Feb 22, 2020
đź“– Read with DX
I had a goal of reading 25 books in 2016 but failed. The gap was so large (I couldn’t even read 10!) that I almost gave up on reading.
I had a goal of reading 12 books in 2017 but failed. Continuing with my slice-and-dice approach, I decided to give it another try.
I had a goal of reading 6 books in 2018 but failed. Now I knew I couldn’t do this by myself. I needed help!
That’s when I came across The Startup Book Club on Product Hunt last year. I liked the accountability aspect of it and the selection of books also looked promising! I signed up.
In 2019, I read 25+ books. And it’s all thanks to the club.
I learnt that my major problem was I had a lot of books in my to-read list but I was stuck in analysis-paralysis mode. Joining a book club resolved this as everyone was expected to read a pre-decided book.
After a while, we started voting for the next books to read. This brought a good mix of books into the reading list, which I wouldn’t have read otherwise.
Having a deadline is the key to getting things done. In a book club, you have to be on schedule else you won’t be able to discuss your views with the group and feel left out. This was the major difference for me. In previous years, I used to put off reading till the end of the year and panic later.
Life happens! I missed the deadline 3 times but the folks in our book club were very supportive and I got back on track quickly (skipping is okay).
At DX, we have started a book club specifically targeted for developers.
Each month, we’ll select a book to read together and discuss it in the Telegram group: t.me/dxclub
Jan’s pick was Clean Code by Robert C Martin (also known as Uncle Bob). To kickstart things, the folks at Pushowl generously sponsored 10 copies to give-away!
After that, we defined some reading milestones and kept polls to nudge people to keep reading. Here are the stats:
23 people read the first chapter and 10 finished the whole book. The overall consensus on the content was that it’s a must-read for every developer out there, especially if you’re starting out. If you’re late to the party, don’t worry. You can find the reading milestones at dxclub.io/books and join the conversation in our Telegram group.
Join us and become a better developer in 2020! đź‘Š
