In the non-fiction sphere they could do worse than to read: - Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson - Neuromancer by William Gibson Both books have had a huge impact

In the non-fiction sphere they could do worse than to read: - Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson - Neuromancer by William Gibson Both books have had a huge impact on hacker culture, as well as doing a good job of documenting it. They will convey aspects of the culture that more traditional startup books can't convey - hacker language, attitude, motivation etc. They are both great reads too.