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As a data point, I've purchased (or borrowed from the library) 9 technical books this year. I've read bits and pieces of all of them, but I haven't read them cover-to-cover.

By then end of the year, I'll probably be up to 12-15 total, but not reading everything.

Edit: I probably read about 1/4 to 1/3 of each book (although this varies widely), so that puts me at ~4 full books.

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I haven't read a technical book cover-to-cover ever again since I got internet access in the late 90's. I remember that, before that, the books were my only source of information and I'd read everything. Nowadays it's more a compilation of dozens of different sources.

Is there a reason you don't read them cover to cover?

I can understand that some books are more reference than narrative. Yet, I find that most books are usually a coherent whole that is more than the sum of its parts.

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