Before More Eric Meyer on CSS released, I downloaded all the source codes from the companion web site and study them to see if I can get by without reading the book. As a web designer who works with CSS on a daily basis, I could understand the codes presented; however, I am glad I have read the book. Otherwise, I would have missed out the concise and simple methods of presenting complex CSS driven web sites. It’s amazing how Eric Meyer makes intricate CSS layouts seem so easy to accomplish.

More Eric Meyer on CSS features 10 hands-on projects that could easily tailored to your own work. For instance, the first project fits perfectly for someone like me who is currently retrofitting all the Vassar College table-based design web sites to CSS layout. Whether you want to make a beautiful weblog, design an attractive homepage, or create nice round corner tab navigations, you’ll be in for some real deals. Project 10, Designing in the Garden, is simply an inspiration. It’s persuading me to design a version of Zen Garden for myself.

After following Eric’s step-by-step logical approaches to CSS, I have confident in pulling off any complex layout properly without any hacks to get the right visual design. Furthermore, the flexibility in his process demonstrates the power of separating content from presentation. In project 6, with a few tweaks in CSS, he has turned the CSS-driven drop-down menus from vertical to horizontal. In the Branching Out section at the end of each chapter, he encourages readers to rearrange the layout or further enhance the project with a few edits in CSS.

If you have a basic concept of CSS and would like to put your knowledge into practice, pick up this book. If you are new to CSS, I suggest you pick up his Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition before diving into this book because Eric doesn’t allow basic explanations interferes with the flow of the projects. This book is very focused and if you don’t have basic understanding of CSS, you might get confused. However, if you understand the basic, you’ll appreciate the brief and straightforward explanations the book provided.

Eric Meyer’s Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition is my new best friend. This book is unquestionably invaluable because of Eric Meyer‘s in-depth knowledge of CSS. He had done an amazing job of covering both CSS2 and CSS2.1 side by side. It is extremely helpful to see what has changed from version 2 to 2.1. The major different I have noticed is many elements have been dropped. For instance, text shadows did not make it into 2.1 because of the lacking of support from browsers.

The most essential part of Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide is how Eric Meyer keeps the future in mind, especially with the forward thinking of XML where CSS will play a major role in presenting XML’s presentation. Not only he gives clear and concise explanations, he also provides examples to demonstrate how designers would style an XML document.

If you would like to code proper CSS, you will appreciate the careful attention to detail this book provided. Whether you are new or veteran to CSS, you will appreciate the power of what CSS2.1 can actually accomplish by reading this book. If you’re looking for references, you will appreciate the comprehensive coverage of CSS. Whether you’re a web designer or web developer, you will appreciate the time Eric Meyer had devoted into this precious book. He is truly a CSS guru. Now that I have read the Definitive Guide, I can’t wait to dive into his More Eric Meyer on CSS for some hands-on projects.

New to CSS? Friend of ED’s Cascading Style Sheets: Separating Content from Presentation, Second Edition, is a good starting point. The authors do a fantastic job of covering the basic foundation. After reading this book, you will be able to create CSS table-less layout in no time. Importantly, you will understand why it is important to separate content from presentations.

As a web designer who uses CSS/XHTML everyday, I find this book to be a valuable review. The last chapter, CSS Design Project, is most appealing to me. It’s inspiring to see how other designers apply different methods on coding their works. Although they do a great job of keeping their contributions short and sweet, beginners might have a hard time grabbing the concepts. A little more codes and further explanations would be great for both beginners and intermediate readers.

Cascading Style Sheets: Separating Content from Presentation is definitely recommended for designers who are still having a hard time getting over the CSS learning curve. If you have been using CSS for a while, this book will give you a solid idea of where your skill is at. I find it extremely useful to review what I have already know.

