Seeing .net Magazine's recent post on The Top 25 Books for Web Designers and Developers the other day, got me thinking about the goal I made in January to read one book per month this year and wondering if I'm still on pace. The last few months have been tricky for me to keep up with workloads and schedules, but I feel with a second wind this final month and a half, I'm hopeful I can get that 12th. As it currently stands, here's what I've read this past year:
JAN:
- Mobile Design for iPhone and iPad by Smashing Magazine: This book is a solid collection of data and blog posts by Smashing Magazine contributors.
- Hardboiled Web Design by Andy Clarke: You can read my post on the book here.
FEB:
- Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters by Dick Winters and Cole C. Kingseed: Read my post on the book here.
MAR:
- Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson: Read my post on the book here.
APR:
- How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer by Debbie Millman: Read my post on the book here.
MAY:
- The Elements of Content Strategy by Erin Kissane: I didn't write a post about this book, but I been an advocate of any books released with the A Book Apart Series. If you make websites you should read these books. They are great references, straight-to-the-point quick reads, and written by people who know their stuff.
JUN:
- Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on writing and Life by Anne Lamott: What piqued my interested to read this was an Interview I saw of Jason Santa Maria where he recommended it as one of his all-time favorites. His recommendation didn't disappoint.
This book is about just sitting down, and getting to work. It's about story telling in its rawest form and sculpting up. It's about having the courage to write that "Shitty First Draft". Though I aspire to become a better story teller and writer, I found this book to have a lot of crossover with the design process.
Where I found myself disappointed with this book, was that the publisher disabled the ability to save notes to my Kindle. I take a lot of notes when I read. The Kindle makes that incredibly easy. That is, unless the publisher is a prude-lisher. Or something. This is a feature I will be sure to look for in future purchases from Amazon.
JUL:
- Responsive Web Design by Ethan Marcotte: When Ethan Marcotte talks responsive web design, you listen. Again, another great release by A Book Apart. This book is a need-to read for web designers.
AUG:
- Adaptive Web Design: Crafting Rich Experiences with Progressive Enhancement by Aaron Gustafson: I think this is a good read and would especially recommend for students pursuing web design or development. Some important methods and practices outlined here that those of us that build websites, need to know.
If you are keeping score, that's 9 books. At the last glance of my calendar we are on on the 11th month of the year, November. I'm currently reading three books at the moment that I'm hopeful to complete before the end of the year. Those are:
- A Book Apart's Mobile First, and Designing for Emotion
- Music Theory: Supplement To Any Guitar Method
While I feel that I've learned a lot through sticking with this goal, I think next year I'm going to read at my on leisure. At times I feel like I'm spending the majority of my free time reading and less time doing.
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