Motivation

In 2021 I started reading a lot more than in last few years which definitely gave me some perspectives and nasty jokes inspirations (mostly thanks to the last book in this list). I finally found the strength to read those from start to finish and not abandon it in the middle. A true feat!

I also discovered the power of audiobooks. Podcasts are great and all, but sometimes you don’t want to hear yet another interview with a tech guru but just listen to a novel, hear a story about a boy stranded on a desert planet or a builder struggling to construct a cathedral. Some of those are narrated by professional actors which makes it a formidable experience, especially during an otherwise mundane activity. For this I’m personally using Audioteka, but I guess Audible is a valid alternative.

It’s supposed to be an IT blog so the majority of the recommendations will be technical positions. Still, I wanted to slip in some softer books which you may enjoy. I certainly did.

Top 3 IT books


  • Programming Rust: Fast, Safe Systems Development 2nd Edition. Definitely one of the best Rust books out there, especially if you have C++ background. I found it a bit of amusing that for a long time it was the #1 bestseller in category C & C++ Programming on Amazon. It’s one of the best sources out there if you plan to level-up your Rust or even learn it this year (given you already have some programming experience).
  • Grokking Bitcoin. While opinions about cryptocurrencies are rather poralized, it’s always good to research the subject on your own before taking a stand (though it’s a dying art). The book starts gently, then dives quite deeply into Bitcoin technical intricacies. Quite a good lecture for those who want to know more even if it may not advance their career (yet…?).
  • The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey To Mastery, 20th Anniversary Edition (2nd Edition). I kind of feel ashamed that I read this book after over 7 years in IT but it’s never too late to catch up with the classics. The book might feel sometimes a bit outdated, but stories like Stone Soup are memorable and applicable now more than ever, with the rise of new exciting technologies.

Top Novel

  • FUTU.RE. Most know Dmitry Glukhovsky from his famous Metro Trilogy. I was one of them, then I discovered this novel. Even though the humanity finally finds a way to become virtually immortal, this book portrays a rather grim dystopian world. How come? Well, I prefer not to spoil the fun of unraveling the futu.re that may await us. This one definitely stole quite a few precious hours from my sleep time.

Top ???

  • Humans: A Brief History of How We F*cked It All Up. I cannot really classify this book into a particular genre. It’s history / science / humor / satire (just look at the title, poor Mr Harari…) with bad jokes that cracked me up in a middle of nowhere, like Note for millennials: houses are those big things made of bricks you’ll never be able to buy. Well, later in the evening I started crying when the truth of those words finally struck me. Anyway, the book goes through many of spectacular fiascoes in the brief history of humanity. Perhaps it’s worth learning from those mistakes.

I hope you will find this list useful. Hopefully 2022 won’t be “2020 too”. :)