Microsoft Excel Quirks and Competitions

Round 2 of the Excel World Championship 2022 is happening today, so don’t miss it! There are details below, and the Final round is on November 12th. And for those of us who have personal competitions with Excel every day, at the office/school/home, Excel expert David Ringstrom has some great tips for you. Continue reading “Microsoft Excel Quirks and Competitions”

Excel Books for Beginner to Intermediate

excel2010_missingmanual Stephan emailed me recently, and asked what books I’d recommend for an advanced beginner and for an intermediate user.

On the Contextures website, I’ve got a list of Excel books. They range from books for absolute beginners, to specialized books on statistics and financial modelling.

Book Suggestions

Here are the advanced beginner books that I suggested to Stephan – do you agree with these choices?

You might find these at your local library, or a nearby bookstore

  • Excel 2010: The Missing Manual; Matthew
  • MacDonald; ISBN: 1449382355; 898 pages; 2010; US$39.99
  • Microsoft Excel 2010 Step by Step; Curtis Frye; ISBN: 0735626944; 480 pages; 2010; US$29.99
  • Slaying Excel Dragons: A Beginners Guide to Conquering Excel’s Frustrations and Making Excel Fun; Mike Girvin, Bill Jelen; Holy Macro! Books; ISBN: 978-1615470006; 532 pages; 2011; US$29.95
  • Excel 2010 All-in-One For Dummies; Greg Harvey; ISBN: 0470489596; 792 pages; 2010; US$

Check the Contents

If you’re book shopping online, before you buy an Excel book on Amazon, use the “Look Inside” feature, if available, to see what the writing style is like, and check the table of contents.

The quick peek will give you a general overview of the book, and could help you decide if the book is right for you.

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Read the Reviews

The customer reviews can be helpful too – both the negative and positive ones. Sometimes another person doesn’t like a book because it’s not for absolute beginners, and that might be a positive thing for you

. And there’s always the possibility that some of the glowing reviews were written by the author’s mother or friends! 😉

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If you can get to a bookstore, you can flip through the Excel books there, and head home with a few that you like.

It sometimes costs a bit more than shopping online, but it’s worth it, to find the books that are best suited to your needs and learning style.

And it’s good to support your local businesses!

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