hollyking | Books for March 2006 (Reply)

Non-Fiction

Perl Best Practices by Damian Conway (5/5): I highly recommend this book to anyone who writes Perl programs. The fact that Damian takes the time to explain the reasons behind each of the practices is what shot this book from good to great. I didn't agree with a few of the recommendations at first, but after reading the reason behind it I understood the problem and agreed with the solution. Part of the problem with reading this book is that I went back and re-wrote Math::Interval. This is going to delay the release but its easier to change the code before I have to worry about backwards compatability.
Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum (4/5): Joshua Slocum was the first person to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe. Sailing Alone Around the World is his account of the journey aboard the Spray. I enjoyed Joshua's humor and the glimpse of lesser known areas in the world. I wonder if he would recognize any of his ports of call today.

A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett: This is the second Discworld book I've read and I ask myself again why I haven't read any more. I'll have to check with the library to see if they have any more on CD. A Hat Full of Sky sure made the drive a lot more enjoyable.

Perl Testing: A Developer's Notebook by Ian Langworth & chromatic: I picked this up at OSCON last year. Since I'm in the middle of writing my first Perl module there's no better time to learn about testing.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling: I've actually read this before. I decided to borrow the audio book from the library for my daily commute. The furor has died down a bit so I should be able to listen to the whole series without waiting too long for a copy of the last book.