55 books like The Absolute Guide to Dashboarding and Reporting with Power Bi

By Kasper De Jonge,

Here are 55 books that The Absolute Guide to Dashboarding and Reporting with Power Bi fans have personally recommended if you like The Absolute Guide to Dashboarding and Reporting with Power Bi. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Cleaning Excel Data With Power Query Straight to the Point

Bill Jelen Author Of Power Excel 2019 with MrExcel: Master Pivot Tables, Subtotals, VLOOKUP, Power Query, Dynamic Arrays & Data Analysis

From my list on to go from Excel to Power Query and Power BI.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been running the MrExcel website since 1998 and have written 66 books about Excel. I am an Excel generalist – I know a fair amount about almost every aspect of Excel. But I respect the specialists who become experts on one part of Excel and offer deep knowledge dives into those portions of Excel. Cleaning data with Power Query, calculating “impossible” calculations with DAX, and then presenting them on interactive dashboards are some of the deep dives that you will learn on this list.

Bill's book list on to go from Excel to Power Query and Power BI

Bill Jelen Why did Bill love this book?

If you just want to find out if Power Query is for you, this short book, written by the entertaining host of the Excel On Fire YouTube channel will show you what is possible using Power Query. Oz will show you the types of everyday problems that can be solved using the Get & Transform section of the Data tab in Excel. Once you get a taste of what is possible, you will be ready to dive in with Ken Puls’ book.

By Oz du Soleil,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cleaning Excel Data With Power Query Straight to the Point as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Author Oz Du Soleil's area of frustration with Excel is cleaning data. From his earliest days with Excel, he has found himself constantly needing to fix names that are ALLCAPS, peel addresses away from phone numbers, and fixing all the many other things that prevent data from being useful. In this intro to Power Query, Oz shows you five core techniques in Excel Power Query: Splitting data, Filling blanks, Joining data sets, grouping and summarizing, and adding columns using Column From Examples.


Book cover of Supercharge Power BI: Power BI is Better When You Learn To Write DAX

Bill Jelen Author Of Power Excel 2019 with MrExcel: Master Pivot Tables, Subtotals, VLOOKUP, Power Query, Dynamic Arrays & Data Analysis

From my list on to go from Excel to Power Query and Power BI.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been running the MrExcel website since 1998 and have written 66 books about Excel. I am an Excel generalist – I know a fair amount about almost every aspect of Excel. But I respect the specialists who become experts on one part of Excel and offer deep knowledge dives into those portions of Excel. Cleaning data with Power Query, calculating “impossible” calculations with DAX, and then presenting them on interactive dashboards are some of the deep dives that you will learn on this list.

Bill's book list on to go from Excel to Power Query and Power BI

Bill Jelen Why did Bill love this book?

Have you ever built a pivot table in Excel? They are great at summarizing data. But they are lousy at answering certain questions. When your manager asks for anything slightly complicated, the Pivot Table Calculated Field is destined to fail. 

The Microsoft team who built the Power Pivot calculation engine realized that Calculated Fields were the weak point of pivot tables. They created an amazing new formula language that could let you answer the hard questions like how are we doing on same-store sales through the first two weekends of December?

The formula language – Data Analysis Expressions – or DAX is powerful but confusing. Matt Allington, another former data analyst has figured out how to use DAX to come up with all of those industry-standard calculations that he used to need as a manager at Coca-Cola. 

He walks you up the DAX learning curve in this book.

By Matt Allington,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Supercharge Power BI as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Data analysis expressions (DAX) is the formula language of Power BI. Learning the DAX language is key to empower Power BI users so they can take advantage of these new Business Intelligence (BI) capabilities. This volume clearly explains the concepts of DAX while at the same time offering hands-on practice to engage the reader and help new knowledge stick. This third edition has been updated for the new Power BI Ribbon interface while still providing a bridge for readers wanting to learn DAX in the Power BI, Power Pivot, or Excel.


Book cover of Power Pivot and Power BI: The Excel User's Guide to DAX, Power Query, Power BI & Power Pivot in Excel 2010-2016

Bill Jelen Author Of Power Excel 2019 with MrExcel: Master Pivot Tables, Subtotals, VLOOKUP, Power Query, Dynamic Arrays & Data Analysis

From my list on to go from Excel to Power Query and Power BI.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been running the MrExcel website since 1998 and have written 66 books about Excel. I am an Excel generalist – I know a fair amount about almost every aspect of Excel. But I respect the specialists who become experts on one part of Excel and offer deep knowledge dives into those portions of Excel. Cleaning data with Power Query, calculating “impossible” calculations with DAX, and then presenting them on interactive dashboards are some of the deep dives that you will learn on this list.

