@milan_milanovic: 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀…

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 So when people ask me for book recommendations, I don't give the same ones as others: Clean Code, The Pragmatic Programmer, and DDIA. Those are fine, of course, but you've heard about them many times. In the new issue of Tech World With Milan newsletter, there is the list I actually gave people in 2026. 17 books, sorted by the problem you're having. A few that earned their place: - 𝗔 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 by @JohnOusterhout. I read it late and wished I hadn't waited. Best explanation I know of why complexity is in and how to push back. - 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮-𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 2nd edition, by @martinkl and @criccomini. The rewrite adds AI data systems. Still, the book I reach for most on distributed data. - 𝗔𝗜 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, by @chipro. If you're putting LLMs into production, this is the one. - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸, by @GergelyOrosz. The career stuff nobody teaches you. We usually learn it by experience the hard way. - 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, by @martinfowler. Changing code without breaking it, which is most of the actual job. My own book is on the list too. 𝗟𝗮𝘄𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: 63+ laws and principles every engineer learns from experience and fails. I collected them so you don't have to. Link is in the comments.