27 Must-Read Software Development Books for 2023 (With Links)

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Fively Blog

9 min readJul 13, 2023

Find an ultimate list of 27 books in various custom software development categories with links! 📚🧠💪

The ever-evolving field of software development requires continual learning and improvement. Modern development practices require from a software engineer a comprehensive piece of knowledge, both with theoretical insights and practical techniques in various domains, from programming languages and database management to quality assurance, web design, and DevOps practices.

And that’s the point where books on programming can be a good hand. By staying updated with such books and applying their lessons, developers can keep up with these trends, improve their skills, and deliver high-quality, modern software solutions.

Today, we decided to make a compilation of the top 27 books in various custom software development categories. We believe these books will give you lots of insights and turn out to be handy in your professional journey. Here we go!

Custom Software Development Books

With an increasing focus on delivering high-quality custom software at speed, DevOps and Agile methodologies continue to be major trends. Automation and AI-driven development are also rising, as is the use of microservices architecture for scalable and flexible applications. Regarding these trends in custom software development, you can pay attention to the following books:

“Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship” by Robert C. Martin: this book is a classic read that talks about writing code in a clean and efficient manner;
“Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software” by Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, and John Vlissides: this book is a fundamental text for understanding how to design software in the most optimal and efficient manner;
“The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey to Mastery” by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas: this is a comprehensive guide to many areas of development, from understanding your users to working with code and systems;
“Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code” by Martin Fowler: it’s an essential text on the process of restructuring an existing body of code;
“You Don’t Know JS” (series) by Kyle Simpson: this is a series of books diving deep into the core mechanisms of JavaScript. Great for both front-end and back-end development.

These books provide you with the foundational knowledge and principles to navigate these changes, providing insights into best practices and methodologies that align with these trends.

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Web Design Books

User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design continue to evolve, with a focus on accessibility, responsiveness, and minimalistic design. Other trends include dark mode, voice user interface, and augmented reality experiences.

“Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability” by Steve Krug: a classic in web design, it’s all about designing intuitive and usable websites;
“The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web and Beyond” by Jesse James Garrett: this book outlines the importance of UX in web design and offers a framework for thinking about UX;
“Designing with the Mind in Mind: Simple Guide to Understanding User Interface Design Guidelines” by Jeff Johnson: this book provides insights into UI principles from a psychological perspective;
“Responsive Web Design” by Ethan Marcotte: a seminal book that introduced the concept of responsive design to the industry;
“The Design of Everyday Things” by Don Norman: while not specific to web design, it teaches crucial principles of design that can be applied universally, including to web design.

Books on this subject will help you stay abreast of these design principles and understand how to apply them to create intuitive and engaging user experiences.

Mobile Development Books

Cross-platform development using frameworks like React Native and Flutter is a major trend, allowing developers to write code once and deploy it on multiple platforms. Also, with the rise of 5G, mobile apps are becoming more advanced, incorporating AR, VR, and IoT best practices.

“Android Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide” by Chris Stewart: an excellent resource for Android development that mixes practical exercises and clear explanations;
“iOS Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide” by Christian Keur and Aaron Hillegass: similar to the above, but focused on iOS. Big Nerd Ranch guides are loved for their practical, hands-on style;
“Mastering Swift” by Jon Hoffman: this book is a comprehensive deep dive into the Swift language, which is used for iOS development;
“Kotlin for Android Developers: Learn Kotlin the easy way while developing an Android App” by Antonio Leiva: for those preferring Kotlin for Android development, this book is a perfect start;
“React Native in Action” by Nader Dabit: if you’re looking to develop for both iOS and Android simultaneously, this guide to Facebook’s React Native framework could be useful.

The recommended books can help you understand these technologies and frameworks, allowing you to write efficient and high-performing mobile applications.

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Quality Assurance Books

Automation continues to be a dominant trend in QA, with an increasing emphasis on integrating testing into the DevOps pipeline. AI and Machine Learning are being applied to enhance test creation and execution. Reading about modern QA processes and tools can help you adopt these techniques and improve the quality of your software.

