I have no formal training in typography or page layout design, but as someone who needs to constantly communicate and pitch ideas, page layout design is really important to me. A couple of months ago, the Coding Horror blog recommended The Non-Designers Design Book ![[0321193857]](http://www.mikeyp.com/css/external.gif)
, and I ordered it.
The Non-Designers Design Book is a must-read for anyone who… well… wait a sec. It is a must-read for everyone. If you communicate, which you likely do 
, this book will give you a simple overview of how to improve the appearance and approachability of your written communication. The book is short, easy to read, and instantly enlightening to those of us new to page design vocabulary. It has given me immediate help in designing an internal wiki at work.
If there was anything to critique about the book, I would say it is the overuse of the phrase "Don't be a wimp!", but it simply reflects the author's design philosophies.
I saw the book Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days as a recommendation on Guy Kawasaki's blog. This is a big book containing dozens of interviews with people who started successful tech companies. While there are several interviews with people who more or less "got lucky" with internet startups in the 90's, there are also lots of interviews with legends of the tech industry, such as Woz, Mitch Kapor, and Dan Bricklin. The commonalities between all of the successful startup founders in the book seem to be that they worked like crazy, reached success very quickly, and most of all, liked what they were creating and believed in it.
If you have ever considered starting a new company, Founders at Work is a must-read.
Over the past year or two, I've rediscovered a love for comics and graphic novels. But I can't stand most super hero comics, so I usually gravitate toward the independent and underground stuff (the "weirdo section" as it is labeled at my favorite shop, Dr. Comics and Mr. Games). It must be due to all of the R. Crumb and Mad Magazine stuff I read as a kid. My favorite publisher at the moment is Drawn and Quarterly, who publishes the timely novel Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea, by Guy Delisle .
Pyongyang is a graphic novel of the author's time in North Korea. He was sent by a French animation company to supervise the outsourcing of animation in North Korea. His stories about being constantly monitored and having a 24-hour "handler" while there are really amazing. His drawings really capture a view of the DPRK that most westerners have never seen. And while many of the events in the novel are hilarious, you can't help but feel terribly sad for everyone who lives north of the 38th parallel.
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea is an excellent read, especially if you are interested in current events, and Guy's art style is perfect for the storytelling.
I know, I'm about 6 years late, but I finally got around to reading Cryptonomicon , by Neal Stephenson. Other than the underwhelming ending, this was my favorite Stephenson book yet (compared to Zodiac, which I hated, and Snowcrash and The Diamond Age, which I loved).
Enough has been written about this book, so I won't bother to describe the story. Rather, I'll mention what I liked the most, which was how easy it was to pick up and read. Even though the book is a monster at 900+ pages, the story moves along briskly in chapters that span only about 10 pages or so. That makes it very convenient to pick up the book whenever you have a few minutes and gulp down a quick chapter without worrying about reaching a stopping point to bookmark. I wish more books were organized this way.
But still, it'll be a while before I start reading Stephenson's Baroque Cycle Trilogy, with the three books totaling a hefty 2700 pages.
If you never got a chance to read the official 9/11 Commission Report, this week you'll have a chance to read it from a whole new viewpoint. Illustrators Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon have published a graphical adaptation of the 9/11 Report . Slate is publishing a chapter a day on their web site, and from what I've read so far, the results are at once gripping, heartbreaking, and impressive.
Graphic novels are rapidly gaining in popularity in the US. The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation , with the support from the original 9/11 commission members, will likely turn a lot of heads and bring more awareness to the power and effectiveness of this medium.
The always interesting blog Cool Tools recommended a book called Peopleware . The book describes just how screwed up managers and management processes tend to be at software companies. The book basically states that most software companies focus so much on the product, process, and bottom line that their projects usually fail. Why? The companies neglect to take care of the most important part of the development process: The developers themselves.
Reading the book was torturous, but not because the book was poorly written or out of touch with reality (as so many management books are). Rather, it was 200+ pages of descriptions of poor management decisions and bad processes that made me say, after almost every page, "sheesh, my company does exactly that!"
After reading many development and management books (usually as required reading for some corporate training exercise), I found that most of those books are 5% useful and 95% total garbage. Peopleware is exactly the opposite.
It was also interesting to read the books Work to Live and Peopleware back-to-back. Reading Work to Live will make you rebellious. Reading Peopleware will make you angry.
I picked up The Portable Film School by D.B. Gilles at a local bookstore because it looked like an easy-to-read, beginner's overview of lessons taught in film school. I enjoyed reading it, but it turned out to be a lot less about film school than about writing screenplays. While there is a chapter dedicated (at least, at a high level) to the nuts and bolts of shooting and editing a film, the majority of the book is about writing. I suppose the message from the author is that without a solid screenplay, you can't shoot a decent film.
If you are looking for details about the filmmaking process, you should probably look elsewhere, but if you want a quick read that delivers a high-level overview of filmmaking with an in-depth tutorial on writing screenplays, then this is the book for you.
Most every film fan knows that Robert Rodriguez made his first film, El Mariachi , for only $7,000. But how he did it, why he did it, and what it did for him is a very cool story.
His book, Rebel Without A Crew , is mostly a compilation of diary entries Rodriguez kept during his quest to make a full-length feature film targeted toward the Mexican home video market. By literally sacrificing his body, using borrowed ancient equipment, and eventually going broke, he uses his determination and gut instinct to feel his way through Hollywood, where he incredibly sells his film and the rights to a sequel for nearly a million dollars. That's about $980,000 more than he planned for. As a creative guy, I found Rebel Without A Crew to be one of the most inspiring books I've read in a long time. I can't help but want to run out and buy a video camera as soon as possible!
As a bonus, the book includes the full original screenplay for El Mariachi, annotated with Rodriquez's production notes.
If you are a fan of The Godfather film , book , or game, you'll enjoy The Godfather Legacy by Harlen Lebo . Lebo's book is a fascinating account of the making of the classic films. The writing style is captivating and easy to read without any trace of the Hollywood gossip-style "journalism" so common today.
Anyone who has tried creating a film or a video game will recognize many of the trials, troubles, and ultimate successes experienced by Francis Coppola and producer Al Ruddy.
Some interesting things I learned from the book:
Jason Della Rocca recommended the book Work to Live as required reading for everyone in the game industry. As frequent particpants in ritual crunch modes, Work to Live isn't an eye-opening forehead-slapping revolution. Rather, it is a nice reminder that there is indeed life outside of the cube walls, and we shouldn't forget to take advantage of it.
I'd write a longer review, but its a beautiful sunny day outside and I'm going out for a jog. 
The Toxic Avenger , from Troma Studios is a great movie if you like superhero - special effects - comedy - low budget - B-movie films. I find it fascinating how films like that and Class of Nuke 'Em High could be made in the age of Hollywood blockbusters. Lloyd Kaufman, the co-founder of Troma Studios, describes it all in his book, All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger .
The book wasn't what I expected. I thought I was going to read lessons on camera angles, lighting, cinematography, etc. Instead, Lloyd describes a much more intimate look at the business side of filmmaking, detailing how a somewhat crazy Hollywood outsider (himself) was able to succeed in creating a profitable movie studio business, with hilarious misstep after misstep, plenty of incompetent blind luck, and a pure drive to make his "visions" come to life on-screen.
Trivia Note: Did you know that Lloyd Kaufman was the Associate Producer on the 80's hit movie, The Final Countdown ?
