Whether it’s the latest best-selling fiction novel or the top shelf tech book you’ve always wanted to finish, we find reading to be one of the greatest outlets in the world.
It can help clear the mind or teach you about your favorite passion. Books can be one of the best ways to spend your non-screen time. Get lost in a faraway world, or in the factual education you can gather from ink and paper.
At Kano, we have gathered up our favorite book offerings for any certified tech fan and budding coder. These books can provide you with something extra for when you want to unwind or find yourself stuck on a long train journey.
Let’s get going.
Introduction to Algorithms
Some books on algorithms are rigorous but incomplete; others cover masses of material but lack rigor. Introduction to Algorithms uniquely combines rigor and comprehensiveness.
I.T.A covers a broad range of algorithms in-depth, yet makes their design and analysis accessible to all levels of readers. The first edition was a massive success and became a widely used text in universities worldwide, as well as the standard reference book for professionals.
Now in its third edition, it has been revised and updated thoroughly with extras and updates bringing it into the 20th century. Including two completely new chapters, on van Emde Boas trees and multithreaded algorithms, and an appendix on matrices.
AI Superpowers
A New York Times bestseller written by Dr. Kai-Fu Lee — one of the world’s most respected experts on AI and China — discussed how China has caught up to the US at an astonishingly rapid and unexpected pace.
In AI Superpowers, Kai-fu Lee argues powerfully that because of unprecedented developments in AI, dramatic changes will be happening much sooner than many of us expected. Lee urges the US and China to accept and embrace the great responsibilities that come with significant technological power.
Lee goes into detail about which jobs will be affected by AI and how soon. In particular which jobs can be enhanced with AI, and most importantly, how we can provide solutions to some of the most profound changes in human history that are coming soon.
It really is a must. Grab your copy online or listen to the audiobook here.
Clean Code
Software expert Robert C. Martin presents a revolutionary paradigm with his book ‘Clean Code’. Even bad code can function. But if code isn’t clean, it can bring a development organization to its knees. Every year, countless hours and significant resources are lost because of poorly written code. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Martin has teamed up with his colleagues from Object Mentor to distill their best agile practice of cleaning code “on the fly” into a book that will instill within you the values of a software craftsman and make you a better programmer — but only if you work at it.
Clean Code is divided into three parts. The first describes the principles, patterns, and practices of writing clean code. The second part consists of several case studies of increasing complexity. Each case study is an exercise in cleaning up code — of transforming a code base that has some problems into one that is sound and efficient. The third part is the payoff: a single chapter containing a list of heuristics and “smells” gathered while creating the case studies. The result is a knowledge base that describes the way we think when we write, read, and clean code.
This book is a must for any developer, software engineer, project manager, team lead, or systems analyst with an interest in producing better code.
Hackers & Printers
We are living in the computer age, in a world increasingly designed and engineered by computer programmers and software designers, by people who call themselves hackers. Who are these people, what motivates them, and why should you care?
Hackers & Painters by Paul Graham, explains this world and the motivations of the people who occupy it. In clear, thoughtful prose that draws on illuminating historical examples, Graham takes readers on an unflinching exploration into what he calls “an intellectual Wild West.”
The ideas discussed in this book have a powerful and lasting impact on how we think, how we work, how we develop technology, and how we live.
Design Patterns
Capturing a wealth of experience about the design of object-oriented software, four top-notch designers present a catalog of simple and succinct solutions to commonly occurring design problems. Previously undocumented, these 23 patterns allow designers to create more flexible, elegant, and ultimately reusable designs without having to rediscover the design solutions themselves.
The authors begin by describing what patterns are and how they can help you design object-oriented software. They then go on to systematically name, explain, evaluate, and catalog recurring designs in object-oriented systems. With Design Patterns as your guide, you will learn how these important patterns fit into the software development process, and how you can leverage them to solve your own design problems most efficiently.
Don’t Make Me Think
Since Don’t Make Me Think was first published in 2000, hundreds of thousands of Web designers and developers have relied on usability guru Steve Krug’s guide to help them understand the principles of intuitive navigation and information design. Witty, commonsensical, and eminently practical, it’s one of the best-loved and most recommended books on the subject.
It’s still short, profusely illustrated…and best of all–fun to read. Don’t Make Me Think is essential to Web designers and developers around the world. If you’ve never read it, you’ll see why so many people have said it should be required reading for anyone working on Web sites.
Brave New World
What isn’t there to say about one of the greatest fiction books ever written. With millions of copies sold and some of the famous fans, Aldous Huxley’s 1932 offering is a classic for anyone’s shelf.
Discover the brave new world of Huxley’s classic novel which prophesied a society that expects maximum pleasure and accepts complete surveillance, no matter what the cost.
‘A masterpiece of speculation… As vibrant, fresh, and somehow shocking as it was when I first read it’ Margaret Atwood, bestselling author of The Handmaid’s Tale
For anyone wanting to read something both fascinating and insightful, Brave New World takes you on a literary journey that offers a stark reality of what technology can do. Read with caution.
What do you think of our list? Did we miss out on any classics? Let us know on social.
