I have a lot of interaction with publishing types. I write a lot, and I edit some, and I do tech reviews and stuff for some publishers, and I co-authored a book, and I’ve worked on two magazines, and a newspaper, and I’m generally fascinated by the technical book market and stuff like that. I’m also someone who is lucky enough that his job is also his hobby. I work in technology, and am always doing something technology related at home in my spare time. Needless to say, I read tons upon tons of technical books.
I almost never post book reviews, in spite of the fact that I read all of these books. Why? Well, to be honest, I couldn’t tell you. It just hasn’t occurred to me to write a book review. Could be because I don’t really value book reviews too much myself I guess. I mean, if there’s a really obvious consensus across a huge number of reviews, I might be swayed. But in general, I find that book reviews are too often the target of astroturfing campaigns.
If there’s a tech book you’d like a review of that deals with things I’m generally into, let me know and I’ll post a review, if I’ve read it (or want to read it). Here are subjects I’m likely to have read books about in the past couple of years:
- Linux, UNIX, and administration thereof
- Python (all levels — I just read pretty much whatever is out there)
- web 2.0 APIs (mostly Google and Amazon)
- Any book about any service that can be run in a *x environment (DNS, Apache, DHCP, Jabber, and most other things that open a port)
- Anything related to generic SQL, database design, or (more specifically) mysql and postgresql.
- HPC (cluster computing)
- Generic programming, software, computer science, or high-level systems design books
- Digital photography (I have a Canon Digital Rebel, if that helps — I do *not* use Photoshop)
- PHP
- Maybe some other stuff I’m forgetting