Tech Reads
I manage to get through quite a few technical books. Some I read from cover-to-cover, others I just use for reference. This page is a list of the ones I particularly recommend, some of which I'll review and give my thoughts on.
Learning jQuery: Better Interaction Design and Web Development with Simple JavaScript Techniques By Jonathan Chaffer & Karl Swedberg
A great book to have to hand when your tinkering with jQuery. Aimed at beginners, well structured and easy to follow. A good reference book although I would alway advise learning some "real" javaScript before starting with jQuery. It will help.
PHP Objects, Patterns and Practice 2nd Edition By Matt Zandstra
I put off learning OOP for ages, mainly because I found that other technical books just breezed over it without explaining the benefits. Matt Zandstra's book is different. It's broken into three parts. Objects; were he explains the syntax of OOP with PHP. Patterns; were he explains design patterns and how to implement them with PHP and Practice; were he briefly introduces PEAR. I came away from this book feeling like I had a good understand of OOP and recommend it to anyone wishing to learn.
Quotes
The more original a discovery, the more obvious it seems afterwards. - Arthur Koestler
Tech Read
A great reference book for learning jQuery, broken into sensible chapters focused on jQuery's core functions.
Leisure Listen
Book 1 of A Time Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke's final trilogy before passing away. Time's Eye is an interesting idea, but not his strongest novel unfortunately.