   What book should I buy?
  Hey peopleI have been working on a game engine for the last six months or so. At the moment, I have some money, so I figured, why not buy a programming book?But now my "problem" is, what book should I buy? What subject would be most usefull to me, and which books that cover the subject are best?If anyone has recommendations on subjects/books, please tell me. (And yes, I''ve been looking through the Books & Software section of this site )Thanks in advance!  
  I''m going to the HCC this weekend(yes, I live in holland to :D) and I''m going to shop for a few books..I''m programming for some time now but I notice that the way I learned C++ is not the best way(I had only programmed in Visual Basic and started reading Nehe''s tutorials and so I learned C++ and OpenGL on the same time) so I want to look for some C++ books.I was thinking of the following books:- The Zen of Direct3D Game Programming by Peter Walsh- Beginning Direct3D Game Programming w/CD by Wolfgang F- C++: The Complete Reference - AI Game Programming Wisdom (with CD-ROM) - Programming Role Playing Games with DirectX w/CDI don''t now how expensive the books will be at the HCC but if they are cheap then I want to buy some of these books. The Zend and the book about AI look good and the C++ reference to..  ;  Hehe that sounds just like me!  I came from VB/(basic) directX and started C++/OpenGL at the same time too (and also NeHe''s tutorials)I still have troubles with C++, of course I know what an int and a char and a float is, but virtual, pointers, and all the more complicated things are often still hard for me... And my OOP is probably not good enough either. But I don''t want to "waste" the little money I have on a C++ book, so I''d figure, if I get a game-engine programming book, it might teach me some C++/OOP stuff too, and how to design and engine. I don''t need a book on coding graphics, I can learn that from the internet (like this site) but coding a game engine is totally different.But it''s cool to see there''s another one out here just like me  maybe you could add me to your msn or so? My e-mail is HNSProgramming@hotmail.com (yeh it''s an old address )  ;  I''ve also been thinking about buying a "Game Programming Gems" book... but I''m not sure which one is best for me to buy... I have never read any one of them. Is it wise/necessary to start with 1, or are they all built in the same way and not relying on eachother so you could easily start off with 3? I''m a bit worried about buying one since it''s already quite old (and maybe outdated?)  ;  I now pointers and classes quit well but some things are not completely clear so I thougt a book about C++ could never harm And I now there are much tutorials on the internet but a book reads somewhat better.. the biggest advantage is that they form a complete set of tutorials. On the net you read 1 one this site and on that site and all the pieces together should make it clear to you.. I don''t like that very much.. ;  I''d reccomend Accelered C++: Practicaly Programming by Example, Effecitve C++ by Scott Meyers and Design Patterns by Gamma et al.  These aren''t game programming books specifically but they will give you a fountain of knowledge to draw upon when writing games.    "Discipline is never an end itself, only a means to an end." - Robert Fripp;  In college we used a Deitel book "C++ how to program".  It would also not hurt to get Win32 programming book like "Programming Windows" by Charles Petzold.  Then of course some reference guide to DirectX.  ;  I used The Zen of Direct3D Game Programming (Peter Walsh)to give me the building blocks necessary to interface with the new D3DX 8.0+but I found that after you have the tools it all still boils down to the mastery of logic and programming language.  I took a class from Scott Meyers a few years back and would recommend his books.  He has a number of them out there and is very influential in the C++ STL (Standard Template Library).  I generally pick up any thing by Scott Meyers and Joscuttis when dealing with C++.;  A game programming book?"Programming Role Playing Games with DirectX w/CD"!, no doubt.I do not mean the other ones mentioned in this thread are not good but this one is a masterpiece  ;  Books are great...I have the Deitel & Deitel book.  I would also recommend LaMothe''s "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus", simply for his nice game AI and Physics sections.IMHO, you will find FAR more good info on the net than anything else.  With a little persistence, you can find a tutorial on just about any game/regular programming topic you could think of.Check out the "Books and Software" section of this site for some good info and reviews.-Q  