What Data Visualization Books Should I Read?

After taking my courses on LinkedIn Learning or at the end of one of my workshops, usually people are hungry for more, which is a good sign. People often ask me what they should do next and, specifically, what books I would recommend.

I have a bookshelf with at least 50 books about data visualization, data analysis, and design that I have read (some of which you can see above). Some of those I turn to again and again. Others are good references that I'm sure are guiding my thinking, even though I don't necessarily think of them consciously all the time. Others are fonts of inspiration that I open up when I'm looking for good ideas to push me forward on a project when I'm lost or confused, or just need a fresh point of view. I can't share all 50 books with you, but here are a few that I recommend to just about anyone who asks!

Data Thinking

Naked Statistics, by Charles Wheelan. I took statistics in college. I hated that class and ended up skipping half of the sessions (no exaggeration.) I got a C (maybe...that's probably a generous memory.) This book will teach you basic statistical concepts in plain English in a way that you can relate to and that you will remember.

Factfulness, by Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling, and Ola Rosling. If you want to learn how to really see numbers in way that you actually understand what the numbers mean, rather than seeing just the numbers themselves, this is a great place to start. This is a data literacy 101 type of book, and will give you a new appreciation for the world around you, in addition to the data around you.

Data Visualization 101

Now You See It, by Stephen Few. This is the first data visualization book I ever read and it changed my life. I don't think I've cracked it since I first read it simply because there are so many books covering the basics of data visualization and I have a shelf full of books I'm still working through! But this book opened my eyes (see what I did there?) to communicating with data in a whole new way, introduced me to key data visualization best practices, human visual perception, and how to approach specific types of data for analysis and with visualization.

The Functional Art, by Alberto Cairo. This is another foundational book with lots of best practices and tangible advice about visualization, and includes many great examples, helping to tie best practices to reality. Even now, eight years after the publishing copyright, it's amazing how well the examples cited in this book hold up.

Storytelling with Data, by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic. This book is invaluable to help you start to think of visualizations not as content pieces that hopefully contain good stuff your audience can work with, but instead as highly focused and attuned communication elements. This book really reminds you how every little decision can and should be made with intention so your visuals tell a complete and focused story.

Information Visualization: Perception for Design, by Colin Ware. This is the bible about human visual perception. It's a long, detailed, and highly technical text book. BUT, it is absolutely fascinating and a must-read (and it's not all technical - just some parts!) You can skim the extra technical stuff. One of the great things about this book is how the author turns human visual perception insights into specific design recommendations.

Good Charts: The HBR Guide to Making Smarter, More Persuasive Data Visualizations, by Scott Berinato. This book came out in 2016, but I just read it recently and found it to be a very clear and practical guide chock-full of great advice and techniques. Definitely a great starting point for "normal people" wanting to dip their toes in and do a better job communicating with data.

Inspiration

There is no end to the books that inspire me, and that I will pick up from time to time, pouring through them to trigger ideas that might help me create better work for my clients and think through challenges when teaching data visualization. These are in no particular order (well, they're the order in which I pulled them off my shelf, actually!):

• Dear Data, by Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec
• The Visual Miscellaneum, by David McCandless
• The Big Book of Dashboards, by Steve Wexler, Jeffrey Shaffer, and Andy Cotgreave
• The Best American Infographics Series, by Gareth Cook
• The Minard System, and History of Information Graphics, by Sandra Rendgen
• The Book of Circles, by Manuel Lima
• Am I Overthinking This? by Michelle Rial

Buy, borrow, or get these books from the library. Immerse yourself in all of this. Every page you peruse will make you a better data visualization practitioner.

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