hiring signal: ask candidates about a favorite tech book and probe depth of understanding.
- Concern that “broadcasting” and playing thought‑leader games can overshadow actual ability; strong people can remain hard to spot.
Practice vs. Theory and Broader Culture
- Broad agreement that reading is a force multiplier but must be coupled with practice; some liken “only reading” to a mechanic who’s never touched a car.
- Debate over school culture: effort seen as “uncool,” many students in CS “for the money,” and institutions often failing to teach basics like version control.
- Some see low standards and weak epistemology (e.g., in psychology and other fields) as systemic problems, not unique to software.