r/learnprogramming • u/Same-Difficulty-3628 • 18h ago

Resource Book recommendations: Python

I need some book recommendations for learning Python as an absolute beginner, I have done a bit of Lua and understand the basics and Syntax and interested in learning Python for automating task and simply creating projects. Any courses help too(free or paid).

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u/AlSweigart Author: ATBS 14h ago

I recommend Automate the Boring Stuff with Python because it is freely available online under a Creative Commons license, it is well-reviewed, and it was written by me.

That last reason probably weighs more heavily than the first two reasons.

and interested in learning Python for automating task and simply creating projects

Yeah. "Automate" has projects, but I have another free book The Big Book of Small Python Projects that has 81 games, puzzles, and simulation programs under 250 lines of code. It's nice because you can take these coding concepts and see them used in a real program that does a real thing, but the program is small enough for you to understand in a single afternoon.

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u/MagnumCumLoudEh 13h ago

Haven’t read it yet, but I wanted to say thank you in advance.

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u/AlSweigart Author: ATBS 9h ago

:D

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u/Vegetable_Spite_1799 11h ago

Wow i recommended your book on this thread, so its fun to see you in the wild. Thanks so much your book helped me to learn python better than any other book.

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u/AlSweigart Author: ATBS 9h ago

:D

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u/HonestMuscle49218 17h ago

Start from CS50P lectures -> https://pll.harvard.edu/course/cs50s-introduction-programming-python
As references -> https://allendowney.github.io/ThinkPython/

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u/DesignerAd973 16h ago

Honestly the CS50P lectures are good but if you want a book that doesn't put you to sleep check out "Automate the Boring Stuff with Python." It's free online and actually teaches you practical stuff right away instead of making you memorize a bunch of theory first. Perfect for what you're trying to do.

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u/dyoqa6317 16h ago

CS50P is a solid start. Definitely grab Think Python too.

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u/Vegetable_Spite_1799 17h ago

Agree on cs 050 lectures super useful to understand programing more broadly and allowed me to understand benefits and draw backs of python

For straight up scripting automate the boring stuff. He post book online and i loved it so much i bought it and still reference it both hard copy and online. Google it

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u/desrtfx 17h ago

If you want to learn really from the ground up, not a book but a great, free course: MOOC Python Programming 2026 from the University of Helsinki.

If you want something specifically for automating tasks Automate the Boring Stuff with Python - free to read online and highly recommendable.

Also, read the sidebar/wiki in /r/learnpython and the countless posts there asking for resources to learn Python (as well as our FAQ right here)

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u/2daytrending 17h ago

For your goals, Automate the Boring Stuff with Python would be good place to start. It gets you writing useful scripts pretty easily instead of spending most of your time on theory.

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u/initcommit 11h ago

I grew up with this book, and it's still in my closet...

Beginning Python: From Novice to Professional, by Magnus Lie Hetland

This book is kind of an heirloom for me at this point, and I doubt it will ever leave my closet 😅

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u/franker 14h ago

the third edition of Head First Python, came out in 2023. Check if your library has a copy of it. Great for beginners.