Reading Patricia T. O’Conner’s Woe is I is an invigorating experience of learning English. O’Conner has done an extraordinary job of making grammar easy to understand. Her refreshing, clear and thorough writing makes this book an enjoyable reading, as well as an invaluable resource for writer. With the latest edition, Woe is I is not only updated, revised but also included a chapter on writing emails. I am as guilty as charge when it comes to writing quick and awful emails.

Pick up Woe is I if you want to learn proper grammar. It is highly recommended for ESL students too. This book has been added to my English favorite collection, which includes: William Struck Jr. and E.B. White’s The Elements of Style and Ann Longknife and K.D. Sullivan’s The Art of Styling Sentences.

“If the message is bad then the design has no value; if the design is bad, the message suffers. So design must be enhance, and good responsible design makes people think, question, learn, and act.” -Steven Heller, who introduces John Cranmer and Yolanda Zeppaterra’s Conscientious Objectives, a book that aims at responsible design or design that matters. Similar to independent film, responsible design is honest and true to its content. Furthermore, responsible design educates the audience. Where as Hollywood film or commercial design is mostly interested in visual eye candy, exaggerated the message, and created false perceptions.

Obviously, commercial design is where the money is but John Cranmer and Yolanda Zeppaterra will help you find the balance between commercial design and design that matters. They provide tips on how to choose the right clients and employers. They also encourages you to educate your clients and raise their awareness of ethical problems.

At the heart of Conscientious Objectives is the showcase of the 10 real world projects that deal with political, social, ethical, and environmental issues. The book gives you insight look at the process and challenges designers faced when working on these projects. My favorite design is the pullout pen for TrueMajority’s political campaign, which created by Stefan Sagmeister. It’s creative and definitely will stick to your mind. I also find the process shares by S-W-H and Eat is useful. They had to work with limited resources but managed to educate their client (Ecover) to effectively market the products focusing on the environmental friendly direction. Of course, other projects are inspirational as well.

Although design that matters might not win you any graphic design awards, it does make a different. True design is always remembered. So buy it, read it, study it, and apply it to your own work. Conscientious Objectives is an invaluable and inspirational source for graphic designers.

Defensive Design by 37signals provides 40 guidelines to help visitors get back on track incase “shit” happens. The book takes a different approach on usability by showing how to turn a crisis situation into a positive experience. The 40 guidelines will help readers create bulletproof forms to avoid frustration, design the 404 page incase they mistype the URL, handle unavailability products by telling them upfront and provide alternatives, use appropriate language that they can understand, craft relevant information when they perform a search, offer help and get out of their way when “shit” happens.

Defensive Design provides invaluable resources by focusing on simple and straightforward contents. Each guideline is not only clearly explained but also backs up with real world examples. The book points out both good and bad sites with careful explanations to show how they had failed or succeeded so readers can learn from the good and avoid the bad.

Defensive Design is a must read for anyone who works on the web. The last chapter alone deserves the price for this book. It gives readers a checklist to test out their own site by applying the 40 guidelines. This precious little book will help bring in tremendous profits and pleasant web experiences. Thanks to the guys at 37signals for this incredible work.

Ann Longknife and K.D. Sullivan’s The Art of Styling Sentences is an excellent companion for anyone who would like to enrich his/her writing skills. The book delves into 20 patterns on how to write clear and prosperous sentences.

Each pattern is clearly explained with basic examples to help readers understand the concepts and structures. On top of that, the book provides professional examples written by well-known writers to show how the patterns are applied. Practice makes perfect and writing is no exception; therefore, there are exercises throughout the book to get your brain cooking.

Styling sentences is a work of art. Similar to design, you have to choose the right elements to make your writing live and efficient. I like the way the authors start out with the basic subject and verb then build up those basic elements into effective sentences. Your sentences grow as you delve deeper into the book.

Finally, the last chapter provides complete essays to demonstrate how the writing can be improve by using these patterns. The Art of Styling Sentences is a must have book and it deserves a space on my shelf next to William Struck Jr. and E.B. White’s The Elements of Style.

