A Winter of Reading: Technical Depth and Literary Escapes
The first quarter of the year often brings a mix of resolutions and reflection, and for many engineers, that includes a healthy stack of books. This season’s reading list spans the spectrum from deeply technical to purely literary, with a few standout successes and a notable disappointment.
Books on Technology and Craft
The biggest frustration on the list was the third edition of “Distributed Systems” by Maarten van Steen and Andrew S. Tanenbaum. Given the fond memories of Tanenbaum’s earlier work from university days, the expectation was for a solid, reliable reference. The reality was starkly different. The absence of an index in a 500-page technical book was an immediate red flag. The prose is rambling, filling pages with background material while doing a disservice to the actual technical details, which are explained so poorly as to be nearly useless. Despite several attempts to push through by skipping bad sections and restarting at new topics, it ultimately proved an unrewarding investment of time.
Camille Fournier’s “The Manager’s Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change” offers a more useful take on the professional side of technology. Despite being a rarity on a list that usually avoids management literature, the book’s high praise is earned. It charts a clear path from mentor to tech lead, on through manager, director, and up to CTO or VP levels. The writing is thoughtful and relevant, speaking directly to the experiences of an individual contributor, tech lead, and manager in a way that feels applicable to many in the industry.
History, Science, and Medical Data
“Midnight in Chernobyl” by Adam Higginbotham is a compelling account of the disaster, covering its causes and aftermath in excellent detail. On a different scientific front, Carlo Rovelli’s “Seven Brief Lessons in Physics” provides a beautifully concise introduction to modern physics topics. At roughly 80 small pages, it is a wonderfully written, if too short, primer.
Malcolm Kendrick’s “Doctoring Data: How to sort out medical advice from medical nonsense” is a mixed bag. Its central aim—dissecting medical studies to separate signal from noise—is an interesting and important subject that gives readers a healthy appreciation for the difficulty of medical research. Unfortunately, the book loses its way as it descends into lengthy diatribes about the author’s personal fixations, particularly around cholesterol and statins, including responses to blog critiques. The initial third contains genuinely insightful content, but the rest detracts significantly from the overall quality.
Fiction and Biographies
Robert A. Caro’s “Working” offers a fascinating look into the research and writing process of the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, best known for his biographies of Lyndon B. Johnson and Robert Moses. While it is an intriguing read, it is perhaps best enjoyed by those already familiar with Caro’s larger biographies. His meticulousness could easily draw comparisons to a certain legendary computer scientist, but the book leaves one wishing for more context on its subject matter.
On the fiction side, Amor Towles’ “A Gentleman in Moscow” was a clear highlight. The story follows a Russian nobleman placed under house arrest in a Moscow hotel after the 1917 revolution. It is a delightful read, and a familiarity with Russian classics like “War and Peace” enhances the experience, though it may not be essential. The experience was further enhanced by the audio version, narrated with a British accent.
James Michener’s “Alaska” delivers the author’s trademark depth, spanning nearly 1,100 pages of historical fiction. The storytelling quality fluctuates, with some scenarios feeling forced to fit the narrative, but it is a decent read overall. Gonzalo Hernández Guarch’s “Shalom Sefarad,” a fictional biography about the expulsion of Jews from Spain, had interesting historical material but suffered from a plot that felt loosely assembled and unconvincing.
Finally, Cal Newport’s “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” presents a contrarian thesis to the typical career advice: that passion is not the key to a successful career, but rather a focus on what you are good at. The thinking around building “career capital” to leverage other career parameters is compelling, even if the book feels a bit extended. There are also intriguing early notes on deliberate practice that foreshadow the author’s later work.
Re-Reads
- “Cannery Row” by John Steinbeck
- “Electric Universe” by David Bodanis
