vol. viii · reading · the bookshelf

A small shelf.

What I've been reading, slowly. Updated when something sticks.

4 read this year 3 on the nightstand 5+ in the queue
❦ on the nightstand
Doing Science & Engineering
Richard Hamming
A collection of Hamming's lectures on how to do great work. Surprisingly practical.
📖 in progress
Designing Data-Intensive Applications
Designing Data-Intensive Applications
Martin Kleppmann
Re-reading for the third time. Different things jump out every time.
🔁 re-reading
Real World OCaml
Minsky, Madhavapeddy & Hickey
🌱 learning
❦ recently finished
A Philosophy of Software Design
John Ousterhout
Short, opinionated, and correct about most things. Should be required reading.
apr '26
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The Soul of a New Machine
Tracy Kidder
Reads like a thriller. The minicomputer era was something else.
mar '26
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Piranesi
Susanna Clarke
feb '26
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
❦ on the queue

Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces · The Pragmatic Programmer · Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs · Gödel, Escher, Bach · The Art of Doing Science and Engineering and more. The queue always grows faster than I read.