This post is not about writing, reading or publishing. At least not directly. But as a writer, I’m constantly looking for ways to be more efficient, especially with my keyboard and other electronics. And so I’m recommending the book Pogue’s Basics, by David Pogue. It’s full of keyboard shortcuts, as well as sections on web searching, text messaging, enhancing privacy and security, preserving and recovering files and other ways to make the best use of our phones and computers.

Sure, a lot of this I already knew. And maybe you’re more computer savvy that I am. But even the few new ideas I’ve learned are well worth the price of the book.

The edition I have is a few years old (and so far, I haven’t seen any plans for an updated edition), so I had to translate some of the commands to newer versions of web browsers or applications. But that was easy and many of the tips are still perfectly current. Too many of these “helpful hints” books, on any subject, are full of ridiculous actions that I would never bother with, or are overwhelming. This book is clear, well-organized and above all, useful in the most immediately practical way. It’s not about becoming a computer expert. It’s more about helping the rest of us become the best end users we can be. Just my humble opinion.