Bill's book list on to go from Excel to Power Query and Power BI

Bill Jelen Why did Bill love this book?

Rob Collie was a pioneer at Microsoft. After leaving the Excel team, he helped architect the tools that would become Power Pivot and Power BI. He left Microsoft and started his own consultancy, helping big companies answer important questions in just a few hours with Power Pivot.

His books are the best-selling books in the category. 

While Matt Allington will get you up to speed, Rob will explain every nuance of Power Pivot, DAX, and Power BI.

By Rob Collie, Avichal Singh,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Power Pivot and Power BI as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Microsoft PowerPivot is a free add-on to Excel from Microsoft that allows users to produce new kinds of reports and analyses that were simply impossible before, and this book is the first to tackle DAX formulas, the core capability of PowerPivot, from the perspective of the Excel audience. Written by the world's foremost PowerPivot blogger and practitioner, the book's concepts and approach are introduced in a step-by-step manner tailored to the learning style of Excel users everywhere. The techniques presented allow users to produce, in hours or even minutes, results that formerly would have taken entire teams weeks or months…


Book cover of Master Your Data with Power Query in Excel and Power BI: Leveraging Power Query to Get & Transform Your Task Flow

Bill Jelen Author Of Power Excel 2019 with MrExcel: Master Pivot Tables, Subtotals, VLOOKUP, Power Query, Dynamic Arrays & Data Analysis

From my list on to go from Excel to Power Query and Power BI.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been running the MrExcel website since 1998 and have written 66 books about Excel. I am an Excel generalist – I know a fair amount about almost every aspect of Excel. But I respect the specialists who become experts on one part of Excel and offer deep knowledge dives into those portions of Excel. Cleaning data with Power Query, calculating “impossible” calculations with DAX, and then presenting them on interactive dashboards are some of the deep dives that you will learn on this list.

Bill's book list on to go from Excel to Power Query and Power BI

Bill Jelen Why did Bill love this book?

Microsoft quietly slipped the Get & Transform tools onto the Data tab in Excel in 2016. These tools are incredibly powerful – you clean your data once and Excel will remember how to clean your data every month, every week, every day, every hour. Ken Puls and Miguel Escobar will show you all of the best tricks for using these tools.

By Ken Puls, Miguel Escobar,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Master Your Data with Power Query in Excel and Power BI as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Power Query is the amazing new data cleansing tool in both Excel and Power BI Desktop. Do you find yourself performing the same data cleansing steps day after day? Power Query will make it faster to clean your data the first time. While Power Query is powerful, the interface is subtle—there are tools hiding in plain sight that are easy to miss. Go beyond the obvious and take Power Query to new levels with this book.


Book cover of The Art of Looking Sideways

David Airey Author Of Identity Designed: The Definitive Guide to Visual Branding

From my list on visual branding.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a graphic designer, writer, and brand consultant. I work with clients of all sizes, from multinationals to companies of one. Since opening my business in 2005 I’ve created logos and visual identities for brands in more than 30 countries. I run two design blogs Logo Design Love and Identity Designed. They resulted in publishing deals to write their accompanying books, and their pages now get millions of views each year.

David's book list on visual branding

David Airey Why did David love this book?

A seminal classic for any graphic designer. “A primer in visual intelligence, an exploration of the workings of the eye, the hand, the brain, and the imagination.”

By Alan Fletcher,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Art of Looking Sideways as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Art of Looking Sideways is a primer in visual intelligence, an exploration of the workings of the eye, the hand, the brain and the imagination. It is an inexhaustible mine of anecdotes, quotations, images, curious facts and useless information, oddities, serious science, jokes and memories, all concerned with the interplay between the verbal and the visual, and the limitless resources of the human mind. Loosely arranged in 72 chapters, all this material is presented in a wonderfully inventive series of pages that are themselves masterly demonstrations of the expressive use of type, space, colour and imagery.

This book does…


Book cover of Think Like a UX Researcher: How to Observe Users, Influence Design, and Shape Business Strategy

Cory Lebson Author Of The UX Careers Handbook

From my list on starting in user experience (UX) design and research.

