Pragmatic Programmer (importance of plain text) and How to Solve it (set of logical steps to get to grips with an otherwise overwhelming problem / situation).

Pragmatic Programmer (importance of plain text) and How to Solve it (set of logical steps to get to grips with an otherwise overwhelming problem / situation). Applying Domain-Driven Design and Patterns was the book that made me fall in love with software engineering. Perhaps a little dated now though. Head First Design Patterns - I never grokked any of the patterns from the GoF book, but this one 'clicked' for me, if you can get past the cutesy presentation. Peopleware - Shows importance of focusing on people, rather than the tech, as this is often the main cause of project failure in the software realm (and perhaps others).