 | Dive Into Python by Mark Pilgrim
Buy new: $35.99 / Used from: $20.00 I think this very well might be one of the best books to learn Python from. Why should you learn Python? Read the book and answer the question yourself.
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 | Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmers' Guide, Second Edition by Dave Thomas
Buy new: $29.67 / Used from: $22.79 Probably one of the better books on programming. Excellent way to learn Ruby, excellent read regardless. Even if you don't end up using Ruby you'll learn a few things along the way that will come in handy regardless.
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 | Programming Erlang: Software for a Concurrent World by Joe Armstrong
Buy new: $24.39 / Used from: $20.00 You absolutely have to read this book. You might not end up using Erlang (unless you happen to write highly concurrent applications) but you'll learn some interesting concepts from both the core of Erlang and OTP.
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 | Practical Common Lisp by Peter Seibel
Buy new: $47.99 / Used from: $36.00 One of the best books to learn Lisp from. The book provides a gentle introduction to Lisp filled with practical examples. And you absolutely need to learn Lisp. Even if you never use it again it will forever alter the way you see programming (if you don't experience this epiphany it means you still don't understand the power of lisp).
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 | On LISP: Advanced Techniques for Common LISP by Paul Graham
Buy used from: $186.98 If you want to be a Lisp Power user this book is a must. It's out of print but you can get it for free from Paul Graham's website.
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 | Joel on Software: And on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those Who, Whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity by Joel Spolsky
Buy new: $16.49 / Used from: $5.16 Not quite related to programming but a useful thing to read anyway. Joel has some pretty good ideas about various things that you might run into.
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 | Hackers and Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age by Paul Graham
Buy new: $15.61 / Used from: $6.92 A collection of Paul Graham's essays, a must read.
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 | GNU Emacs Manual, For Version 21, 15th Edition by Richard M. Stallman
Buy used from: $32.00 If you don't already know Emacs you're missing out on the greatest editor. For many years I refused to look at Emacs, being scared away by the complex shortcuts. Recently I decided to give it another try when I realized that I like a powerful editor (scriptable in Emacs Lisp) and I don't like to waste time by fondling a mouse.
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Listmania!
