Free is a YC founder who is very smart and handsome. Here are some of his favorite books:

  • Designing Data Driven Applications by Martin Kleppmann - amazon

    • Data is at the center of many challenges in system design today. Difficult issues need to be figured out, such as scalability, consistency, reliability, efficiency, and maintainability. In addition, we have an overwhelming variety of tools, including relational databases, NoSQL datastores, stream or batch processors, and message brokers. What are the right choices for your application? How do you make sense of all these buzzwords?

  • The Tangled Web by Michal Zalewski - amazon

    • Modern web applications are built on a tangle of technologies that have been developed over time and then haphazardly pieced together. Every piece of the web application stack, from HTTP requests to browser-side scripts, comes with important yet subtle security consequences. To keep users safe, it is essential for developers to confidently navigate this landscape.

  • Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim - amazon

    • Based on a study of 150 strategic moves (spanning more than 100 years across 30 industries), the authors argue that lasting success comes not from battling competitors but from creating “blue oceans”—untapped new market spaces ripe for growth.

  • The Lean Startup by Eric Ries - amazon

    • Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.

  • The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick - amazon

    • “have gotten so much better at asking questions. I need to finish the mom book, that instantly clicked with me. you should have forced that book onto me. sit on me until i read it” - me