(This is #2 of #27 in 27 weeks, referenced in my "How I am becoming a better developer" post.)

I have a massive schoolboy crush on Kathy Sierra.

There, I said it!  Whew!  It's like a massive weight has lifted off of me already.

Don't think I'm the only one who feels this way.  Steven Rockarts and Donald Belcham also think that Kathy Sierra == hottie.  The last time the 3 of us agreed on anything, the EDMUG executive became the most powerful force in the universe, so I'm pretty sure we're onto something here.  Donald has been pretty brazen with his affection (going so far as to pretty much ask her *on a date* at the tail end of a recent post...what a smooth operator) and Steven didn't mention it for fear of "falling down another flight of stairs".  I had my own reasons for keeping this secret.  Believe it or not, those reasons have *nothing* to do with my wife, the sexiest person alive and apparently the only reason some of you read this blog, according to recent comments.  She and I have agreed that Kathy Sierra can be part of my "Freebie 5", so Mrs L. and I are cool.  No, I have kept silent because this blog adheres to the highest standards of journalism.

Even a year ago, I knew that one day I would have to review Head First Design Patterns; but how could I review a book produced by someone on my freebie 5 and still maintain the complete impartiality you're used to?  So I did the only thing that I could do.  It was hard, but it was the only thing that was *right*:  I gave up on journalistic standards.

Now that I've made the ultimate sacrifice, I am telling you that Head First Design Patterns is *almost* as sexy as Kathy Sierra and is well worth your time and money.  Many of you are familiar with the thematic predecessor to this book, which goes under two titles:
"Design Patterns"
also known as
"The Most Boring Book Ever Written"

No one wants to say it, but I will - the original GOF book (though informative) is a guaranteed snooze.  In fact, the only way I ever made it through this book was by reading it on the crosstrainer at the gym so that I could not pass out.    Prior to the release of Head First Design Patterns, this was sadly the only book I could really recommend to developers for learning common design patterns.  Who wants to read a book written so academically as to almost purposefully alienate readers?  Where are the jokes?  Where is the *fun*?  Frankly, where is the *sex*?  I mean, let's take a look at the cover for Design Patterns:


Wow.  A Möbius strip, a blue stripe, and what looks like a random smear of gray paint.  I think we can all agree that the above cover was designed by someone who has never gotten laid.  

On the other hand, let's look at Head First Design Patterns:



This is pretty much the stylistic opposite of the original Design Patterns in every way possible.  It's also far more readable; this is the second funniest development book I have ever read, right behind "The Dating Experiences of Donald Belcham".   It manages to be hilarious, memorable, and informative all at once.  How many development books feature crossword puzzles and "head-to-head" interviews with the Decorator and the Proxy nearly coming to blows?  Heck, how many development books even feature pictures??  Almost none.

As I enjoy witty books, consider design patterns to be an *essential* part of a developer's skill set, and consider Kathy Sierra to be a total fox, you'd assume that this book would get the easiest guaranteed action since Tom Opgenorth's presentation at Calgary Code Camp.  However, two things:

a) the Proxy pattern chapter goes a little too heavy into Java RMI.  Now, I don't care about the entire book being written in Java, given the book's examples are clear enough to pretty much be language-agnostic.  However, 2/3rd of the proxy chapter is spent talking about Java RMI rather than a more abstract example (such as I've seen JP Boodhoo show off from time to time). I would have preferred more emphasis on the abstract examples.

b) Kathy Sierra didn't actually write this book - she was "executive producer" (read: editor?) on this book and the credit for the wonderful writing actually goes to Eric Freeman and Elizabeth Freeman.  It's not fair of me to knock off stars for this given that the Freeman's writing is fantastic, but I need to note it nonetheless as having a crush on a couple rather than a single person made me a little dirty.

This makes the book's overall rating on my ratings scale oddly appropriate: 4 1/3 stars out of 5, much like being in a super-hot make-out session with someone only to have their parents barge in just as things were about to get good...in the end you're a little frustrated but you'd still do it all over again if you had the chance!  The Freemans have crafted an *amazing* book that is the best way to introduce yourself or others to common patterns of design, or to convince people outside of the industry that not all programming books are supremely boring.  Some people might just buy it for the cover like Jonas did - at least, that'd why he *said* he bought it.   Why would you buy a book for its cover if you're only going to tear the cover off and put it under your bed?  I don't get it.

And Kathy - if you ever want a "passionate user" to do some "pair programming", I'm right here baby*!!

* although I am HAPPILY MARRIED - I love you Mrs L**
** and apparently so is Kathy, but I didn't want to mention that and get Donald reaching for the scotch again.  ALCOHOL DOESN'T SOLVE ALL YOUR PROBLEMS BUDDY