You may have noticed the new addition to the site recently. I have added an Amazon Bookstore to my header navigation and to the right column of the site. While I do make a small percentage off of any sales, this is also an opportunity to showcase books I have read and found useful to my coding and management style. I have read most of the books here, and if i didn’t they are in my Amazon Wishlist for future reading.

A lot of the ideas for my blog are formulated from my experiences and findings. Many are based on things I have read and various discussions with peers. Like i said in my early posts, I do read and keep up to date with many of the latest methodologies, but I adapt and try to fit them into the reality of working in a corporate environment. I do not blindly chase and accept all the latest trends.

I would like to briefly discuss some of the books I’ve chosen to showcase in my store and why they would be of use to you. I do not read a lot of code books, many of them are out of date before they are published. The web is the perfect resource for changing data. But for timeless concepts, book are still important to have on hand. And if you are truly anti print, get a Kindle.

Web Design and Development

Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug. This is one of the best all around web design books. Steve is a fan of simple usability techniques. He wants to keep things easy and clean. He is a huge advocate of usability testing. He makes it clear how useful usability tests are and how easy and cheap they are to conduct. Since passing this around my group we conduct usability tests on a regular basis. The book is a very fast read, and if you read one book on my list, make it this one.

Designing the Obvious: A Common Sense Approach to Web Application Design By Robert Hoekman Jr. This book makes a good companion to Don’t Make Me Think. It also talks about simple, clean design and how the user experience should be the most important factor when creating web apps. A lot of my Knowing your users will help make effective decisions post, is based on some of these ideas.

Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer By Bryan Eisenberg, John Quarto-vonTivadar A good intro the A/B and multivariate testing. It focuses on Google Website Analyzer specifically but many of the concepts can be applied to any testing tool such as Omniture Offermatica. My first 2 books talk a lot about the importance of testing but does not go into specifics on how to achieve this. This book fills in a lot of the gaps.

Web Analytics: An Hour a Day By Avinash Kaushik Avinash is widely considered one of the top web analytics gurus and he focuses on Google Analytics. If you use Google Anlytics, then this book is very practical. Google makes setting up their analytics package so easy, but sometimes it is hard to extract exactly what you need from their tool. Avenish explains concepts like conversions and also explains their importance. Google Analytics help is so hard to come by, this book really provides a strong basis for working with the tool.

Getting Real: The smarter, faster, easier way to build a successful web application By 37signals. This book is really a composite of essays written by 37Signals. It gives you a window into their world of Getting Real, the philosophy upon which their company runs. I’ve often said my feelings of effective development are basically a practical spin on a lot of Getting Real. Getting Real is sometimes too ideal, but you can’t formulate what works for you without first reading the original

Team Management

Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World’s Most Unusual Workplace By Ricardo Semler This is a wonderful, cheap and fast read. This book is very entertaining, and the story is very unique. It explains a lot of groundbreaking management techniques that Ricardo Semler began in his company in Brazil years ago. Many management techniques have since been adapted from his still unique ideas. Even if you do not run your company you will benefit from this read. I have found many little areas where I try to work in adaptions of his leadership techniques.

Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It: No Schedules, No Meetings, No Joke–the Simple Change That Can Make Your Job Terrific By Cali Ressler, Jody Thompson
Similiar to Maverick, it applies groundbreaking but extremely practical ideas for workplace management. Once again, read it and formulate what is effective for you. These are not bibles, rather they are written to get you thinking of how it is applicable to your unique workplace.

Those are the books i have read recently and felt inspired to share with you. I have added other groups in my Amazon store that I have either placed in my wishlist or feel passionate about.

The project management group consists of books written for project management in an agile environment. traditional project management is dying. I plan to write a post shortly about how we are able to manage projects in a pseudo agile workplace.

The business and marketing section consists of 2 book I plan to read soon. I have read good reviews of both. Basic marketing is a necessary skill for today’s developers and managers. Traditionally it is not taught in computer science curriculum. More often we are put in positions where we need to market our teams and the products we build. As projects get more agile, and do not come with hundred page accompanying docs, management needs to be sold on features and iterative changes. This is where marketing yourself and your group comes into play.

The web books from Amazon is simply a window into Amazon’s web development genre. It is broad but you may find it useful for finding some good tech books.

Finally I am becoming a huge fan of netbooks. They will not replace you primary computer, but now that specialized devices like the Kindle and iPhone are becoming so popular, I suggest you look to a netbook instead. Rather than getting a device that is just like a computer, why not actually buy an actual computer. They are small, relatively powerful, and cheap. I have a Dell Mini 9, and love it.

Photo by IntDev

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