I’m currently reading Journey of the Software Professional: Sociology of Computer Programming. It’s proved so far to be a unique insight into how developers go from seeing a problem to providing a solution, good or bad. It’s quite hard going as there’s a lot of detailed analysis into how we work, but it’s certainly given me food for thought.
In another area of self improvement, I recently passed 70-536: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework - Application Development Foundation, and am currently reading up on the ASP.NET exam with a view to gaining the MCTS cert. Much as I had hoped I’d left exams behind years ago, it is proving to be a useful exercise in filling in the gaps in my knowledge. Today I finally got around to creating something with Web Parts, which I wouldn’t otherwise have done, another plan filed away in my cognitive library (cf. Journey of the Software Professional).