My inner-nerd has recently resurfaced, and he’s found my level of knowledge to be severely lacking. So, this year, here’s the list of books that I’ve started reading so far:
- Programming From the Ground Up – Jonathan Bartlett
- Starting Out with Java: Early Objects (Third Edition) – Tony Gaddis
- Calculus for Dummies (and the accompanying workbook) – Mark Ryan (Hey! He’s got two first names!)
- “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman” – Richard P. Feynman
- Freakonomics – Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
- Bhagavad Gita
- The Motley Fool Investment Guide – David & Tom Gardner
And I’m also reviewing a couple of books that I read last year because I’m working towards certifications:
- Managing and Troubleshooting Networks – Mike Meyers
- CompTIA A+ Certification Exam Guide – Mike Meyers
- Network+ Study Guide (Fourth Edition) – David Groth & Toby Skandier
I also have a brother, a brother-in-law, and a friend who want me to read novels and short stories that they’ve written. Anyway, I’ve been doing pretty good at getting myself to sit down and focus on reading and actually progressing through books recently. One of my main problems is that I am interested in such a wide variety of different things and there’s so much that I’d like to learn that I have trouble focusing on just one thing. I’ve been getting better at that though (I even managed to read the whole Harry Potter series in November and December last month), and right now the main books I’m focusing on are Programming from the Ground Up and Calculus for Dummies. I should be done with both of them by the end of February (although ideally by the end of January). I’m also planning on having my Network+ certification by the first half of February (I already bought a voucher and signed up for a test date). I think I’m probably ready for the A+ tests as well, but there’s so much that’s covered that I want to be really sure I have it down before I put down $200 per test.
Anyway, I plan to set up a separate page with the books I’ve read this year.
Oh, by the way, I am not enrolled in any classes right now, and I’m working full time. All these books are things that I want to learn on my own. Call me masochistic if you must.
