People learn in all sorts of different ways. Some prefer books, online courses, reading blog posts, etc. This page lays out several books that are great for learning Python, R, Linux, or MySQL – i.e. popular open source software.
Also, check out book reviews I’ve written, or the Resources page, which also talks about recommended courses for learning Python, R, data science, and more!
Click any of the links below to skip to book recommendations on that software.
Python Books
R Books
Linux Books
MySQL Books
In addition to the Python books below, please check out my online Python course for web scraping and APIs that I co-created with 365 Data Science.
Automate the Boring Stuff…this book has been reviewed so many times, there’s not much left to add – needless to say, this book is awesome! It’s a must-read for anyone learning Python. Also, it has a corresponding online course on Udemy.
Python for the Absolute Beginner is a great book for someone getting started with Python. It’s especially friendly to anyone new to coding in general. Though it’s geared more toward beginners, it also has one of the best explanations of object-oriented programming for newcomers that I’ve seen.
Python for Finance is a great book if you’re interested in learning about what Python can do in finance and investment analysis. It covers a range of topics from automated testing, to portfolio valuation, to deep learning. For more on using Python for financial applications, check out this online course.
Programming Python is almost like a dictionary of topics in Python (in its extensiveness). It’s great if you already know some Python and you’re looking to take your skills to the next level.
Python is used extensively in data science nowadays thanks to its flexibility and awesome packages like scikit-learn and Tensorflow. Below are a few suggestions.
Below are several suggestions for R. The books are split into two broad categories. The first is for general R programming, while the other is a set of R books related to data science.
The two books below are both great for learning general features of R – including data structures, general programming guidelines, etc. For more extensive reviews on these, check out this blog post.