six of one, half a dozen of another

Today I returned the six books I had out and checked out six more. Most of them are recommended by Eric S. Raymond. The book on SSH I casually noticed on the shelf, and the George Carlin book is there for good measure.

• The Art of UNIX Programming by Eric S. Raymond
• Advanced UNIX Programming by Warren. W. Gay
• The Cathedral and the Bazaar by Eric S. Raymond
• The Design and Implementation of the 4.4 BSD Operating System by Marshall Kirk McKusick, Keith Bostic, Michael J. Karels and John S. Quarterman
• Implementing SSH: Strategies for Optimizing the Secure Shell by Himanshu Dwivedi
• When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? by George Carlin

I've begun The Cathedral and the Bazaar, and I recommend it. It provides some highlights of the open source movement and arguments in favor of it. This book is a good read for anyone involved in the software industry.

I also recommend Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. It's difficult to describe it, as it has no theme, but I can nearly guarantee you'll enjoy it. Ever wondered why drug dealers still with their moms or what makes a perfect parent? This award-winning economist and best-selling writer look solely at the hard facts to tackle these questions and more. The answers will surprise you.