Nice idea for a thread (and good use of LeVar Burton!). Here are two quickies:



Game Development Business & Legal Guide talks about selecting a business entity, managing intellectual property, contracts, and all of those things you never knew you needed to know about business. It's handiest if you're just starting out, but has a few tidbits for everyone.



Not a business book, but Shaders for Game Programmers and Artists taught me almost everything I never wanted (but needed) to know about beginner shader programming. I'm not sure where to go from there (w/r/t HLSL, but that's a good start.

I haven't had to write a book report in about fifteen years, so I'll stop there before I get nightmares about Huckleberry Finn.