[amerkhalid]

1. Head First Design Patterns - Didn't learn patterns in school. This book made a lot of difference in communication with more experienced programmers.

2. Pragmatic Programmer - A classic, learned many practical tips for day to day programming job.

3. Founders at Work - Motivated me to work on my side projects and be constantly learning.

[re_todd]

Head First Design Patterns is awesome. I read a couple other Design Pattern books, but didn't really get it. I didn't want to buy a "Head First" book because it looked kind of silly, but this book has finally opened my eyes to what Design Patterns are about.