Sams Teach Yourself WordPress in 10 Minutes by Chuck Tomasi
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
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Don't let the title fool you, because you won't learn WordPress in 10 minutes! Each of the 13 lessons takes 10 minutes, and at the end, you won't be able to say you taught yourself WordPress because it barely scratches the surface. My main disappointment was that it only showed how to configure WordPress options; it didn't make recommendations or explain best practices.
This book sticks to the basics of an out-of-the-box WordPress installation; there's no exploration of any advanced features. All the lessons are based on what can be done within the admin panel, and I don't believe I even saw any code (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc.).
Both the hosted WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress.org are covered (broadly, not deeply). Each lesson contains clear, step-by-step instructions with small monochrome screenshots. It's only worth reading as a simple introduction to WordPress.
The book's companion podcast is the WordPress in 10 Minutes Podcast.
Notes
Use Firebug and the Web Developer extension for Firefox.
Plugin recommendations
WP-SpamFree
WP Pubsubhubbub
Google Analyticator
Sociable
Social Bookmarks
Blubrry PowerPress for podcasting
WordPress resources
WordPress Codex
WordPress.tv
NetTuts
