What have you found are the best books for learning/improving web design?

I just have two O Reilly books. CSS Pocket Reference and HTML Pocket Reference.

I just consult the online specifications directly. The ones that list all the possible tags, what they do, etc. You don't use all of it anyway, so after a while you get used to the ones you use all the time and then you only have to look something up if you're trying to do something new and don't know the proper way to code it.

Generally if I don't remember how to do something, I google:
"html reference"
"dhtml reference"
"css reference"
"javascript reference"
etc

I've found that I learn more by doing than by reading. But sometimes it is nice to have a book to sit down to =) When you're traveling or whatnot, you can still learn that way =)

http://www.sitepoint.com/books/css2/
http://www.sitepoint.com/books/html1/
Any of Eric Meyer's books

Any of Dan Cederholm's books. The best of them are available below fo rmore details:

http://astore.amazon.co.uk/foundFlas...ng=UTF8&node=2

Originally Posted by nyef

I just consult the online specifications directly. The ones that list all the possible tags, what they do, etc. You don't use all of it anyway, so after a while you get used to the ones you use all the time and then you only have to look something up if you're trying to do something new and don't know the proper way to code it.

Generally if I don't remember how to do something, I google:
"html reference"
"dhtml reference"
"css reference"
"javascript reference"
etc

I've found that I learn more by doing than by reading. But sometimes it is nice to have a book to sit down to =) When you're traveling or whatnot, you can still learn that way =)

There are various times when web pages have errors or don't explain things clearly. Books are edited and published more thoroughly, so it's nice to have a solid reference. I look up online documentation, but I mainly rely on physical reference.

http://www.webmaster-talk.com/search...earchid=778273

There are various times when web pages have errors or don't explain things clearly.

You're absolutely right; that's why it's a good thing there's usually 10 or more references available online for any particular subject =)

I mainly rely on physical reference.

Just a suggestion, you might want to work on relying more on the internet. IT has always been a fast-changing field but with the internet things are changing more and more quickly... At this point the only way to get the most up-to-date information is to get it online because books take a year or more to edit and publish.

We all do what we need to do but I think if you made using the internet for learning a priority, you would thank me in 5 years =)

The O Reilly books are amazing. I used them to learn PHP and CSS. I would highly recommend their line. I forget the name of the books but they always have animals on the front cover. Weird, I know.

I learned XHtml, Css, Web/ Graphic design, server management and php/java implementation etc by looking at the source of websites, asking questions here and doing google searches. Web design is one of hte few things you can do without formal schooling or books ... wc3.org will teach you the basics.

you might want to work on relying more on the internet

I have to disagree. If you buy a book from 1997, or even 2001, then you have issues. NEWER books are still perfectly reliable for 99% of what's needed, and then you SUPPLEMENT the book with newer methods, bug fixes etc. that will be found on the web.

I too would agree with LadynRed. I tried learning from the internet, but the layout was poor. The books I learned off of when in order and gave me demos to play around with. They progressively helped me design a page chapter by chapter. It made it fun and helpful.

Here are the newest versions of the books I used on my journey.

HTML and XHTML
CSS
PHP and MySQL

I went through many books trying to become proficient and it wasn't until I got a job and they required me to read these books that I was proficient. I went from knowing nothing about web design to owning my own company, in large part to these books. They won't tell you everything, but they will get you started. From there you can ask on forums and get websites for ongoing references.

Okay. To each his (or her) own.