If you’re late to the party, don’t worry! Feel free to pick up any book below that catches your attention:
Season 3 (2026)
This time, the theme is AI.
Jan ‘26: AI Engineering by Chip Huyen
Feb ‘26: AI Agents in Action by Micheal Lanham
Mar ‘26: AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future
Apr ‘26: Build a Large Language Model (From Scratch) by Sebastian Raschka
May ‘26: Generative AI with LangChain, Second Edition
Jun ‘26: TBD
Season 2 (2024)
Core Track
Jan ‘24: Designing Data-Intensive Applications
Feb ‘24: Working Effectively with Legacy Code
Mar ‘24: A Philosophy of Software Design
UI/UX Track
Apr ‘24: Refactoring UI
May ‘24: Practical UI
Jun ‘24: Designing with the Mind in Mind
Writing Track
Jul ‘24: Docs for Developers
Aug ‘24: Dreyer’s English
Sep ‘24: Writing That Works
Speaking Track
Oct ‘24: TED Talks
Nov ‘24: The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs
Dec ‘24: Storyworthy
Season 1 (2020)
Jan ‘20: Clean Code by Robert C Martin (also known as Uncle Bob)
Feb ‘20: The Pragmatic Programmer by David Thomas and Andrew Hunt (20th Anniversary Edition)
Mar ‘20: Don’t Make Me Think! by Steve Krug
Apr ‘20: Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
May ‘20: Head First Design Patterns by Eric Freeman and Elisabeth Robson
Jun ‘20: No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work by Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy
Jul ‘20: The Clean Coder by Robert C Martin (also known as Uncle Bob)
Aug ‘20: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
Sep ‘20: Deep Work by Cal Newport
Oct ‘20: Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
Nov ‘20: Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon
Dec ‘20: Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths
👎 I had a goal of reading 25 books in 2016 but failed. The gap was so large (I couldn’t even read 10!) that I almost gave up on reading.
👎 I had a goal of reading 12 books in 2017 but failed. Continuing with my slice-and-dice approach, I decided to give it another try.
👎 I had a goal of reading 6 books in 2018 but failed. Now I knew I couldn’t do this by myself. I needed help!
💡 That’s when I came across The Startup Book Club on Product Hunt in 2019. I liked the accountability aspect of it and the selection of books also looked promising! I signed up.
👍 In 2019, I read 25+ books. And it’s all thanks to the club.
✅ I learnt that my major problem was I had a lot of books in my to-read list but I was stuck in analysis-paralysis mode. Joining a book club resolved this as everyone was expected to read a pre-decided book.
✅ After a while, we started voting for the next books to read. This brought a good mix of books into the reading list, which I wouldn’t have read otherwise.
✅ Having a deadline is the key to getting things done. In a book club, you have to be on schedule else you won’t be able to discuss your views with the group and feel left out. This was the major difference for me. In previous years, I used to put off reading till the end of the year and panic later.
✅ Life happens! I missed the deadline 3 times but the folks in our book club were very supportive and I got back on track quickly (skipping is okay).
🥳 So in 2020, I started my own book club at DX specifically targeted for developers.
❓ Each month, we select a book to read together and discuss it in our group.
❤️ The first ever pick was Clean Code by Robert C Martin (also known as Uncle Bob).
👊 Join us and become a better developer this year!