This is spot on—a simple and precise explanation. As a programmer myself, I’ve seen developers dive into a 15-year-old codebase, independently work through it, and only ask questions once they’ve exhausted all other options.
You don't need your own SMTP server for this. I'm working on a project with a similar need at the moment and Mailgun's Email Routing feature is exactly what you need.
We had plenty of books at home, but none that I recall picking up out of sheer curiosity. However, starting around middle school, these books—discovered on my own in a bookstore—had a profound impact on me:
- The Elenium series by David Eddings (The Diamond Throne, The Ruby Knight, The Sapphire Rose)
- Starlight and Shadows series by Elaine Cunningham (Daughter of the Drow, Tangled Webs, Windwalker)
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Legend of Drizzt series by R.A. Salvatore (the first 16 books)
- Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis (Tales I and II, Raistlin Chronicles)
Now I have them in my own library at home, waiting my kids to grow up enough so they can grab and read (hopefully :)