6 Best Power BI Books for Self Learning
Microsoft Power BI is the most demanding analytics tool in the market. As per Gartner`s Magic Quadrant for Analytics and Business Analytics Platform 2022, Microsoft Power B is the leader in the segment. You can check out the last 5 years of Gartner magic quadrant ranking for analytics and business analytics platforms to see how Power BI has been a consistent leader and has taken over all other business intelligence tools such as Tableau, Qliksense, etc.
With the increase in demand for Power BI, people learning the tool is increasing exponentially. A lot of people are looking for books to learn Power BI.
If you are reading this post then it is obvious that you are looking to learn Power BI, I have made Guide to Learn Power BI using free Resources which I have used in my continuous journey of learning Power BI. It has step-by-step free resources which you can use and learn Power BI.
Similarly, For learning DAX, You can check the “Best Resources to learn DAX“ article which has some of the best resources to learn DAX. It has all that you need to learn DAX and become an expert in writing DAX code. I have explained how I have gained benefits using the resources so that you can also follow the same steps and gain benefits.
Now let’s see the best book for PowerBI.
The Best book for PowerBI is The Definitive Guide to DAX and Mastering Microsoft PowerBI. The Definitive Guide to DAX is the best book for learning DAX which is very essential to know while working on Microsoft PowerBI apart from that Mastering Microsoft PowerBI is a complete package that gives information about all the components related to PowerBI which is also essential and non-negotiable.
Apart from the two books mentioned above, there are some other books as well which are also very helpful in learning PowerBI. So let`s check them out in the below list.
So, let’s review each of the books below in great detail:
Mastering Microsoft Power BI
Mastering Microsoft Power BI is a complete reference for learning power bi. It gives you an overall knowledge of the product as a whole. It covers topics
- Efficient data connectivity, retrieval, and data transformation using M Query.
- Explains about Direct Query, Import Connection, and Live Connection
- Making rich and Interactive Dashboards and reports.
- Make a complete on-premise solution with a Report Server.
- Gateways – On-premise Gateways and Personal Gateway.
- Creating apps and their distribution.
- Managing Workspace
- SSAS to Azure AS Migration
- PowerBI Admin Portal
- DAX
Basically, This book covers all the topics which you need to master Microsoft Power BI. I recommend this book to a person who is interested to learn all the components associated with Microsoft Power BI. This book is a complete package.
Who wrote this book?
This book is written by Brett Powell who has also written a book Microsoft PowerBI Cookbook which is also included in this list.
The Definitive Guide to DAX
The Definitive Guide to Dax is a great book for learning DAX Languages, which is essential for getting the most out of Microsoft Power BI. Without DAX, You cannot bring good insight from your raw data. So DAX is an important language you cannot skip learning, and to learn it, there is no better book than The Definitive Guide to DAX.
Who wrote this book?
Marco Russo and Alberto Ferrari have written the book. They are the owner of the SQLBI website and also some of the other sites like Daxformatter, Daxpattern, etc. Their work in the field of Microsoft technologies such as PowerBI, Excel, and DAX is just outstanding. I have also mentioned their Introduction to DAX Video Course in my article Best Resources to learn DAX.
Microsoft Power BI Cookbook
Microsoft Power BI Cookbook is a great book for learning Power BI overall. This book has tips and tricks, practical use cases, and technical recipes related to a complete power bi platform including Power BI Service and Mobile Application. In the book, you will get knowledge about Power Query, M language, Data Modelling, DAX Expression, Understanding the difference between Import, direct query, and live connection, how to publish to power bi service, and schedule refresh, gateways, and its type. This book will cover all the components associated with Microsoft PowerBI.
Who wrote this book?
The book is written by Brett Powell who also owns Frontline Analytics and has previously worked with multiple analytics companies. He has written two books on Microsoft Power BI.
Supercharge Power BI: Power BI Is Better When You Learn to Write DAX
Supercharge Power BI is a great book for learning DAX. I found their approach to explaining concepts more practical. It’s a great book for the beginner as each and every step is explained in the book with the help of a screenshot so that anyone can understand the concept easily.
I recommend you to please go through this book, you will definitely like it. To check the book`s initial pages, you can go to Amazon, and click on Look Inside above the Image of the Book.
Who wrote this book?
This book is written by Matt Allington who also owns the Excelerator BI website which provides Online Courses related to PowerBI. I am a regular visitor to his site and always loved the blog posted by Matt. I suggest you read his blog and as well his book.
Data Analysis with Microsoft Power BI
What I loved about the book is the practical step-by-step approach to explaining a topic. This book has explained all the topics in a very easy language so that anyone can understand the topic very easily.
I would recommend this book to someone looking for a book with an easy explanation. The book has described Data loading, Data preparation, Data Modelling, and Visualization using various graphs and charts in an efficient manner using a screenshot from the Power BI Desktop.
Who wrote this book?
The book is written by Brian Larson the chief creative officer and partner at Superior Consulting Service and also a frequent presenter at SQL Saturdays and Pass Summit. He is also a columnist at SQL Server Magazine. This book is published by McGraw Hill Education.
Advance Books
I have mentioned some of the advanced books related to Power BI which will help the readers to get specialized knowledge on Power Query, Data Modelling, and Python use in Power BI, etc.
Extending Power BI with Python and R
Extending Power BI with Python and R Book will help you to perform advanced analytics on your data using python and R language in Power BI. So it will help you to perform tasks that are not possible using the features available in the Power BI.
What will readers learn from the Book?
- Discover best practices for using Python and R in Power BI products
- Use Python and R to perform complex data manipulations in Power BI
- Apply data anonymization and data pseudonymization in Power BI
- Log data and load large datasets in Power BI using Python and R
- Enrich your Power BI dashboards using external APIs and machine learning models
- Extract insights from your data using linear optimization and other algorithms
- Handle outliers and missing values for multivariate and time-series data
- Create any visualization, as complex as you want, using R scripts
Final Thoughts
I have written this article after much research and past experience. During the preparation phase of the article, I have gone through a lot of books related to Power BI but I have suggested only those books which provided valuable information and explained the topic in an easy and step by manner for better understanding.
This article is updated on 31/7/2022 with the latest edition books Amazon Affiliate Referral Links. A new section has also been added where books for advanced users have been suggested.
