Latin is related to many things, but surely we can agree it's not a "must learn" for someone designing a device driver.

Something as general as "don't make me think" may make sense for API design, but honestly I doubt the applicability of "The Elements of Typographic Style" or "Grid Systems" to library documentation and API discoverability.

Perhaps you are taking the headline a little to seriously, literally. How about.

"Design Books Every Hacker Who Would Like to Read About Design Should Consider Reading Unless They are Designing an API"