A little over a year ago, I created The Monster List of UX Books by compiling every list of recommended UX books I could find into a Google spreadsheet. While a spreadsheet worked well enough in the beginning, updating the list was tedious and error-prone (inaccurate tallies, duplicate books and authors, etc.). I had also received many requests from users for features like rating books, which Google Sheets could not support.
Moving to Airtable
Over the past few months, I’ve been transferring the Monster List to Airtable, a web app for creating databases, as well as adding new lists, books, and categories. I’ve also added new features and functionality that are now possible using Airtable.
Overview of updates to the list:
- Gallery view with book cover images
- User ratings: sort the list by user ratings and submit your own ratings
- Categorization: suggest new categories
- Feedback form
- 179 new books, 24 new lists, and 13 new categories
Exploring the new list
You can explore the embedded list below or open it in a new tab.
Gallery View
Table View
Video Tour
For those of you unfamiliar with Airtable, I also made a quick screen recording (no audio) to demonstrate how to navigate the list:
Top Books Added to the List
- Org Design for Design Orgs: Building and Managing In-House Design Teams by Peter Merholz & Kristin Skinner
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath, Dan Heath
- Creative Confidence by Tom Kelley & David Kelley
- A Practical Guide to Designing for the Web by Mark Boulton
- Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Diana Wright & Donella H. Meadows
- The Vignelli Canon by Massimo Vignelli
- Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Müller-Brockmann
- Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon
- Above the Fold, Revised Edition by Brian D. Miller
- Build Better Products: A Modern Approach to Building Successful User-Centered Products by Laura Klein
- Content Everywhere: Strategy and Structure for Future-Ready Content by Sara Wachter-Boettcher
- The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web by Richard Rutter
- How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy
- Interaction of Color by Josef Albers
- Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
- Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott
- Tools of the Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss
- Evil by Design: Interaction Design to Lead Us into Temptation by Chris Nodder
- Liminal Thinking: Create the Change You Want by Changing the Way You Think by Dave Gray
How you can get involved and improve the list
Rate and categorize books
You can now rate and suggest categories for any book on the Monster List using this form:
Submit feedback
Did you come across a new list or book not on the Monster List? Do you have suggestions for how to improve the list or other general feedback? Share it through the feedback form:
Support the Monster List
If you find the Monster List helpful, there are a few ways you can support it:
• Sign up for Airtable using my referral link. I receive $10 credit at Airtable for every person that signs up for a free Airtable account with my link, which pays for one month of Airtable Plus.
• Buy me a coffee. Do you already have an Airtable account and don’t want to buy anything on Amazon but still want to support the list? Consider making a donation through my Buy Me a Coffee page.
• Share the list with others.
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