Reddit mentions of Essential C# 6.0 (5th Edition) (Addison-Wesley Microsoft Technology)

I guess it really depends on the level of knowledge you already have, but I recommend that almost everyone read the C# Yellow Book by Rob Miles.

It's not an incredibly advanced book, but it does give you a good grounding, and teaches not just the syntax, but many concepts that I had previously had trouble understanding as a self-taught coder, such as interfaces and when you might want to use the private set modifiers on properties. And best of all, it's absolutely free to download. Even if you decide that it's not for you, you haven't lost anything!

There's also Eric Lippert's Essential C# which is extremely thorough, but probably not very beginner-friendly. Eric worked on the C# complier/language design teams at Microsoft, so he knows his stuff.

For beginners, maybe O'Reilly's Head First C# would fit the bill. I haven't read this book, however it seems to cover a wide range of topics including Winforms (older XP-style GUI), XAML (Windows 8/10 new hotness) and Windows Phone. The sampler provided on their web site indicates that the book includes lots of screenshots, as well as hands-on labs to create full applications, which I like.

Best of luck!

I've also been learning C# for work, and I don't do well in classes: I learn better from books. So if books are your thing, here's a couple recommendations (all of these are on Safari Books Online, see if your work will shell out for a subscription)

• Essential C# 6.0 for a starter book
  
  
• C# In A Nutshell is a great reference book
  
  
• C# In Depth is the book for understanding C# at an intermediate level

Also Essential C# by Eric Lippert and Mark Michaelis, incredibly smart people. Jon Skeet (C# in Depth) and Eric Lippert both have blogs you should follow and read everything they write. http://smile.amazon.com/Essential-Edition-Addison-Wesley-Microsoft-Technology/dp/0134141040?sa-no-redirect=1

I'm reading Essential C# 6.0 now. If you have this book or can find it, chapter 18 covers multithreading. I included an amazon link.

The library you want to use is called System.threading.tasks. Put that into google if you prefer to learn by example/code.

https://www.amazon.com/Essential-6-0-Addison-Wesley-Microsoft-Technology/dp/0134141040

As a personal choice I'd recommend Essential C# 6.0. I purchased this a month or so ago and since then I've found it to be an excellent resource. The examples are clearly explained and references are also made to previous iterations of C# where applicable. I've certainly found it to be a great learning tool.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-6-0-Addison-Wesley-Microsoft-Technology/dp/0134141040

I recommend this one. Great for all levels. Well written IMO.

I know it's a bit off-topic, but I bought this book about a year or so ago, maybe a little prematurely. I had dabbled in C# and it seemed like a nice language (I had built a small site and a couple of APIs for use with Angular) so I shelled out on the book.

Shortly after, I got accepted on a local Java course which also consisted of Android app development. I've finished the course now but I'm unsure as to what to do...

C# feels like the nicer language in my experience but I wouldn't particularly want to be stuck in the MS ecosystem. I'm aware of Mono and I've tried it out with MonoDevelop, but Visual Studio seems like an absolutely fantastic IDE so I'm really torn between MS + VS or linux.

I've got a nice environment set up in linux and my focus initially would be on Web APIs, probably with Angular2+ frontend and Android apps. Currently, I'm working on an API and site using Spring and Angular4 (which will eventually have a partner Android app), since Spring was the only real way of working in Java for such things (that I am aware of).

As I gain more and more experience, I would aim to branch out into some more GUI apps in either language but I'm not sure which language to focus on right now.

Any advice for a noob starting out?

• Which would serve me better in the long run for Web API and potential future GUI development?
  
• What is the state of C# in linux and is it a viable option, considering my post?
  
• Is it a waste to try and learn both?