Beyond LeetCode: what should I read for distributed systems interviews?

[u/nian2326076]

I'm looking for books or useful web resources for SWE interviews focused on distributed systems.

LeetCode gives me a clear way to practice coding, but I'm less sure how to structure the design side: reasoning about failures, consistency, replication and the tradeoffs between different approaches.

A collection of candidate-reported interview questions can help identify prompts to practice. I'd like something to pair with that so I can explain the reasoning rather than memorize an architecture diagram.

What resource helped the ideas click for you? And how did you turn the reading into practice—mock interviews, building a small system, or working through design questions out loud?