Re: Books and a balance (was: What's up with C++ (books)?)

On Fri, May 27, 2011 at 2:32 PM, Gregg Irwin <[email protected]> wrote:
> MS> My experience over the past 10 to 15 years has been that of the
> MS> people I directly work with hardly anyone reads or even buys
> MS> books. OTOH, this has not been true for online discussions.
>
> I think book readers are, sadly, in the minority. The world has
> changed, and how to be effective today depends on so many variables
> that people seem drawn more to the salad bar of blogs, wikis, forums,
> and project sites. Finding a balance between the classics and the
> up-to-the-minute resources, focus versus staying current, and deep
> knowledge against "just use it" is hard; and there is no right answer
> (see: methodologies).
>
> How do you find a balance, and how can we encourage others to do so?
>
> --Gregg
>

IMO there is a place for books even in the world of "Just Use It".

Witness _Seven Laguages in Seven Weeks_.  That book will lead you
through an exercise that no amount of "I need to solve this problem.
What's my shortest path to solution?" Googling will get you.

People who don't even read books like that which take you in
directions you'd never have thought to go yourself are truly missing
out.

Other fine examples of mind expanding books like that are _The Little
Lisper/Schemer_, _Pragmatic Thinking and Learning_, and _The New
Turing Omnibus_.

-Chris


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