A quick peek at my reading material over the past few months has indicated a very troubling selection of titles. I really have to start branching out to other areas of interest I think.
- Naked Economics, Charles Wheelan
Really interesting fundamentals-type book that attempts to explain the "dismail science" without using a single graph or formula. (More semi-related ramblings about Naked here.) - Interface-Oriented Design, Ken Pugh
Pragmatic Programmers is my all-time favorite technical publisher, and this book, which talks about conceptual interfaces (on the code level) as well as people interfaces (on the human, graphical level) is no exception. It’s a bit involved to read so it’s not very good bathroom reading though. - Harrington on Hold ‘Em Volume 3, Dan Harrington
If there was ever any doubt that Hold ‘Em is a deeply strategic game, this is the book to prove it. Harrington analyzes noteworthy tournament plays from some of the masters of the game with an almost pedantic level of detail. Featured players include Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, Chris Ferguson and my personal favorite Daniel Negreanu. (As an interesting aside: after reading this volume, I ended up losing about PhP4000 playing online. Apparently, reading a book and understanding a book are two different things.) - The Zen of CSS Design, Dave Shea
Published over a year ago, this book is a good learn-by-example type of guide for designers who are just starting to get into CSS-centric design. Shea uses CSSZenGarden as his main case study, so it’s certainly not the end-all, be-all of CSS inspiration. Good bedtime reading, if well-formed, standards-compliant code gives you pleasant dreams. - Dot.com Success!, Sally Richards
Interesting book about what it takes for an internet startup to succeed. The funny thing about it was that it was written in 2001, as dozens of big dot.com’s were crashing and burning all around. As I read this book a good 5 years after it was written, it’s surprising to see how much of it is still pretty relevant. Sure, the average startup capital lost a whole zero in terms of the amounts, but many of the key ideas (how to pitch your vision, how to properly develop your brand, how to make technology choices, etc) haven’t changed at all. The writing style is a bit tepid, but it’s interesting nonetheless.