Book Review: Automate the Boring Stuff with Python: Practical Programming for Total Beginners

Automate the Boring Stuff with Python: Practical Programming for Total Beginners by Al Sweigart

I read this book as part of a book club at work, working through two or three chapters at a time. I am a complete script kiddie when it comes to programming, and I was really looking forward to getting a better grasp on Python code – at least getting past the ability to read and follow along with a script – and I am happy to say this book did a great job. There are a lot of great supporting materials referenced within the book that help the reader work through the practice exercises. If you are reading this book with the intent of learning Python, I strongly recommend you complete each exercise in earnest.

I really enjoyed the structure of the book, and thought the following chapters were especially useful for me:

• Chapter 5 – Dictionaries and Structuring Data
• Chapter 9 – Reading and Writing Files
• Chapter 13 – Working with Excel Spreadsheets
• Chapter 16 – Working with CSV Files and JSON Data

The author has made the book and resources available here, but I strongly suggest you purchase a copy from no starch if you find value in the content.