4 replies to this topic

[spyVspy]

I'm not bad at searching for answers to my CSS questions, and there are lots of places to find help, but I feel like studying a good reference book once in a while.

Anybody have a book they recommend highly?

[Jeeves]

Depends what you're after exactly.
The only CSS book I actually own is Transcending CSS by Andy Clark, which I'd definitely recommend as a guide on how to advance your CSS from usable to brilliant, and covering workflow and creativity patterns, layout intricacies and progressive enhancement.
Then I keep meaning to get Dave Shea's CSS Zen Garden book..
Just go to a good bookshop and flick through whats there.

[spyVspy]

Thanks for the tip, I'm considering the Andy Clark book. I also found a lot of people mention Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide by Eric Meyers as a good reference, though one guy found it "way too detailed. To the point of being boring."

I also found the CSS Zen Garden website, I had not seen that site before, amazing.

[Jeeves]

Haven't read Meyers book but I'd imagine it fairly hardcore.
Latest purchase: Bulletproof Web Design - Dan Cederholm.
Its a bit old and refers to lots of obsolete hacks, but a great read. Dan delves into a number of common design elements and analyses the techniques behind them, their flaws, then offers a guide to how to rewrite with valid xhtml and css, outlining the benifits of doing so.

A number of people have pointed out "but... You know all that. You taught me that, I know you know that, why didn't you just get a different book?" but a) the CSS Zen Garden book wasn't there, b) it was cheap, but c) its well worth reading for the few gems you might have missed.

[Byakuya Kuchiki]

I recommend CSS: 101 essential tips, tricks, and hacks

I forget the author (a friend's borrowing it atm), it's an orange/white/someblue covered book and has lots of examples for layouts, buttons, designs and all using css. Great guide for a beginner/intermediate.