Reading List

2020 Update go to 2015 version

I created this file after someone asked me, in a meetup I spoke five years ago if I could share what websites I was using to learn new stuff and since then, a lot of things changed not only in the front-end world but also in my career and my learning processes.

It's still pretty common to have people asking me about this list or staring it, so I decided it was worth a small update, to reflect the new front-end era and also who I turned out to be.

The updated list will be pretty short compared to the original one because front-end development now is much more focused than it used to be back in 2015. Yes, in 2020 JS fatigue is not a thing anymore. (And I believe it never was 😉)

I will also add some podcasts, newsletters and Youtube channels I use as a source of knowledge.

I'll let a comment bellow every link on why I read, watch or listen it.

Some tips if you are a beginner developer and arrived here:

• Take your time to read articles, listen to podcasts and watch videos, there's no need to rush, learn one thing at a time. Focus is one of the best skills you can master in your career.

• There are just two valid reasons for you to spend time learning something new: because you want or because of your actual job demands. Don't feel like it's mandatory to learn a thing just because everyone is talking about it or because it's the brand new-but-soon-to-be-old cool framework.

• Try to learn something new every day without losing your focus on the big picture of your career objectives.

• Don't just read something, bring it to the real world by applying what you learned on some fun-but-basic project. Practice what you read (and what you preach)

• Don't spend all your energy learning how to be a great developer. Dedicate some of your free time to learn how to be an interesting person, who can discuss pretty much every topic, from history to anthropology to popular culture.

Twitter Why: 99% of what I read today is stuff I find following some interesting people. That's where I learn new tech buzzwords, about soon-to-be-dead new frameworks, cool blog posts and everything else tech-related. If you don't have an account or don't think Twitter is useful because the bad experience you had the first time you created an account ten years ago, go back there, create a new account and follow everyone I'm following. You can thank me later.

Overreated.io Why: It's not an exaggeration to say that Dan Abramov is one of the most important names of front-end engineering in 2020. He's one of the minds behind React (the most used front-end development framework of the past few years) and he's also an awesome writer, sharing some pretty cool technical stuff in this blog.

2ality - Dr Axel Rauschmayer's blog Why: The best source of knowledge about Javascript you will find out there. Dr Axel writes about functional programming, cool ways to use JS APIs, new proposals on TC39. There are now more than 1200 posts on this blog.

Eric Elliot blog on Medium Why: Eric is one of my programming heroes when the topic is being more than just a code writer. He writes not just about technologies, frameworks and programming techniques but also about leadership, processes and culture.

Ponyfoo Why: Ponyfoo, like 2Ality, is a great source of Javascript techniques and patterns. There are a lot of great posts showing advanced JS stuff like prototypal inheritance, async programming, etc.

CSS Tricks Why: Honestly, I usually don't read about CSS anymore. I try to keep updated with new stuff like the (not so new anymore) CSS Grids. But when I need to find some trick or information about a CSS prop I forgot, this is where I look first.

Hacker News Why: I usually go through HN posts, reading stuff that sounds interesting, at least one time a week. I can't remember the last time I left this site without learning something new.

Felipe Fialho Why: This blog is not here just because Fialho is a personal friend of mine, but because I still read every post he writes. This guy has a lot to offer and is a learning machine, I am pretty sure he doesn't go to bed without learning something new. And neither should you.

Willian Justen Why: I try to keep up to date with what Justen writes because he has a thing on explaining complex concepts in a way that makes everything looks a lot easier. This is also a multi-themed blog where you will find stuff about CSS, Plain JS and JS frameworks.

Netflix Engineering Youtube Channel Why: Fun fact: For the most part of my professional career Netflix was the number one company I dreamed to work for, so having a Youtube channel showing the stuff they were working on was a big deal to me. I still watch every new video they upload.

Javascript Weekly Newsletter Why: This newsletter helps me keep up to date with what is happening on Javascript World. New APIs, frameworks, tools, etc. It's a weekly must-read.

UX Collective Why: Nowadays this is the only place where I read about UI and UX stuff and I'll tell you why: because it's the best design blog actually available. This is a mandatory source of knowledge and I truly believe every developer should read at least one post of this blog a week. It's available in Portuguese and English (with different content) and I suggest you read both.

Like a Boss - Podcast Why: It's really interesting to hear what some of the most famous C-levels out there think, the challenges they face, how they work and how they got there. Beware of some bullshit they (the interviewed C-levels) say to please the marketing team of their companies (and their ego).

Rands in Repose Why: I've been reading this blog for more than eight years now and it still amazes me how good is Michael Lopp writing and managing skills. The posts in this blog generated three different books, all of them are great readings. Rands lessons on Leadership are a must for every person in a leadership position in the IT industry.

Indie Hackers Why: I believe every developer should know they have the power to decide their own future. Indie hackers is a community where people who learned this lesson get together to share their experiences building their own products and services to achieve the lifestyle they dreamed about.