I picked up Montel Williams’s Climbing Higher because I want to learn more about Multiple Sclerosis, an evil disease that took away my lovely Ngoc Lan. The more I learn about MS, the more respect I have for Ngoc Lan. As a delicate woman, she was quietly suffering through the torturing of MS for quite a long time. From what I have learned from this book, MS is very painful. Even Montel Williams, a strong man who lifts weight everyday, wanted to commit suicide a couple of times to end the misery. He describes the pain on his feet as walking on burning coal.

Climbing Higher not only talks about MS but also lets readers get intimate with Montel William, one of the successful talk show in America. This is his personal story and he is sharing it to the public. How he deals with MS, his marriage, his children, his sexuality, etc. How MS controls his brain, his body and even his penis. He tells you every details how MS makes his life a living hell.

The inspiration aspect of the book is how Montel Williams moves from negative to positive. Instead of putting that bullet through his brain to let MS wins, he is fighting the sucker till the end. He sees MS as a blessing instead of a deadly disease. He is encouraging people to fight MS by setting up Montelms.org. Please support the foundation by donate money or buy this book (a portion goes to the foundation) to find a cure for MS.

True to its title, Mario Garcia’s Pure Design is clean, simple, and elegant. Inspired by minimalism, Mario Garcia explains how pure design can provide an enjoyable experience by allowing readers to navigate through a website or a publication effortlessly. The book covers words, types, layout, color, picture, and process in details and advices on what do and not to do. At the end of each chapter, there are real projects case studies to help readers apply the theory presented. The last chapter shares top ten useful myths from Mario Garcia. Pure Design is highly recommended for information and graphic designers. Although, the book focused mainly on newspaper design, some of the theories presented could apply toward the web as well. Here are some notes I find useful for web designers.

Pure Design– create simple and uncomplicated structure.

Design Theories:

Make it easy to read – clear typography, legible, and easy on the eyes
Make it easy to find – employ navigational tools that allow the reader to get to the content in the least amount of time possible.
Make it visually appealing – provide an environment in which good content will find attractive display.

Words

Respect for words shows on every page. Words are the keys to our senses in ways that perhaps visuals, even the power of color, can’t.

Type

Font should be easy to read, allow for contrast, and appropriate to the public.

Layout

To box or not to box? Use very thin borders around boxes. Allow white space between border and contents. Use thicker rule at top or bottom but never on the side.

Color

Use colors to communicate, to energizing the canvas, to attract the eyes and to leave an impression.

White space is important. Like punctuation in a sentence, it allows thoughts to flow without running into each other. White space is the most silent of aids to the designer.

Picture

Photo composites work best for groupings of images that tell a story.

Headshots – use them small, and create a template, so all headshots throughout the entire publication are the exact same size. Headshots should be closely cropped. Always use a caption. Can be use in the text of a story. Can be black and white or color. Can be drawings or photos.

Process

Good briefings – gather a small group with an outline of goals to be accomplished. Deal with philosophical discussions of what lies ahead
Dream a little – consider a different format, new color palette, etc. Bring to the table the organization’s best and most innovative minds.

Myths

– Readers don’t like reversed-out type
– Color must be introduce slowly
– Italics are difficult to read
– Flow of text should not be interrupted

Hopefully my writing will improve now that I have read William Struck Jr. and E.B. White’s The Elements of Style (if I can remember what I’ve read and apply to my writing). Even if I can’t remember everything from the book, one suggestion I will never forget is, “Omit needless words!” This thin little book is the best eight bucks I ever spent on books. It teaches me how to write clear and concise. As a foreigner (English as Second Language), the rules of usage and principles of composition always scare the hell out of me. Fortunately, this book makes them seem much easier and friendlier than they appear to be. I recommend this book undoubtedly to anyone who is learning English as second language. The Element of Style is also a great reference for writing on the web because of its simple and straight to the point approach on writing.