I don’t think we’ve mentioned any books on this site. Contrary to your beliefs, the Renderphase crew does read books. I’ve recently finished “Rework” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the founders of 37Signals. While it is a business book for people who want to start or improve their own companies, it’s also a great book for everyone else who wants to start or continue creating projects of any kind. I’ve seen Jason Fried in a Chicago Convergence discussion panel a few years ago and the first impression I got was that he seems a little full of himself alluding how small companies are better than the big gorilla companies. I’m glad I read this book as now I think Fried and his 37Signals band seem like a bunch of cool folks. The co-author Hansson built the “Ruby and Rails” framework. Unfortunately, I work with a company that develops with Microsoft platforms, so I’ve never had a reason to use Rails. One day I’ll probably try it out as big sites like Twitter uses the R&R framework. In any case, it’s great seeing a fellow young Chicago/foreign dude like Hansson shaking up and making an impact on the tech industry.

As for the book, expect a quick read with concise sentences that drives its points to your brain without being preachy. The chapters are small and the line spacing is around 1.5 in height, so you don’t have to worry about it being humongous like some 1000 page WROX technical book. If you’ve worked in a small company before, you’ll definitely agree with some of the advice/ideas presented in the book. For example, if your small company lacks a marketing department, it’s not something you should be concerned about. The book also stresses the importance of “alone time” as a key element to productivity. I don’t know about you guys, but the projects I’ve been most proud of required a lot of “alone time” to produce. The book has other ideas regarding hiring, company culture, competitors and more. It’s a good book, so go buy it! As of this writing, it’s only $12 at Amazon!