Picking Books That Build Better Engineers
Shopify’s engineering teams are encouraged to keep learning, and the company maintains a book bar where employees can request any title they want. Recently, 10 developers, staff engineers, and engineering managers shared the books they believe every technical professional should read. Their selections lean less toward hard-skills manuals and more toward reshaping how we think, absorb information, and manage focus.
Cultivating Skill and Mindset
Several recommendations focus on personal growth and learning methods rather than purely technical proficiency.
The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle
Staff Front End Developer Carys Mills received Coyle’s book before starting a nine-week front-end bootcamp. The core thesis—"Greatness isn't born. It's grown"—revolves around deep practice, passion, and master coaching. Mills credits the book with helping her thrive during long hours of coding immersion, though she admits she hasn't yet applied the same lessons to softball.
How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens
Staff Software Engineer Rose Wiegley describes this as a book that "totally flips how you think about doing something." While the title suggests a narrow focus on note-taking, the real value lies in learning to digest and integrate new information differently. Wiegley notes that even readers who skip the specific technique will benefit from reconsidering their own methods of absorbing knowledge.
Frameworks for Work and Leadership
A recurring theme in the recommendations is the need for frameworks that go beyond code.
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Development Manager Krishna Satya believes the most impactful way to solve hard problems is reaching a flow state through uninterrupted, long work blocks. Deep Work makes the case for sustained focus in a distracted world, an argument Satya finds convincing—most knowledge work benefits from this level of attention. He adds a practical warning: keep water and snacks nearby, because it's easy to lose track of time.
A Philosophy of Software Design by John Ousterhout
Senior Developer Stella Miranda recommends Ousterhout’s straightforward exploration of managing complexity in systems. A key insight she agrees with: working code isn't sufficient. Understanding the difference between tactical and strategic coding is essential, and recognizing when a system has become more complex than necessary is an underrated skill. Ousterhout’s comparison of software development to team sports reinforces the idea that engineers must create systems others can work with easily.
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
Director of Engineering James Stanier recommends this book, which is already suggested internally at Shopify. Despite its military frame of reference, the lessons apply broadly to a growing, globally distributed organization. Success relies on decentralized leadership, where teams and individuals have autonomy to build while setting examples for others.
Mastering Communication and Knowledge Transfer
Several engineers chose books about the human side of technical work—giving feedback and sharing knowledge effectively.
Thanks for the Feedback by Sheila Heen and Douglas Stone
Development Manager Swati Swoboda points out that developers both give and receive feedback constantly—in code reviews, tech reviews, and skill assessments. Much attention goes to delivering good feedback, but there's an art to receiving it. Heen and Stone's book categorizes feedback beyond the generic "constructive" label—appreciation, coaching, or evaluation—which Swoboda says helps her leverage even poorly delivered feedback for personal and professional growth.
Living Documentation by Cyrille Martraire
Staff Developer Frédéric Bonnet frames this book not as a guide to writing documentation, but to transmitting knowledge—which is documentation's real purpose. Relying solely on direct interaction is fragile since knowledge gets diluted or lost as people leave. Traditional documentation is more permanent but demanding to keep current, which is why it's often neglected. Martraire's approach applies development tools and methods to documentation incrementally, supporting knowledge transmission in a 100-year company.
The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking by Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird
Senior Staff Developer Ash Furrow asks how knowledge workers can "think smarter, not harder." The book's framework—covering understanding topics, approaching failure, generating and following questions—is short and applicable across work and life. Furrow keeps a copy near their desk, though they won't reveal the fifth element.
Deepening Technical Foundations
The Elements of Computing Systems by Noam Nisan and Shimon Schocken
Senior Developer Maple Ong recommends this workbook for developers who want a well-rounded understanding of abstraction layers—from hardware chips up through assembly language, programming language, and operating system. The book guides readers through building a computer from first principles with enough depth to be useful but not overwhelming. Ong notes the authors also offer free companion lectures on Coursera.
A Critical Look at the Industry
Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener
Staff Front End Developer Andrew Lo selected this memoir as something resonant and entertaining beyond job-specific reading. Wiener's account traces her path from a New York publishing job to the Bay Area, where she befriended CEOs of tech unicorns. Her observations force those working in tech to examine the industry—and themselves—with a critical eye.
For more suggestions, Shopify’s engineering team has shared additional recommendations on social media on National Book Lovers Day.
