A working library is an exploration of—and advocate for—
the reading experience. by Mandy Brown

Graphic Design

Adrian Shaughnessy

Shaugnessy’s irreverent guide—the ABC’s of design—addresses the underside of the designer’s life, with entries on banks (page 30), presentation skills (page 230), and sacking clients (page 268). Each post is short and discreet, making for a book that need not be read in the order it was made. Much to my surprise, the monospaced text font is entirely comfortable to read.

Graphs, Maps, Trees

Franco Moretti

An academic treatise that argues that rather than reading books, we should be mining them for data. Somewhat frustratingly written (the vocabulary of literary theory serving primarily to restrict rather than clarify), and I remain largely unpersuaded; but some of the data he uncovers is fascinating and begs for further investigation. A mathematical complement to Bayard’s How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read.

Gravity’s Rainbow

Thomas Pynchon

Pynchon’s famously difficult masterpiece. I destroyed three copies in a (failed) effort to grasp it completely. But despite the challenges, the story is enormously charming; I have very warm feelings about the time I spent with it, and I still think of Byron each time I have to change a bulb.

Handcrafted CSS

Dan Cederholm, Ethan Marcotte

An excellent, practical overview that demonstrates how to use CSS3 properties today, as well as other methods of “handcrafted” design. The approach blurs the line between design and development in myriad and lovely ways.

Here Comes Everybody

Clay Shirky

I’m late to the party on this, but Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody discusses the evolution of group collaboration in the age of social media, and, conversely, the increasing irrelevance of institutions. Required reading for anyone who thinks about the ways in which technology is changing human behavior.

A History of Reading

Alberto Manguel

Manguel’s lifelong dedication to reading plays itself out in a work that follows reading from clay tablets to present day. No apology is made for a reader-centric view: “We cannot do but read. Reading, almost as much as breathing, is our essential function.” (page 7)

How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul

Adrian Shaughnessy

How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read

Pierre Bayard

Provocative, cheeky, and very French. The title belies the real subject, which is an argument against reading and for writing. The book that convinced me to launch this site.

How to Tell When You’re Tired

Reg Theriault

A fabulous little book, written by a lifelong worker. Theriault came from a family of fruit tramps—migrant workers who travelled the country picking fruit wherever it came to harvest—and later became a longshoreman. His insight into the working life is profound and lovely—as relevant to those on the docks as to those at their desks.

How to Write a Sentence

Stanley Fish

Fish argues that the building blocks of writing are sentences, and that if you want to write a good one, you first have to learn how to read it. An approach to close reading, but instead of attending to literary illusions, you listen to the rhythm, structure, and art of the sentences themselves.

HTML5 for Web Designers

Jeremy Keith

The inaugural book from A Book Apart, the new publisher for which I am co-founder and editor. When Jeffrey Zeldman, Jason Santa Maria, and I decided to launch a small press for people who make websites, there was no topic more important than HTML5, and no one better suited to write about it than Jeremy Keith. Required reading for web designers everywhere.

Ideology

Terry Eagleton

The Information

James Gleick

Glieck’s loosely organized tome details the many ways we’ve organized and communicated information over the ages; or, as is more often the case, failed to do so. Less a catalog of solutions than a long, unfinished tale of struggle.

I Read Where I Am

Geert Lovink, Mieke Gerritzen, Minke Kampman

A collection of short reflections on the future of reading, including those from Ellen Lupton, James Bridle, Erik Spiekermann, and N. Katharine Hayles. Independently, none of the essays are especially compelling; but collectively, they reveal our shared unease (the loss of print, increased distraction, information overload) and make clear that none of us has any idea what the future will bring. Which, of course, is what makes the future interesting. Unfortunately, the typesetting (words are colored in different shades of gray depending on their frequency of use) is interesting in theory but incredibly annoying in practice; perhaps it is an attempt to prove that a stubborn reader will suffer through even the worst of reading experiences in order to get at the words?

Jan Tschichold, Master Typographer

Cees W. de Jong

Thames & Hudson’s tome to Jan Tschichold is as oversized as he was. Includes beautiful photographs of his work, alongside essays about his life and legacy.

King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking

King Arthur Flour

A wonderfully written primer on cooking with whole grains, with excellent recipes as well as guidance on equipment and techniques. My favorite recipes are the tortillas (139), pizza dough (128), and pie crust (349). The pie crust is especially good with bright, tart apples—the nuttiness of the whole wheat flour contrasts with the apples beautifully. The cover is printed directly on the case, so the jacket can be discarded if (when) it becomes soiled.

Library

Matthew Battles

Battles’ lively history runs from the ancients to the internet, with tales of libraries built and burned along the way. In this, one thing becomes clear: that any library, once conceived, will someday be destroyed.

The Library at Night

Alberto Manguel

A series of meandering essays on the subject of the library.

The Lifecycle of Software Objects

Ted Chiang

As a novel, The Lifecycle of Software Objects suffers from expository writing, flat characters, and uninspired prose. But as a thought experiment, it’s surprisingly (if incompletely) compelling. Chiang explores how we might teach an artificial intelligence, and what happens when (or if) it grows up. The ideas outshine the story.

Life Inc.

Douglass Rushkoff

A passionate, well-written text that argues that our centralized currency system is the key to the corporatism that has infected not only our government but our daily lives.