On Writing Well

When I first graduated I read a bunch of tech focused books: they’re all helpful but I think practice and learning from more senior engineers is the most effective road to mastery! You can probably get away with not reading any of these books if you have good coworkers :). That being said, these have been my favorites: - designing data intensive applications (a great way of understanding systems + the basics of SRE) - the senior engineer (I love the prototyping process he lays out) - the effective engineer (lots of good gems for approaching prioritization) - debugging (by David agans)- a great resource for a formalized debugging process if you don’t have one - on writing well (I’m halfway through this, but it has been indispensable for writing tickets + messages at work)

Two of the best books for software engineers are actually not specific to software engineering: * “The Design of Everyday Things”. Have you ever pushed on a pull door, or vice-versa, because it was unclear how it worked? Designers call those doors “Norman Doors”, now, after the author of this book Donald Norman so effectively dissected and criticized them (among plenty other objects). Too many APIs suffer similar problems—and if you don’t want yours to, this book is a great place to start. * “On Writing Well”, by William Zinsser. Good code and good prose have a lot in common: they know what they’re trying to do, are stripped to their clearest components, and have internal structure that supports understanding. Add to that the fact you’ll be writing lots of prose anyway (design docs, postmortems, etc), and the value of writing well should be clear.

If you liked Stephen King's "On Writing", give William Zinsser's "On Writing Well" a read. It's not a memoir but more like a manual addressing different types of writing from corporate writing to sports to academic.

Put them all in a room and play On Writing Well by William Zinsser.

The first is the Millionaire Next Door. Gave me a better idea of how to manage my finances and what kind of spending habits to look for in a partner. If you are a tightwad then don't marry a spendthrift. Vice versa. [http://amzn.to/2vAmbW8] The second is On Writing Well. This book changed my view regarding how to write and how important it is to write well. As an engineer I regret how much I avoided writing in school. Now I play catchup after realizing lawyers and others with client facing jobs write much better emails. [http://amzn.to/2vTXu27] And here are three other books that would be recommended by few on HN. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. I used to hate going home until I realized the clutter of stuff made me miserable. [http://amzn.to/2wwvS5h] Why Men Love Bitches. 100% serious. This book is over the top but I stopped being a doormat in relationships and looked for partners with more self confidence. [http://amzn.to/2wwcYeZ]…

On Writing Well by Zinsser Traction by Weinberg & Mares Predictable Revenue by Ross Choose Yourself by Altucher Learn Python the Hard Way by Shaw Mere Christianity by Lewis

On Writing Well is entertaining on top of being instructive and informative. Very short read too. Every should get a copy. http://amzn.to/2aT5qJw

> "On Writing Well" Love that book

1. "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle. This may sound like an odd one, but years ago, I almost never took the time to read. My girlfriend, who knew that I loved Sherlock Holmes books when I was younger, convinced me to try this book as an audiobook while I did my ~40 minute commute to work. I was skeptical, but within days, I was hooked. It made my work commute much more interesting (a British person was reading me Sherlock Holmes!); then I started listening to audiobooks during all my driving (instead of wasting time, I can learn!); then I got an iPod, put audiobooks on that, and started listening to them during all sorts of odd chores (e.g. cleaning, walking, biking); after that, I was so hooked on books, that I started making time to read them too. This had a profoundly transformative effect on my career. 2. "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries.…

On Writing Well by William Zinsser http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-30th-Anniversary-Edition/... (http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-30th-Anniversary-Edition/dp/0060891548) It's absolutely the best book for anybody who keeps a blog or writes any sort of non-fiction. I try and re-read it once a year.

Yup, I second this.. "on writing well" is great