Why am I passionate about this?

There is a scene in the 1960 movie adaptation of The Time Traveler by HG Wells where the protagonist goes rapidly into the future as he watches a whole city spin into existence around him. That’s how I feel about my career. I started in 1994 and have watched UX grow into an incredible field! I’ve run my own business since 2008 focused exclusively on qualitative research consulting while also doing all sorts of exciting thought leadership activities – from writing to speaking to creating a number of courses on LinkedIn Learning – and I love to build my UX network too! I live in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Cory's book list on starting in user experience (UX) design and research

Cory Lebson Why did Cory love this book?

As a UX researcher myself, I love how this book explains UX research methods simply and clearly.

I appreciate how it presents everything within a rich background of context and history. For me, this is the book I go to when I need to figure out how to best explain some research approach to a client.

I also appreciate how it also includes sections on myths and incorrect ideas which helps me when I sometimes need to explain to a client why their approach may need to be adjusted to be more methodologically correct.

Finally, I think this is a great book for UX designers to understand when and how to involve research in their efforts.

By David Travis, Philip Hodgson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Think Like a UX Researcher as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Think Like a UX Researcher will challenge your preconceptions about user experience (UX) research and encourage you to think beyond the obvious. You'll discover how to plan and conduct UX research, analyze data, persuade teams to take action on the results and build a career in UX. The book will help you take a more strategic view of product design so you can focus on optimizing the user's experience. UX Researchers, Designers, Project Managers, Scrum Masters, Business Analysts and Marketing Managers will find tools, inspiration and ideas to rejuvenate their thinking, inspire their team and improve their craft.

Key Features…


Book cover of A Book about Design: Complicated Doesn't Make It Good

Sam Ita Author Of Fun with Origami Animals Kit: 40 Different Animals! Includes Colorfully Patterned Folding Sheets!

From my list on creative dads.

Why am I passionate about this?

When my kids were toddlers, there was a Burger King in the neighborhood with an indoor playground. It was glorious. A random guy walked up to me while we were there. “How do you do it, you know, the whole Dad thing” he asked. "Well… you don’t necessarily need to do a whole lot. Mostly just show up. Stick around." Never mentioned that by this time, I’d written and/or illustrated at least a couple dozen children’s books. I asked my nine-year-old daughter how she’d describe me as a Dad. “Most people think you’re creative, but I think you’re pretty average.” That’s good enough for me.

Sam's book list on creative dads

Sam Ita Why did Sam love this book?

This book does an amazing job of introducing kids to visual thinking and communication. Crucial skills in this day and age.

Bold lines and primary colors clearly demonstrate the basic principles of design and composition without pretense or jargon. After countless rereadings, my copy endured tape repairs and ultimately complete destruction at the hands of my daughter. You always hurt the ones you love. Highly recommended.

By Mark Gonyea,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Book about Design as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

Design is all about the perception of size, shape, and color.

A fabulous and fun introduction to the concepts of design

A Book About Design: Complicated Doesn't Make It Good takes a most creative approach to introducing young (and not-so-young) readers to the fundamental elements of design. Using simple shapes, lines, and a sense of humor, this book explains why complicated doesn't make it good-and why that matters. Mark Gonyea opens up the world of design and makes it accessible to young artists and non-artists alike.

A Children's Book-of-the-Month Club Selection
A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION


Book cover of The Unknown Craftsman: A Japanese Insight Into Beauty

Strother Purdy Author Of Doormaking: Materials, Techniques, and Projects for Building Your First Door

From my list on on working with your hands.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a teenager, I worked on cars and motorcycles in my spare time while apprenticing in an architectural millwork shop, paneling the homes of the rich and famous. Thus I discovered the great joys and satisfactions of working with my hands. After a long stint in graduate school, then four years as an editor at Fine Woodworking magazine and for Taunton Press books, I opened a custom design furniture business in 2000. Travel, writing, and reading are aligned passions, and I’ve lived, taught English, and woodworking here and abroad in France, Slovakia, India, and Japan.

Strother's book list on on working with your hands

Strother Purdy Why did Strother love this book?

