I would add Logo Design Love to your excellent reading list!
Thank you for putting this together. I am going to use your checklist this weekend to fine-tune my latest creation, cardealerquotes.org. Maawaaahhaha :)
Didn't think to mention logo design as that would come far after mastery of general concepts I think and when starting to describe illustration too.
Though, you can get some logo design experience with studying typography... many companies just have logotypes. I say "just" but there's a lot that goes into it.. I digress.
I mention it because I thought many of the ideas in there can be also used in website design. I particular liked how they consider brand and incorporating that in. I loved all the examples - so many. Not just talk. But prototype and evolutions.
I would also include "The Advertising Concept Book". To me a website is an ad. This book actually shows what worked what didn't - ads from the last 40 years for the masters. I love sketches to actually ads run. A lot of analysis on Apple ads. It was just an awesome, eye-opening book. So many case studies.
Side note; I think of account about typography in one of the books about FLICKR. Where if you were not careful what type you choose you would very much offend many people since the capital L and I might merge to be U.
Thank you for putting this together. I am going to use your checklist this weekend to fine-tune my latest creation, cardealerquotes.org. Maawaaahhaha :)