I really like some of the things you have to say in your blog, but why bother putting references to stuff Joel recommends in yours (other than to get the Amazon commission). If I want to know what Joel recommends, I'll subscribe to his blog (which I do)?
Hey Richard.
First, Thanks for your comment.
Second,
Not all the people that read my blog read Joel. I quote lots of stuff by lots of people, taking into account that if it's cool enough for me to email my work mates about, it's cool enough to blog about.
Third,
If I see a good book that I can heartily recommend, I'll recommend it, even though it's a quote.
That's excatly the reason I have a post category named "original .Net content" and another named ".Net quotations".
This way you can just concentrate on the original stuff. (You can even have an RSS feed to just that category!)
Plus - If I can get a commission on someone buying it through me, all the better. Since I'll only recommend stuff I believe in, I have no problem promoting books through my blog.
as a developer I'd sure as hell pay a lot more credibilty to what another developer like me recommends than some book site. If that developer gets a commission when I buy the book - good for him/her.