In H.G. Wells “The Time Machine”, the Time Traveler comes back from the future to take 3 books from a bookshelf in their study to return to the future. The reader (or viewer of the film) is left guessing which 3 books have been taken from the bookshelf and how they will shape the future.

Thinking about this the other way, I have been considering which books I would send back to my younger self to read to help my career earlier than when I actually read them. I have expanded my choices to 10 books rather than just 3.

As in “The Time Machine”, I’ve chosen books that are on my bookshelf that I would pick up and hand back to myself. Some of these may be considered a bit dated, however I have chosen books here that helped shape my thinking through the years, rather than the Sports Almanac (Back to the Future reference).

Time paradoxes aside – here is my list;

• Understanding Organisations
  • by Charles Handy
  • https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Organizations-Charles-Handy/dp/0195087321

• Enterprise Architecture as Strategy
  • by Jeanne W.Ross, Peter Weill, David C.Robertson
  • https://www.amazon.com/Enterprise-Architecture-Strategy-Foundation-Execution/dp/1591398398

• Site Reliability Engineering
  • by Betsy Beyer, Chris Jones, Jennifer Petoff, Niall Richard Murphy
  • https://www.amazon.com/Site-Reliability-Engineering-Production-Systems/dp/149192912X

• The Art of Systems Architecting
  • by Eberhardt Rechtin, Mark Maier
  • https://www.amazon.com/Systems-Architecting-Engineering-Eberhardt-Hardcover/dp/B011DB8TJS

• Software Architecture in Practice
  • by Len Bass, Paul Clements, Rick Kazman
  • https://www.amazon.com/Software-Architecture-Practice-3rd-Engineering/dp/0321815734

• Software Engineering
  • by Ian Sommerville
  • https://www.amazon.com/Software-Engineering-10th-Ian-Sommerville/dp/0133943038

• Peopleware Productive Projects and Teams
  • by Tom DeMarco, Timothy Lister
  • https://www.amazon.com/Peopleware-Productive-Projects-Teams-3rd/dp/0321934113

• Trusted Advisor
  • David Maister, Charles H. Green, Robert M. Galford
  • https://www.amazon.com/Trusted-Advisor-David-H-Maister/dp/0743212347

• Mythical Man Month
  • by Fred Brooks
  • https://www.amazon.com/Mythical-Man-Month-Software-Engineering-Anniversary/dp/0201835959

• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
  • by Stephen Covey
  • https://www.amazon.com/Habits-Highly-Effective-Stephen-Paperback/dp/B00YDJSBZA

If you had an opportunity to send 10 books back to your younger self, what would you choose from your bookshelf?