I've stopped buying books on specific tools / programming languages. I can almost always find better information online. (Ruby is one exception: you pretty mu

I've stopped buying books on specific tools / programming languages. I can almost always find better information online. (Ruby is one exception: you pretty much need the pick-axe book). safari.oreilly.com is a great resource when nothing else is available. However, I still regularly purchase books on "higher" topics like algorithms or mathematical abstractions, the sort of books that I'm more likely to find in my university's bookstore than at Barnes & Noble.