“Lessons Learned in Software Testing: A Context-Driven Approach” by Cem Kaner, James Bach, and Bret Pettichord: this book gives you practical insights and methodologies to conduct effective software testing;
“Managing the Testing Process: Practical Tools and Techniques for Managing Hardware and Software Testing” by Rex Black: this book provides a comprehensive view of managing the entire testing process for both software and hardware;
“Software Testing: A Craftsman’s Approach” by Paul C. Jorgensen: this book explains both theory and practical approaches for testing. It’s a good choice for someone looking to understand the principles and techniques behind software testing.

DevOps Books

DevOps practices are increasingly being combined with cloud computing and microservices for rapid, reliable software release. Also, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and containerization with tools like Docker and Kubernetes are major trends. DevOps books provide an understanding of these practices and how they can streamline the software development and deployment process.

“The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win” by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford: this novel delivers an understanding of DevOps principles in an engaging and approachable format;
“The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, and Security in Technology Organizations” by Gene Kim, Patrick Debois, John Willis, and Jez Humble: this book is a practical guide that discusses the fundamentals of DevOps and how to incorporate its practices into your organization;
“Continuous Delivery: Reliable Software Releases through Build, Test, and Deployment Automation” by Jez Humble and David Farley: this book provides a deep dive into the principles and practices of building reliable, automated systems for deployment.

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Database Management Books

The use of cloud-based and NoSQL databases continues to grow. There’s also an increased focus on real-time data processing and the use of AI for database management. Books on database management can help you understand the principles and benefits of these trends, enabling you to choose and use the most appropriate database systems for your needs.

“Database System Concepts” by Abraham Silberschatz, Henry F. Korth, and S. Sudarshan: This book gives a solid understanding of fundamental database concepts. It covers various types of databases, including relational and NoSQL;
“Database Management Systems” by Raghu Ramakrishnan and Johannes Gehrke: this book provides a comprehensive overview of the theory of databases, SQL, database design, data storage and querying, transaction processing, and more;
“NoSQL Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Emerging World of Polyglot Persistence” by Pramod J. Sadalage and Martin Fowler: for those looking to learn about NoSQL databases, this book provides an excellent introduction to this new type of database management system.

Serverless Architecture Books

More businesses are moving towards serverless architectures to save costs and improve scalability. This goes hand in hand with the trend toward microservices and event-driven programming. Books on serverless architecture can provide the knowledge and best practices to design and build robust serverless systems.

“Serverless Architectures on AWS” by Peter Sbarski: this book shows you how to build, secure, and manage serverless architectures that can power the most demanding web and mobile apps;
“Serverless Design Patterns and Best Practices” by Brian Zambrano: this book explores design patterns specific to serverless architecture and provides practical applications for a variety of services;
“Building Serverless Applications with Google Cloud Run” by Marko Leipoldt and Jan Stomphorst: this book offers a good introduction for those interested in building serverless applications specifically on Google Cloud.

Remember to apply the principles and techniques you learn from these books through hands-on practice. That’s the best way to solidify your understanding. Remember, while books can provide a great foundation, nothing beats hands-on coding experience.

Additionally, due to the rapid pace of change in technology and development practices, it’s also critical to stay updated with the latest trends and practices through blogs, forums, and other online resources.

Summary

Drawing the line, these books are invaluable resources for software developers looking to deepen their understanding, enhance their skills, and keep up with the rapid pace of change in the technology industry. They can offer many benefits to software developers, both beginners and experienced practitioners:

Conceptual Understanding: These books teach you the fundamental concepts underlying each domain, enabling you to grasp how and why things work;
Best Practices: The authors share industry-approved best practices, which you can incorporate into your work to increase your efficiency and the quality of your output;
Problem-solving Skills: By exposing you to a variety of problems and solutions in software development, these books will help improve your problem-solving skills;
Career Advancement: Expanding your knowledge base and acquiring new skills can help you advance your career, either by specializing in a particular area or by growing into a well-rounded developer.

By exploring these texts, you will gain a robust understanding of your area of interest, whether it’s custom software development, web design, mobile development, quality assurance, DevOps, database management, or serverless architecture.

By the way, all of these and many other interesting books and series on software development you can order at the Amazon store by following this link, or by clicking on the name of a certain book in the text.

If you liked our guide on the best books for custom software development, feel free to check our recent guides on connected topics, cause we’ve got a lot of them for you! Here they are:

Finally, please remember that the best learning comes from a mix of reading, practical application, and sharing knowledge with others in the field. Keep coding, experimenting, and communicating with your fellow developers.

Happy reading and developing!

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