Convince me to read books (WHERE LEN(argument) <= 140)

While you wait for my awesome upcoming blog on data exception notification with SSRS, let’s pursue a whim of mine.

I want your techie book recommendations. Write me a tweet @MidnightDBA, or in the comments below, that compels me to read your book of choice. (Yes, you can recommend your own book.)

But the tweet better be pretty compelling.

I’ll kick this off: My recommendation is MVP Deep Dives II,because it’s 60 chapters by 60 MVPs on a variety of SQL topics, and benefits Project Smile. Compelling, no?

I’ll also add the Twitter answers below, as I get them. Happy tweeting!

Jen McCown
http://www.MidnightDBA.com/Jen

• @ThomasRushton book to read: “Managing Smaller Projects“, Mike Watson, ISBN:1895186854. Makes a change from the heavy stuff for big projects.
• @eccentricDBA “SQL Antipatterns” Bill Karwin.
• @AmbivalentGeek  “SQL and Relational Theory” by CJ Date http://amzn.com/0596523068  Helped answer all my “whys” about SQL, and very well written.
• wshawnmelton I’m always like “what is that script to check for ___ issue?” Look no further than http://www.red-gate.com/our-company/about/book-store/accidental-dba  Good info
• greeleygeek Clean Code by Robert Martin. Written from a Java perspective but applicable to make anyone a better coder (C#, T-SQL, etc).
• zippy1981 finally, “the art of unix programming” by Eric S Raymond. To grok powershell, you need to understand the unix way.
•  jayape Inside the Query Optimizer, a great read into how the optimizer works. Invaluable for understanding execution plans
•  SQLSoldier  Just stop reading! Watch cartoons instead. 🙂
•  zippy1981 The C Programming Language by K&R. Its a short book, and everyone in IT should know C even if they are not a dev
•  peschkaj  Pragmatic Thinking & Learning. This book needs to advertising. It’s a study of how we learn and provides good techniques for you to improve your learning process. All based on legit research
• @MikeReigler @Peschkaj ‘s pick +1 for me. That’s my fav.
• AdamMachanic  “Code Complete.” I think I already recommended that to you quite a while ago, though. Did you read it?
•  zippy1981 The Mythical Man month. Its more PM than techie, but it explains a lot of lessons the industry has yet to learn
• ThomasRushton +1 for @zippy1981’s recommendation of Mythical Man Month. Yes, it’s an old book, but it’s still good.
• sqlnikon  I enjoy reading Time Management for System Admins by Thomas A. Limoncelli. Keeps my day on track.