Full disclosure: I’ve read the books I am listing here. And while all opinions are my own, I do believe these to be worth the time and money to read or listen to. The buy links on this page are tied to my Amazon affiliate account. If you chose to buy any of them, and you happen to use the links on this page, be aware that you are very likely helping me fund my reading budget.

Fiction

Old Man’s War

by John Scalzi

Yet another trilogy. Expect prequels and sequels at some point. With that said, Old Man’s War puts a fresh spin on space exploration, human values, and the far reaches mankind can reach in the name of self-preservation. Entertaining, fast paced, uncomplicated and dettached from the dense technological or theoretical physics that can plague works of more detailed authors. I highly recommend picking up all three books at once:

Engineering

Understanding The Agile Manifesto: A Brief & Bold Guide to Agile

by Larry Apke

Do you find yourself having to explain again and again what Agile is? Why you approach things how you do? Why are you ok with failure, so long as it happens fast? This is the equivalent of a Quick Start Guide, explaining each of the manifesto items. Its quick and succint. No wasted paper –or e-ink.

Beyond Blame: Learning From Failure and Success

by Dave Zwieback

If you are still in the Agile mood, this is another good read. Its relatively short –but how much can you beat a horse with a tick anyways?– and it drives the point without beating around the bush. We live in a society that sees failure as a taboo. Failure must not be shared and must be swept under the rug immediately. Failure must be punished. Not so fast. We are human beings (mostly), and failure is paramount in how we learn and adapt. Zwieback takes an approach akin to The Goal and The Phoenix Project in delivering his narrative as the best story tellers only can.

The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps And Helping Your Business Win

by Gene Kim

This is a personal favorite. Heck…at the office we joke not so jokingly about making this required reading material for all new hires (executives and management included). Its a great piece, written in the same spirit of The Goal, but updated to the realities of the very dysfunctional software engineering realities of our present time. I’ve read it and listened to it as well (the Audible version is quite easy to digest). As a matter of fact, I listened to the audiobook version during a roadtrip with the family –while the girls slept out back– and during one of the passages, my wife actually pointed out:

Hey…that sounds like you.

Is that what you do all that at the office and at night on the phone when things break?

I simply nodded and smiled.

If you have friends in the software industry. If you are an executive trying to view your organization from a different perspective. If you are an engineer in despair, looking for hope or light at the end of the tunnel, do yourself a favor. Pick a copy of this book. And if you are not, be a good sport and pick a copy for your friend or spouse –I am sure you know at least one person that will feel vindicated and identified in this manuscript.

The Goal: A Process Of Ongoing Iprovement

by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

The Goal is to traditional manufacturing from 1970 and on, what The Phoenix Project is to modern software engineering and the IT enterprise.

You can almost taste the 80’s on this book. The weatered down coffe, the broad collared shirts, the shoulder paded suites, and the big-hair band music playing on the background. In reading The Phoenix Project, the author makes no effort in hiding that it was written as a homage to The Goal.

Theory of Constraints

by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

This is trying to bottle lightning in my opinion. Goldratt tries to walk you through the stages to become the hero that spoiled alert Jonah gets to be on The Goal. Its the “Directors commentary” you can play while you watch (read) The Goal. Its interesting, but its dense and methodical in its delivery.