“iLife ’11 Portable Genius” (http://macte.ch/c9ADj) by Guy Hart-Davis is a breezy read, filled with good info, tips and tricks and slick, appropriate graphics pertaining to one of Apple’s crown jewels, the iLife suite. In fact, the “Portable Genius” line of books has become a serious contender to the “Missing Manual” series.

The iLife suite, pre-loaded on every new Mac, includes iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, and iWeb. “iLife ’11 Portable Genius” is a straight-to-the-point guide that shares key features, tips, and techniques to help you make the best use of each of these apps. The full-color book offers advice on everything from getting started to making the most of advanced features.

Hart-Davis is the author of more than 40 computing books, including “Mac OS X Leopard QuickSteps,” “How to Do Everything with Your iPod & iTunes” and “iWork ’09 Portable Genius, “and coauthor of “iMac Portable Genius.” He also writes about PCs, Windows, Linux, and VBA.

“iLife ’11 Portable Genius” is 416 pages and costs US$30. It’s recommended for beginning and intermediate iLife users.