Books that just give information (especially techs) are replaced by the Internet.
Other books are supposed to teach me something,
but my experience is that I learn stuff by doing and thinking rather than reading.
On the claim that it’s all just information, consider that a book represents a substantial portion of the life of the author(s) and editor(s). Contrast that to the cheapness of publishing online.
This is why I'd never read a book to learn a framework or API. For me, reading is all about learning those core lessons that apply equally well across the decades (Code Complete was great for this).
Whenever I think about consuming information, I always first consider the half-life of that information (another reason why I rarely spend time keeping up on the news).
Maybe, but does the ideas, practices, and principle change often or at all for our profession? I find many old book still very relevant today, good books don't really age that fast.
Books that just give information (especially techs) are replaced by the Internet. Other books are supposed to teach me something, but my experience is that I learn stuff by doing and thinking rather than reading.