Reddit mentions of C# in Depth

http://www.blackwasp.co.uk/Tutorials.aspx

http://thenewboston.org/list.php?cat=15

http://www.robmiles.com/journal/2011/10/13/c-yellow-book-2011.html

http://www.headfirstlabs.com/books/hfcsharp/

http://csharpindepth.com/ (companion to http://www.amazon.com/Depth-Second-Edition-Jon-Skeet/dp/1935182471 )

I personally thought Pro C# and the .NET 4 Platform was pretty good, but most people would turn you to C# In-Depth simply because it's by Jon Skeet, which is sound reasoning in and of itself.

It might not fit your specific goals exactly but I am really enjoying C# in Depth.

It's not a 'learn to program' book so he starts with the assumption that the reader has a degree of background knowledge. He focuses on features that make C# unique as a language and explains concepts well. I also find the examples he works to be clear and interesting.

I'm using it as a supplement to a second year programming class and so far it's filling the gaps very nicely.

IMO, Jon Skeet's C# in Depth is really, really good. It's not for beginners though.

Umm, I think Python is a good language to start with. It's forgiving and low on boilerplate code. I haven't read it but Learn Python the Hard Way by Zed Shaw is supposed to be decent (and it's free online). I didn't like Learning Python published by O'Reilly. I'd just read reviews on Amazon if Learn Python the Hard Way isn't working for you. Whichever you end up with, I recommend typing all examples from the book into the computer by hand. Something about doing this really helps make things stick in your head. You'll also make the occasional typo and have to debug your program which is something we programmers spend more time doing than any of us care to admit.

I think it is important to try to think of something you want to make and have it in mind while you are learning the language. It can be any software but I recommend a video game. They are really good for this because you can just think up a simple concept or implement your own version of an existing game. Having a goal makes it so you are constantly solving the problems you will encounter while trying to reach that goal which is the most important part of programming (more so than learning the syntax of the language). This is actually the highest rated Python book on Amazon and is all about gamedev with Python.

After you've learned Python to the point where you are comfortable (no need to master it), learn other languages to grow as a programmer. Once you've gotten a couple languages under your belt it's actually really easy to learn even more languages (unless it's a very odd language like Haskell, Lisp, or Brainfuck). The problem solving skills you've acquired often work in any language and you learn some new techniques as you learn new languages.

• Accelerated C++ is the go-to these days for C++.
  
• The C Programming Language is often recommended for learning C but it's pricey and there are dozens of good books on C to choose from.
  
• Head First Java gets recommended a lot for learning Java.
  
• C# In Depth is very highly rated and happens to be written by the guy with the largest score on StackOverflow (a kind of Q&A for programmers).
  
• The D Programming Language I really enjoyed.
  
• Programming Ruby 1.9 is often recommended but it felt more like a reference manual to me. There are higher rated books on Amazon.
  
  

2 books I couldn't live without Professional C# (Wrox) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Professional-2008-Wrox-Guides/dp/0470191376/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1302888640&sr=8-8
for the basics and C# in Depth http://www.amazon.co.uk/C-Depth-Jon-Skeet/dp/1935182471/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302888686&sr=1-1for the nitty gritty useful stuff

Read these books to get to grips with the latest techniques and ways of working. As an employer I'd be extremely impressed if you'd read these books. They will give you a big head start when trying to move into the professional work environment. Most of them will apply to any programming language but they mainly use Java as the example language but it's very similar to C#. It's books like these that are the difference between a beginner and an expert, but don't forget when you start coding 9-5 with good developers you will very quickly pick things up. We were all in your position at one point, if you get these read it'll all be worth it in the end!

Coding

C# in depth - I've not read this one since I do Java but I've just had a quick glance. This should be pretty useful and it's a respected publisher. I think you should start with this one.

Clean Code - Great book which explains how to write clean concise code, this 1,000,000x. It doesn't matter what language you are using it should apply where ever you write code.

Cleaner Coder - Another Robert Martin book, this one is easy to read and quite short, it's all about conducting yourself in a professional manner when you are coding. Estimating time, working with co-workers, etc.. Another good read.

Growing Object-Oriented Software - This book is about writing code using test driven development. It explains the ideas and methodologies and then has a large example of a project that you build with TDD. I just read this recently and it is really good.

Head first design patterns - This book goes through essential design patterns when coding with an object orientated language. Another essential read. Very easy to read, lots of diagrams so no excuses to not read it!

Work Methodologys

Kanban

Succeeding with Agile


p.s

Start building stuff, get an account on linked in and state the languages you are working with. This will help as well because having something to show an employer is priceless.

Awesome exactly what I was looking for. I did order 3 books on Amazon yesterday.

Data Structures and Algorithms
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0201000237/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i00

C# In Depth
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1935182471/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01

C# In a Nutshell
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596800959/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

I did a little research and those came up as great books. I did get them used though, totaling 60 dollars free shipping with prime. Any good recommendations for a design patterns book?

Read some easy beginner's book like Head First C# to get initial grasp of a language and after you finished with it read C# in Depth. If you really want to understand what is happening pick up CLR via C#.
Also always follow Code complete religiously and you will be better than most.

|will I ever have to use ArrayList again?

You are correct, no you wouldn't have to at least in the vast majority of cases. As an aside, If you use a generic List<T> with object as the type (List<object>) it will work the same way as ArrayList - but normally you'll rarely have to use object as the generic type parameter.

|How can I make it work, then?

The scenario I provided is kind of unlikely, and you won't be able to completely escape type restrictions. But there are ways to make that example code work, however I doubt you'd every have to or want to use them. If you must know, I was thinking of the implicit conversion operator - User could convert itself to and from int (if that made sense to do!). Also, C# as of .NET has the 'dynamic' keyword, which could help accomplish similar semantics.

I was just thinking, if you want the soup-to-nuts of the .NET type system, delegates, generics, LINQ, lambdas and everything else, you might want to look into some of the books that cover things both in breadth and depth. I would personally recommend Jon Skeet's C# in Depth and Jeffery Richter's CLR Via C# both of which are flat out amazing, IMHO.