They say that travel opens the mind in ways that staying home doesn’t. Books can take you places you can’t otherwise go. So with Yanagi, I got to visit the mind of an early 20th-century Japanese craft connoisseur who looked at thousand-year-old (plain and unassuming) tea bowls and wondered why they’re utterly beautiful and treasured (the best fetch huge sums at auctions–$25million recently for one). Yanagi’s exploration of how the hands of craftsmen can unknowingly and unintentionally create objects of great beauty was both fascinating as it was challenging. It made my shop work a hundred times more enjoyable.

By Soetsu Yanagi,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Unknown Craftsman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

craftsman working in a set tradition for a lifetime? What is the value of handwork? Why should even the roughly lacquered rice bowl of a Japanese farmer be thought beautiful? The late Soetsu Yanagi was the first to fully explore the traditional Japanese appreciation for objects born, not made.' Mr. Yanagi sees folk art as a manifestation of the essential world from which art, philosophy, and religion arise and in which the barriers between them disappear. The implications of the author's ideas are both far-reaching and practical. Soetsu Yanagi is often'


Book cover of Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry

Caleb J. Ross Author Of Suddenly I was a Shark! My Time with What Remains of Edith Finch

From my list on to defend your video game obsession to non-gamers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a lifelong video game obsessive. I think about video game worlds and my relationship with them in the ways most people think about family vacations to the beach or a trip with friends to Las Vegas. Every game I play is an opportunity to experience a new world, and a new culture, and to change myself along the way. Video games are a younger industry than either the music industry or the movie industry, but it’s more than 2.5x bigger than those two industries combined! There are reasons humans are so enamored by video games. The books on my list explore those reasons.

Caleb's book list on to defend your video game obsession to non-gamers

Caleb J. Ross Why did Caleb love this book?

Sometimes, defending your video game obsession means acknowledging that the video game industry is flawed. It’s best not to avoid necessary conversations about the negative impacts that video games can have on families and on personal health.

But while it would be tempting to cite flawed studies about games as a precursor to violence (a sub-recommendation for more about such flawed studies would be The Gaming Mind: A New Psychology of Videogames and the Power of Play by Alexander Kriss), Jason Schreier’s book instead digs into the “industry” part of the video games industry to explore systemic problems like overwork, the lack of unionization, and incredible wealth inequality.

The video game industry is huge (like, really huge. Like, 2.5x the size of the movie and music industry combined huge). Its enormity, combined with its lack of regulation and oversight, makes for a difficult foundation on which to build a life.…

By Jason Schreier,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Press Reset as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. From the bestselling author of Blood, Sweat, and Pixels comes the next definitive, behind-the-scenes account of the video game industry: how some of the past decade's most renowned studios fell apart-and the stories, both triumphant and tragic, of what happened next.

Jason Schreier's groundbreaking reporting has earned him a place among the preeminent investigative journalists covering the world of video games. In his eagerly anticipated, deeply researched new book, Schreier trains his investigative eye on the volatility of the video game industry and the resilience of the people who work in it.

The business…


Book cover of Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things

Mark Wells Author Of User Experience Design: An Introduction to Creating Interactive Digital Spaces

From my list on thinking differently about UX design.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've always had a creative curiosity that involves making, designing, and finding creative solutions to problems, this led me to using digital tools and lecturing in interactive media. As technology, society, and design have developed so to has my knowledge and experience in these fields enabling me to understand and develop the unique skills that are required to create successful solutions in the digital design process. I do this through creating and designing interventions in the physical space to ask questions and raise awareness of our use of technology and the impact on our awareness of time and space and the world around us.

Mark's book list on thinking differently about UX design

Mark Wells Why did Mark love this book?

In this book Don Norman, through human centered design, unpacks and helps us understand the value and impact that the objects around us can have.

He helps the reader see these objects from a fresh perspective. Through looking at the different ‘levels of design’visceral, behavioural, and reflective—and the importance of emotional machines, he explores the shared role that technology, design, and people play in manipulating their environment.

By Don Norman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Emotional Design as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Did you ever wonder why cheap wine tastes better in fancy glasses? Why sales of Macintosh computers soared when Apple introduced the colourful iMac? New research on emotion and cognition has shown that attractive things really do work better, as Donald Norman amply demonstrates in this fascinating book, which has garnered acclaim everywhere from Scientific American to The New Yorker . Emotional Design articulates the profound influence of the feelings that objects evoke, from our willingness to spend thousands of dollars on Gucci bags and Rolex watches, to the impact of emotion on the everyday objects of tomorrow.Norman draws on…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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