r/compsci · 2019
Most-mentioned books in r/compsci during 2019
This page ranks books by exact tracked mentions in r/compsci within the published source unit for 2019. Counts come from the reconciled subreddit-by-month matrix; a source unit may be a bounded sample.
#1 Introduction to Algorithms
Thomas H. Cormen
The textbook four MIT professors wrote to settle every algorithms argument, cited by 254 Reddit commenters across 12 subreddits and still going.
#2 Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
Harold Abelson
MIT's 1985 Scheme textbook that 319 Reddit commenters have recommended and a noticeably smaller number have finished.
#3 The Art of Computer Programming
Donald E. Knuth
Donald Knuth's multi-volume monument to algorithms: the book programmers cite in library lists and almost nobody finishes.
#4 Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software
Charles Petzold
A retired software engineer builds a computer from telegraph relays and flashlights, one chapter at a time, until you understand what a CPU actually does.
#5 The Soul of a New Machine
Tracy Kidder
A journalist watches a team of engineers at Data General burn themselves out building a minicomputer nobody remembers, and writes the definitive account of what that costs.
#6 A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science
Barbara Oakley
A failed math student becomes an engineering professor, then writes the manual on how the brain actually acquires hard skills.
#7 C++ Primer
Stanley B. Lippman
The 1,000-page C++ textbook that r/learnprogramming recommends by name whenever someone asks how to learn the language seriously.
#8 Design Patterns
Erich Gamma
The 1994 Gang of Four catalog that named 23 object-oriented patterns, gave developers a shared vocabulary, and taught a generation to over-apply both.
#9 How to Win Friends and Influence People
Dale Carnegie
A 1936 salesman's manual on making people like you, still showing up in r/selfimprovement threads 90 years later.
#10 Modern Operating Systems
Andrew S. Tanenbaum
Tanenbaum's textbook walks through every layer of an OS — scheduling, memory, file systems, threads — one chapter at a time, with the implementation details left in.
#11 Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++
Bjarne Stroustrup
The language's creator teaches you to program from scratch using C++, treating beginner and language together as a single curriculum.
#12 The C Programming Language
Brian W. Kernighan
The 1978 book that defined C's syntax, co-written by its creator, still cited by name 281 times across Reddit in 7 years.
#13 The Pragmatic Programmer
Andy Hunt
Two veterans hand you a checklist for the craft: don't write code you don't need, own your tools, and fix the broken window before someone else does.