I had to read a lot of books in graduate school. Some were life-changing, and others were forgettable.
If I could bring a reading list back in time for my ‘first year’ graduate self, it would include the following:
Bayesian Data Analysis
Third Edition, by Andrew Gelman, John B. Carlin, Hal S. Stern, David B. Dunson, Aki Vehtari, and Donald B. Rubin
Probably the most useful book I’ve ever owned. Has staying power - can be used as a reference.
The Art of R Programming
by Norman Matloff
This book made me less bad at programming in R early on.
Causality
Second Edition, by Judea Pearl
Ecology is complicated. We often lack replicated controlled experiments with random treatment assignment. This book helped me organize my thinking around how to translate mechanistic knowledge to statistical models.
Statistics for Spatio-Temporal Data
by Noel Cressie and Christopher Wikle
A thoughtful treatment of hierarchical modeling in a spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal context. Has breadth with a healthy dose of outside references for depth. My dog ate this one, but it was great to have.
Ecological Models and Data in R
by Benjamin M. Bolker
Covers fundamental ideas about likelihood and process-oriented modeling while building R proficiency.
Bayesian Models: A Statistical Primer for Ecologists
by N. Thompson Hobbs & Mevin B. Hooten
An introduction to the process of model building and estimation for non-math/stats oriented readers. Thoughtful treatment of notation, helped me to better understand how to communicate models.
Data Analysis Using Regression and Multilevel/Hierarchical Models
by Andrew Gelman and Jennifer Hill
A gentle introduction to multilevel modeling, with plenty of graphics and integration with R.
Statistical Inference
Second Edition, by George Casella and Roger L. Berger
Essential for understanding the mathematical and probabilistic foundations of statistics. Read it after brushing up on calculus. Checked this out from the library, and my dog ate it. Had to buy a copy to replace, which was not cheap. But, later found a pdf online.
Linear Algebra
by George Shilov
I wish I had taken a class in linear algebra as an undergraduate, but I instead had to catch up in my first year of grad school. This book made it relatively painless. Literally found it on the shelf of the office I moved into on day one.
Single and Multivariable Calculus
by David Guichard and friends
Because I took a few calculus classes in high school and college and didn’t know why.
Mathematical Tools for Understanding Infectious Disease Dynamics
by Odo Diekmann, Hans Heesterbeek & Tom Britton
Mathematical epidemiology is a huge topic. This book introduces common models and approaches from first principles, with plenty of problems along the way to make sure you’re following along. Read it with a notebook and pencil handy.
Figure 1: Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org Plague treatise - a full page woodcut representing a man at a table studying a book, he is surrounded by four persons, - one holding a urine glass, Woodcut Darin durch sechs kurtzer Buchlin vil Heimlichkeiten der Natur beschriben werden Albertus Magnus Published: 1551