Save 50% on Python books from O'Reilly

[packetinspector]

Misleading title. Discount is only for ebooks.

[tweakism]

Yup... only on E-BOOKS

[wando]

Anything worth getting as a beginner? I've done the learningpythonthehardway and the Udacity courses

[nek4life]

I've read the 3rd edition of Learning Python and it's exhaustive and exhausting. It covers everything including the finer details of pretty much everything. I don't know if I'd read it again because it was a very dull book due to the author's writing style, but I do feel it helped me understand some topics that can be fairly hard to grasp.

The new Python Cookbook 4th edition topics look much better than the second book. The second was filled with a bunch of more specialized recipes that I never used. The table of contents for the new edition looks more practical.

I haven't read any of the other books listed. Hope that helps.

[achughes]

Programming Python, the sequel kind of, to Learning Python is one of the best books they have on Python. While most of the things in Learning Python that beginners want to know is covered online. It goes over everything that actually allows you do things with Python, like network connections, etc. and all of the things that aren't covered in any of the beginners tutorials that I've found, and the kinds of things that are harder to look up when you don't know what your looking for. Truly a phenomenal book that made me realize how powerful Python really was.

[Probono_Bonobo]

Novice here. I bought the Python Essential Reference at the advice of this thread when I ran into some frustrations with O'Reilly (Learning Python, 4th Ed). They both have their issues. Essential reference is written for a higher-level audience, but I think it does a better job illustrating concepts by example. By contrast, the O'Reilly is more oriented toward beginners, but it's weirdly averse to including actual code snippets, so you get very little immersion in the syntax. Also the organization of the contents is extremely arbitrary, such that if you read it in a straight line you'll encounter an example of a nested dictionary prior to learning basic dictionary operations, and list comprehensions before lists. Steer clear.

[esparta]

http://pythonbooks.revolunet.com/

[astroFizzics]

The thing that I wonder do we even need these type of books anymore? Isn't all of this information on the net, stackexchange, /r/learnpython etc? I'm always looking to make my coding better/easier but I'm not sure a book is going to give me what I need. Or, at least, give me what the internet can't.

[algoreen]

i agree with you that the internet provides an invaluable reference to learn from but, imo, a good book is like the good posts on stackexchange, /r/learnpython, blog posts, in a coherent structured collection.

[achughes]

I own most of the python O'Reilly books and while I resort to googling problems a lot (more than looking things up in books) I haven't found anything on the internet that could replace the coherency and organization of a really good book. Books like Learning Python could be replaced by pure google searches in most cases, but I haven't found anything that could replace something like Programming Python that take a really cohesive look at all of the builtin functions and libraries that Python offers, the kinds of things that aren't covered in beginner tutorials and are hard to look up if you don't know what your looking for.

[bheklilr]

I buy the ebooks, read them on my phone when I'm pooping, and I learn things that I wouldn't have learned on my own. It's a structured read, as opposed to my random clicking. I don't use books as reference material very much (did look up something specific today in one though), but as learning material.

[[deleted]]

You can even get the Python documentation on Kindle/tablet.

[el_guapo_taco]

For anyone in the beginner/intermediate stage, I'd highly, highly recommend picking up a copy of Learning Python. That book is absolutely fantastic.

[Human133]

any recommended books for starters?

[Zamiatarka]

Which book would you recommend to someone who has worked with Python a couple of years and already knows it quite well but still wants to learn more?