Only if it is a quality book. And if your employer is not interested in investing in your education and development it is time to switch jobs. It is ethical -

Only if it is a quality book. And if your employer is not interested in investing in your education and development it is time to switch jobs. It is ethical - my job is to solve problems. If I need to do research how to solve a problem best it is unethical for me not to do it. When I am stuck on a problem, usually I take a long lunch, shower or hit the gym. Having few hours doing something else allows me to attack the problem from another angle. And usually I solve it better and faster that way. As long as you don't work for pointy hair boss it should be fine.