A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction

I love Dosadi and all the Busab books, anything by Herbert that isn't Dune, the trashier the better. "A Pattern Language" had very little impact on architecture but a huge impact on software design.

“Sapiens” read it twice, wish I could go back in time and give it to 18yr old me. “The Dosadi Experiment”, probably 5 life-changing concepts just tossed in for flavor. “A Pattern Language” on how spaces inform life and life informs spaces.

"A Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander https://archive.org/details/APatternLanguage

I love Pattern Language and use ideas from it all the time. It, and Alexander, are much more interesting than the mechanistic stuff that software people reduced him to. I think Chris Alexander is one of those rare cases where it's possible to see that an individual is right and an entire field is wrong. Growing a Business I read because you recommended it on HN a few years ago! Peopleware I remember as being pretty enlightened in spirit and ahead of its time for software projects, but one of those once-you-get-it-you-get-it things. Also, they totally made shit up in that book (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=333694). GEB, meh. Hofstadter always struck me as the pseudo-profound type. Perhaps I am unfair.

I read Cialdini years ago because Joel Spolsky recommended it here: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/navLinks/fog0000000262.html From that list, I also highly recommend: * Peopleware (get your cofounders to read it too) * Godel Escher Bach * A Pattern Language (but don't bother reading it straight through) * Growing A Business