The Pragmatic Programmer is one of the best books on software development I’ve ever read, and is definitely the #1 book I recommend to fellow programmers when asked. It’s no surprise, then, that I’m fond of nearly every book I’ve read that their company has published. Lucky me (and you), they’re doing a holiday sale — 40% off everything in the store. Here’s some of the better books of theirs that I’ve read:
The Pragmatic Programmer - Not sure if this one is discounted, since it’s usually excluded, but like I said, it’s my #1 and I recommend every working developer read it.
Programming Ruby - This and _why’s guide are the books that got me into the language I use to make my living, and the only programming language I’ve ever felt fit my mental model of how programming should be. These days the 1.9 version would be the one to pick up, but this is the one that got me started.
Agile Web Development with Rails - The first edition of this book taught me Rails, and I’ve bought every edition since then. It’s still my go-to reference when I need to know something that’s not completely covered by the rdoc and I’m not willing to go source-diving for the answer.
Prototype and script.aculo.us - This is the book that taught me to stop looking at javascript as an annoyance, and start looking at it as an opportunity.
Programming Erlang - I’m going through this for the second time right now, and like all of the PragProg language books, it’s a great starting point. The language books of theirs I’ve read have done an amazing job of not only teaching the language, but making me excited to use it.
Programming Clojure - Like the above book, this is another great PragProg language book. I’m still not 100% sure what I think about the language, but if I decide to use it for a project, I know this will be my reference.
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