Thanks for sharing!

I agree, and I also learn the most from doing and thinking, but programming books gives me perspectives and ideas to think about, discuss, and try/do.

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.

Of course, whatever works for you works for you.

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.

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).