10 Best Books for Python Practice
By: Kurt F.
Tags: Data Science, Python, Python Programming, Books, Programming

1. Python Crash Course / Eric Matthes

The book, which starts from a basic level such as how to show command on the screen and proceeds with easy steps, then provides information on deeper topics such as variables, comparisons, lists, loops, conditions. Each concept is represented by small program snippets, first shown as a program list, then explained in detail, and then output. The biggest advantage is that the commands/methods used are a guide to what awaits the reader and how to fool it. The reader can then find himself imagining his projects.

About Eric Matthes

Image by Amazon (1)

2. Python in Practice / Mark Summerfield

It goes beyond the language itself, covering several useful libraries and mentions the possibility of extending Python with C routines that support python calls. Introduces parallel and multiprocessing, data structures, and different approaches to problems. Makes clear that there is always more to learn about Python and the libraries available for it.

About Mark Summerfield

Image by Amazon (2)

3. Head First Python / Paul Barry

It’s a great book to get started with Python. When writing a web app, it actually walks you through the basics of the flask — other video tutorials just say install flask and run these commands. Not only do you learn how to program in Python, but you also learn how to write your programs so Python developers can find their way to others.

About Paul Barry

Image by Amazon (3)

4. Python Cookbook / David Beazley

This book is certainly not for beginners, but it is an extremely handy reference for how to do most tasks of various levels of madness in python. The discussions are brief, but thorough enough to give you a solid grasp on the particular snippet of code. Most examples are self-contained and all the code examples that tried worked. Additionally, there is a GitHub that the authors created which provides all the code for the examples if you do not want to type it yourself.

About David Beazley

Image by Amazon (4)

5. Automate The Boring Stuff / Al Sweigart

The book begins with the essential skills and concepts necessary to build a solid foundation in not only python, but programming in general. The introduction is thorough, easy to follow, and broken down with enough examples for even the newest of programmers to digest. Those who found Learn Python the Hard Way a little frustrating will like the much more broken down process used in this book. The book’s focus on automation in the second half is fantastic. Also can recommend this book to anyone who has a boring job sitting in front of a computer all day.

About Al Sweigart

Image by Amazon (5)

6. Python Programming / John Zelle

In the book, the exercises are followed by discussion chapters and the chapters gradually increase the difficulty. The book provides an introduction to CS, not only the Python language. It’s perfect for those starting out without any programming experience. Well-structured and focused.

About John Zelle

Image by Amazon(6)

7. Python Pocket Reference / Mark Lutz

This book is a good reference for Python. But the biggest drawback is that it isn’t current with the latest version of Python. In addition, I must say, you will love to go through this book over and over to learn about the quirks and features of the language, and of course always striving to be more pythonic.

About Mark Lutz

Image by Amazon(7)

8. Python for Data Analysis / Wes McKinney

A good, thorough introduction to using Python for data analysis. The book is very easy to understand, and practical. Having a little bit of python knowledge would help you reading this book too. The book covers a lot of the jobs that a data analyst would do in a daily job. It is mostly about pandas,NumPy and matplotlib.

About Wes McKinney

Image by Amazon(8)

9. Python Workout: 50 ten-minute exercises / Reuven M. Lerner

Python Workout offers 50 exercises focusing on core Python 3 features. The solution to all of them is in the book. Expert Python coach Reuven Lerner guides you through a series of small projects, applying the skills you need to tackle daily tasks. Perhaps what readers would love most about this book is that the exercises are spot on. Interesting, attractive and sometimes fun.

About Reuven M. Lerner

Image by Amazon(9)

10. Learn Python The Hard Way / Zed Shaw

The book offers effortless options for beginners. Also, if you use the numerous help and tutorials about Python online, it’s fun to take care of your own questions other than writing and reading the first scripts yourself after a few exercises in the book.

About Zed Shaw