My library

This isn’t an exhaustive list of everything I’ve read, but a curated selection of books from recent years that I’ve found valuable, influential, or simply worth sharing, across software, people, and the world around us.

Foundational

Books that permanently shaped how I think and work. These are rare by design, and their influence tends to persist even when I’m not consciously thinking about them.

  • Cover of the book Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided by Tests
    Title
    Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided by Tests
    Author
    Steve Freeman, Nat Pryce
    Read At
    last read 8 years ago
  • Cover of the book The Nature of Software Development: Keep It Simple, Make It Valuable, Build It Piece by Piece
    Title
    The Nature of Software Development: Keep It Simple, Make It Valuable, Build It Piece by Piece
    Author
    Ron Jeffries
    Read At
    last read 7 years ago
  • Cover of the book A Philosophy of Software Design
    Title
    A Philosophy of Software Design
    Author
    John Ousterhout
    Read At
    last read 6 years ago
  • Cover of the book Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change
    Title
    Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change
    Author
    Kent Beck, Cynthia Andres
    Read At
    last read 6 years ago
  • Cover of the book Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
    Title
    Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
    Author
    Derek Sivers
    Read At
    last read 4 years ago
  • Cover of the book Test-Driven Development: By Example
    Title
    Test-Driven Development: By Example
    Author
    Kent Beck
    Read At
    last read 3 years ago

Craft

Books about doing the work well. Practical guidance on building software, writing, designing systems, and working effectively with others.

  • Cover of the book Object-Oriented Reengineering Patterns
    Title
    Object-Oriented Reengineering Patterns
    Author
    Serge Demeyer, Stéphane Ducasse, Oscar Nierstrasz
    Read At
    last read 5 years ago
  • Cover of the book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
    Title
    On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
    Author
    Stephen King
    Read At
    last read 5 years ago
  • Cover of the book Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations
    Title
    Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations
    Author
    Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, Gene Kim
  • Cover of the book Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
    Title
    Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
    Author
    Ed Catmull, Amy Wallace
    Read At
    last read 5 years ago
  • Cover of the book An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management
    Title
    An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management
    Author
    Will Larson
    Read At
    last read 4 years ago
  • Cover of the book Modern Software Engineering: Doing What Works to Build Better Software Faster
    Title
    Modern Software Engineering: Doing What Works to Build Better Software Faster
    Author
    David Farley
    Read At
    last read 4 years ago
  • Cover of the book On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
    Title
    On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
    Author
    William Zinsser
    Read At
    last read 2 years ago
  • Cover of the book Tidy First?: A Personal Exercise in Empirical Software Design
    Title
    Tidy First?: A Personal Exercise in Empirical Software Design
    Author
    Kent Beck
    Read At
    last read 2 years ago
  • Cover of the book Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach
    Title
    Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach
    Author
    Mark Richards, Neal Ford
    Read At
    last read last year

Mental Models

Books that sharpen how I reason and make decisions. They offer frameworks and lenses that influence judgment, trade-offs, incentives, and long-term thinking.

