this is a (non-comprehensive, non-final, occasionally updated) list of videos, books and essays which influence my programming life. i’ve selected specifically for samples which have stood the test of time – they’re worth going back for.

(if you have suggestions for additions, please comment below)

entrepreneurship
Beating the averages – Paul Graham

object oriented programming
Self and the power of simplicity – David Ungar, Randal B. Smith, (1991)
Self: The Movie;

software engineering
The Mythical Man-Month — Frederick P. Brooks Jr.
The Cathedral and the Bazaar — Eric Steven Raymond
Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship — Robert C. Martin (pdf)

computer graphics/ui/ux
sketchpad demo – Ivan Sutherland (1963!)

design
The Design of Everyday Things — Donald A. Norman
Don’t Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability — Steve Krug

miscellaneous
the mother of all demos – Douglas Engelbart (1968!)
computer revolution video – Allan Kay (1997) transcript
Personal Computing: Historic Beginnings – Alan Kay (2008)
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)

python
Learn Python the Hard Way – Zed Shaw

javascript
JavaScript: The Good Parts – Douglas Crockford

ruby
The Pragmatic Programmer’s Guide — Dave Thomas, Chad Fowler, Andy Hunt (was Yukihiro Matsumoto, a.k.a. “Matz”, not involved?) (printed on trees version)

C
C Programming Language (2nd Edition) — K&R (Brian W. Kernighan, Dennis M. Ritchie)

LISP
roots of lisp – Paul Graham

DATABASES
The Database as a Value – Rich Hickey