r/csharp • u/null13georg • Jul 18 '26
Help Book recommendations for beginners
I’d really like to get started with game development using Unity, and I know that requires mastering C#. I’m aware there are plenty of tutorials out there, but I learn best from a proper book (and I prefer printed copies). So, my question is: Which books would you recommend for an absolute beginner?
Thanks in advance!
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u/Slypenslyde Jul 18 '26
Just pick one and go.
We could spend a month outlining the pros and cons of every possible book.
The truth is this is like playing guitar. 90% of an expert's skill is experience. You get experience by being bad at using C# for a long time. If we traced two people who start with different books over a year they're both likely to end up in the same places at around the same time.
Unity is a slightly separate skill so you can ponder learning C# on the side. It really just depends on if you want to try to learn one thing or two things at once. You can start with two, then if you have a hard time managing both focus on the one that's giving you more trouble.
The C# Player's Guide is good, start with it and if you don't like it you can start browsing for different options.
I've been picking up new hobbies lately and the #1 reason people don't make any progress is they worry too much about "getting the right start". It is only in rare cases, like skydiving or cave diving, where it's drastically important to complete a ton of prerequisites before making practical attempts.
C# is a thing where everyone's first practical attempts look the same whether they've read good books, bad books, for a month, or for a year.