I really like Bentley's books. In my view, he hits the ideal middle ground between pragmatic engineering and rigorous science (OK, maybe he errs on the engineering side).
Parts I and IV, on programming techniques and algorithms, were particularly good. The pearls, while readable in one sitting, pack a lot of good ideas and insights if read carefully. Some of the exercises are an integral part of the text, so it's at least worth reading the solutions, even if you don't attempt to solve them yourself.
Even if it's not as strong as the first collection in the series, it's still well worth reading (and re-reading).