Some years ago Mrs. G. pointed out that my books were beginning to encroach unreasonably on our living space. They’d started piling up in little nooks & crannies where lamps & coffee tables might otherwise eek out a humble but happy existence.
Accepting her wisdom (always a shrewd move), I set about the painful process of de-librarying the house. Some books I gave away but most just went to the local book bank. I’m not sure what happens to them after that but I hope at least a few found their way into the community. Surely someone must want a complete set of Novell Netware 2.10 operating manuals? Whoever they are, I hope they’re discovering the glories of Compsurf.
Anyoo, I’ve mostly switched my library to Kindle & Audible. Both supremely practical and it’s great to be able to take my entire library on holiday to that little spot in Cyprus we like so much, where the sun shines strongly and reading by the pool is such a pleasure. However, it’s not quite so emotionally satisfying as an actual book and I still retain about 200 of my most cherished tomes. These include…
A sadly incomplete collection of Peanuts books by Charles Shultz
“Agile Software Development” & “Clean Code” by Robert C. Martin
“The Art of Computer Programming” by Donald Knuth
“The Phoenix Project” by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr & George Spafford
“Leave it to Psmith”, by P.G. Wodehouse
And of course, “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” by the much missed Douglas Adams.
The first and last are the bedrock of my philosophy. Uncle Bob, Donald Knuth & Gene Kim et al are the bedrock of my profession.
Anything by P.G. Wodehouse is just a joy to read.