If you’re beginner in C# then i’m sure you’re looking for the best book that fits your style. Though not all books are same and are preferred by everyone. Some books are just plain old theory dropped with some word salad in big size book while some books just put content out as definitions and bibliography of concepts. Depending what type of content you can digest and what you need for interviews and exams there are plenty of good books out there.
In this post you’ll find some good C sharp books which are suitable for newbie and experienced programmers. This again is personal selection and many people are likely to have disagreement with it, so feel free to check on your own.
CLR via C# by by Jeffrey Richter
This book contains very useful and in-depth information on how CLR and C# works. It is newbie friendly book which covers many advanced topics like threading and the new parallel extensions. If you want to study .NET framework from it’s foundation then this is one good book to keep on shelf.
C# in Depth by Jon Skeet
It covers a lot of basics and the flow of information is very digestable for newbies to C#. It’s written by jon skeet so you can guess how easily informs his readers through his writing. New edition of this book is also updated with some good information so definitely take a look at this book.
C# Programming Language by Hejlsberg, Torgersen
This book is written by those who are involved in C# project – Hejlsberg, Torgersen, Wiltamuth, Golde. Don’t expect it to be K&R style but it’s worth a read if you’re new to C# language.
Essential C# 4.0 by Mark Michaelis
Another C# book with thorough information on language and the framework. If you’re intermediate level programmer then you’ll pick up things from this book very quickly. If available do get new edition in order to get overview of new additions to language.
C# in Nutshell by O’reilly
This book follows typical o’reilly style to explain you C# language. Though i’m not fan of cut and dry approach of O’reilly books but i think it’s really a good way to understand some concepts the way they put in their books.
If you’re visual learner and pick up concepts quickly with ques and short information then Head first is best book for you. This C# book explains you how to work with C# by showing some live examples and it’s relation to concepts in language.
Effective C# and More Effective C#
Personally i never gone through these book but every third person i came across suggests me these two books for C# reference and concepts. Also if you’re interested then you should take a look at framework design guidelines by Krzysztof Cwalina, Brad Abrams.
Hope this list helps you to add few books to your bookshelf. 🙂