The real answer is, "It depends." It really depends on where you are with your learning. When I was younger and was getting into the industry, I would read boo

The real answer is, "It depends." It really depends on where you are with your learning. When I was younger and was getting into the industry, I would read books cover to cover b/c the various topics intrigued me (sql, databases, javascript, etc.) and I wanted to learn about them. Today, my reading habits have changed. For just about anything, you can get a good primer (for free) online. Documentation for most products/projects are 10-fold better than what they were 5-10 years ago. Sometimes books are still necessary, especially in regards to learning a new programming language. You'll get way more coverage and if you read several books on a particular language, you can learn several approaches. I wouldn't recommend buying a ton of technology books at once as some of them may become outdated before you get to reading them. Learn as much as you can, without buying a book, until it hurts. Then, go to your local book store and compare different books on the same subject (also compare reviews) and buy the one that you think will be the most beneficial. That's the approach I take.