Skip to content

Books

Overview

This page lists widely recommended books across the Engineering OS curriculum. Use it as a starting library—not an exhaustive catalog.

Why This Exists

Long-form books build durable mental models beyond blog-sized takes.

How It Works

Pick one book per quarter, take notes, and tie chapters back to projects or LeetCode/system design practice.

Curated list

Topic Book Notes
Algorithms Introduction to Algorithms (CLRS) Rigorous; use as reference
Systems Designing Data-Intensive Applications (Kleppmann) Modern data systems primer
Networking Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach Classroom standard
Architecture Building Microservices (Newman) Practical service boundaries
AI / ML breadth Hands-On Machine Learning (Géron) Implementation-oriented

Key Concepts

Read actively Summarize each chapter in your own words and link to one real system you have used.

Code Examples

Skim chapter -> implement one exercise -> write 5 bullet notes -> add to flashcards

Interview Questions

How do you choose what to read next?

Match gaps in upcoming interviews or on-the-job pain points; alternate depth (textbook) with breadth (anthology blogs).

Practice Problems

  • Finish one chapter of DDIA and diagram a concept you did not know before
  • Teach a chapter summary to a peer in 15 minutes

Resources

  • Open Library — discoverability
  • Local libraries and inter-library loans for cost access