So many books, so little … attention
I’m a geek and a coder. It’s inevitable, then, that I’ll collect a huge number of books about every geeky, coding subject going. I have countless books on Java, Python, C, testing, framework-this, framework-the-other. A new batch is adding another layer of veneer on my desk at home: the Mac development books.
The issue is, though, that I seem incapable of picking up one book and working through it to the end. I’m time-slicing my scant resources over countless books. This leads to an unfortunate outcome: I learn nothing from any of them (another side effect being the sizable amount of money that I’ve basically wasted over the years).
Reading has become a wholly mechanical activity. I open the book, scan it for all the pictures (being turned off immediately if the word/picture ratio is too high … I like to think of myself as a visual learner, rather than shallow), and then follow the steps in all the programming examples. I end up with lots of example applications, but ask me how they work, or ask me to build one of them from scratch without the aid of the book, and I’d probably struggle.
This is not the fault of the books themselves (although, there are some decidedly sub-par tech books on the market, and most of those have red covers), it’s just that I have an awful lack of attention and focus. So, I’ve decided to take the bull by the horns, and force myself to abide by these rules from now:
- Only one tech book on the go at once
- Start a project in parallel with the examples in the book (the best books, I find, are those that build a single application incrementally as you progress)
- Find others reading the same book and discuss it with them
The book at the top of the stack is Aaron Hillegass’ Cocoa Programming for MacOSX, 3rd edition. The author builds a little application throughout the book, and my plan is to write another little application in parallel, only referring to the book as reference where necessary. That’s rules 1 & 2 covered. For rule 3, if anyone is also reading through this book, get in touch.
June 18th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Yes! I have two copies just shipped super express priority mail from the US expected in the next day or so.
Then all we need is to be in iChat or Skype and work thru the examples because I’m stuck in Bangor every night and my bro (who’s based between Lisburn and Mallusk) needs the help!
til then I have one copy of 2nd ed? What are the first two examples in Third ed?
June 18th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
The first one is RandomApp, then there’s a lottery number one, followed by the always entertaining SpeakLine. Then’s it gets hardcore with RaiseMain.