  • Cover of the book The First 90 Days. Updated And Expanded: Proven Strategies for Getting up to Speed faster and smarter
    Title
    The First 90 Days. Updated And Expanded: Proven Strategies for Getting up to Speed faster and smarter
    Author
    Michael D. Watkins
  • Cover of the book Meditations
    Title
    Meditations
    Author
    Marcus Aurelius
    Read At
    last read 4 years ago
  • Cover of the book Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs
    Title
    Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs
    Author
    John Doerr
    Read At
    last read 4 years ago
  • Cover of the book So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love
    Title
    So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love
    Author
    Cal Newport
    Read At
    last read 4 years ago
  • Cover of the book Hell Yeah or No: What's Worth Doing
    Title
    Hell Yeah or No: What's Worth Doing
    Author
    Derek Sivers
    Read At
    last read 2 years ago
  • Cover of the book How To Win Friends & Influence People
    Title
    How To Win Friends & Influence People
    Author
    Dale Carnegie
    Read At
    last read 2 years ago
  • Cover of the book Are Your Lights On?: How to Figure Out What the Problem Really Is
    Title
    Are Your Lights On?: How to Figure Out What the Problem Really Is
    Author
    Donald C. Gause, Gerald M. Weinberg
    Read At
    last read last year
  • Cover of the book The Staff Engineer's Path: A Guide for Individual Contributors Navigating Growth and Change
    Title
    The Staff Engineer's Path: A Guide for Individual Contributors Navigating Growth and Change
    Author
    Tanya Reilly
    Read At
    last read last year
  • Cover of the book Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
    Title
    Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
    Author
    Nassim Nicholas Taleb
    Read At
    last read last year
  • Cover of the book Useful Not True: whatever works for you
    Title
    Useful Not True: whatever works for you
    Author
    Derek Sivers
    Read At
    last read this year
  • Cover of the book Ni por favor ni por favora: Cómo hablar con lenguaje inclusivo sin que se note (demasiado)
    Title
    Ni por favor ni por favora: Cómo hablar con lenguaje inclusivo sin que se note (demasiado)
    Author
    María Martín Barranco
    Read At
    last read 5 years ago

Reference

Books I don’t read cover to cover, but return to occasionally as a shared vocabulary or point of reference. They’re more about clarity and alignment than influence or inspiration.

  • Cover of the book Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
    Title
    Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
    Author
    Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, John Vlissides

Exploration

Curiosity-driven reading. Books that offered context, perspective, or inspiration, and sometimes influenced how I think, work, or approach my career, without becoming part of my core mental toolkit.

  • Cover of the book The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
    Title
    The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph
    Author
    Ryan Holiday
    Read At
    last read 5 years ago
  • Cover of the book The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness
    Title
    The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness
    Author
    Morgan Housel
    Read At
    last read 3 years ago
  • Cover of the book The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness
    Title
    The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness
    Author
    Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga
    Read At
    last read 3 years ago
  • Cover of the book Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner?: A Story About Women and Economics
    Title
    Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner?: A Story About Women and Economics
    Author
    Katrine Marçal
    Read At
    last read 5 years ago
  • Cover of the book How to Live: 27 conflicting answers and one weird conclusion
    Title
    How to Live: 27 conflicting answers and one weird conclusion
    Author
    Derek Sivers
    Read At
    last read 3 years ago
  • Cover of the book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
    Title
    Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
    Author
    Yuval Noah Harari
    Read At
    last read 3 years ago
  • Cover of the book The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness
    Title
    The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness
    Author
    Robert Waldinger, Marc Schulz
    Read At
    last read 2 years ago
  • Cover of the book Einstein: His Life and Universe
    Title
    Einstein: His Life and Universe
    Author
    Walter Isaacson
    Read At
    last read 3 years ago
  • Cover of the book Get Together: How to build a community with your people
    Title
    Get Together: How to build a community with your people
    Author
    Bailey Richardson, Kevin Huynh, Kai Elmer Sotto
    Read At
    last read last year
  • Cover of the book The Man from the Future: The Visionary Ideas of John von Neumann
    Title
    The Man from the Future: The Visionary Ideas of John von Neumann
    Author
    Ananyo Bhattacharya
    Read At
    last read this year

Uncategorized

Books I remember enjoying, but whose influence is now distant or unclear. They’re works I’d need to revisit to reassess how they resonate with me today.

  • Cover of the book Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age
    Title
    Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age
    Author
    Paul Graham
  • Cover of the book The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master
    Title
    The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master
    Author
    Andrew Hunt, David Thomas
  • Cover of the book Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams
    Title
    Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams
    Author
    Tom DeMarco, Timothy Lister

I also use Goodreads as a personal reading log. If you’re curious about what I’m reading at the moment, you’ll find a broader and more eclectic mix of fiction and non-fiction there.

Hey, I’m Sergio! I build maintainable and high-performance full-stack web applications from my lovely home region, Asturias.