books or blogs?

Question

I've got lots of technical books-- 'bricks' I call them since most of them are in the 700 page range. I love these tech books and I can generally read those 700 pages much quicker than I can a novel of the same length. Go figure…

However, as much as I love them, it seems their shelf-life is getting shorter all the time and I find myself searching the web for information more and more frequently. I characterize web tid-bits, blogs and articles as points in a kind of connect-the-dots approach to building a mental picture of whatever thing you’re researching as opposed to a book that will bring you from A to Z (or most of the way anyway).

So, as a reforming book-worm, I’m wondering am I the only one? And to those who ‘connect-the-dots’: do you have a system to store those dots so that there’s some coherent trace to go back to and review? Yes, of course there are ‘browser favorites’? Is there some other way that I don’t know about? Is this a new genre of software or has someone done this already?

Answer 1

I like the connect the dots approach, organized via delicious so I can access from anywhere (there is a fantastic firefox plugin, not sure about other browsers).

http://delicious.com/

Having your favorites in a central location is a huge upgrade over the browser's built in favorites, IMO.

Not sure if you use an RSS reader or not, but they can be very effective for getting yourself the latest from the sites you like as well (then from there you can mark anything you want for future reference in delicious)

Answer 2

I like books when I just start learning a new technology...once I am past the beginners stage I rely more on the web to improve my skills.

A well written book can give you a good overview, that a collection of small articles probably can't.

On the other hand, a collection of blog articles on the web will be more focused and relevant once I start zooming in on particular feature-set.

Answer 3

Use both. In my experience I find books provide an excellent introduction to new technologies. I combine this with reading blogs about some of the day to day issues other developers experience.

Answer 4

My "reference library" nowadays consists of such:

Books: Only for those "gems of wisdom" type books, such as code complete. Even when starting out with some new technology, there is typically a really good online blog series or tutorial to get me going.

Blogs: Good for "tech tip of the day" or "emerging technology/technique" to keep me up to date.

Web: This is where I don my "googlian monk" robes to search out specific code samples or topics to digest. StackOverflow and MSDN (since I'm a .net developer) tend to be common places for this.

Answer 5

I have two bookcases full of engineering/programming books, and around 1000 e-Books, but I rely less and less on them for reference.

As for keeping track of useful information on the net, I use delicious.

Jeff had written a post on this subject on Coding Horror back in April: Programmers Don't Read Books -- But You Should

Answer 6

Blogs provide an insight into a developer's point of view on things and what they encounter day to day. Books on the other hand extensively cover the features of the languages, not just things like "Hey, here's something cool to do with an array". I use blogs to keep myself updated on the latest things in software development, and books to teach me it in and out.

Answer 7

I know what you mean about book shelf life, but I'm still hooked on reading a book in bed or when I'm out in public and need something to occupy me. I don't have a Kindle, and I don't enjoy reading off a laptop as much as I do a book.

Could be my age; could be a generational thing. But I still love books.

Answer 8

Books are great for in-depth coverage on things that are more subjective in nature and have a long lifespan such as OO programming, DDD etc... However, it seems like technology is moving at a pace that books can't keep up with when it comes to purely technical topics.

You need both, but blogs are often more timely.

Answer 9

Pick great authors, then read all they've written no matter what the format is.

Answer 10

Books are giving more accurate info so they are most important. Blogs on other hand are giving you more fresh info which is also valuable.

You can check my list of recommended books here:

http://www.riaguy.com/books/