Finally my Pickaxe is here !!

As of this writing I have spent another 1.8K INR to get a techie book (The Pickaxe book) that I wanted to read. This because there is no Indian edition of this book available and I don't see anyone printing this here in the near future.I must confess I collect books that I like. I am just about to run out of space to keep em. Personally I hate reading online.. I normally don't go more than 4 pdf pages before my eyes hurt (although blogs are perfectly okay). There is something to holding a book in your hand and trying something out. Get stuck and automatically my hands reach for the book and I am already latching onto the relevant portion of the book. To do the same thing with a online book or html pages is pure pain (You need to know the particular html to initiate a Find on it.) Even with the plethora of online docs, I have old fashioned 'reference books' at arm's length.
But I find it very unsettling that I see very few people reading nowadays. In this field, where everything is on the move, the uncontrolled constant is change and the need is constant learning. There is a good chance that someone else has already been there and a book has been written. And if you procrastinate, there is a good chance that someone else isn't and you'd be picking up something like 'My Job went to India' (This is actually a book - )
But here in Mumbai (commercial capital of the country) I need to wait for a month and pay thru my nose (no Amazon Discounts either) to get a book that was released in the US in 1999 i.e. six freaking years ago. At this rate, we'll always remain two steps behind and doing plumbing tasks with stone age tools. I'm of the opinion that the only way to learn something is to get your hands dirty. Nowadays thanks to the internet, the software requirements are easily met one way or the other :). But the books are turning out to be the real hurdles. As of today cb-india.com is the only option like freaking MTNL, a 'I'm the only one' 'take-it-or-leave-it' place.

But still, 2 chapters in, the book is making all this worthwhile. Thanks Dave, Andy and Chad for taking time out to help me find this gem of a language. Book Home Page