In my opinion, the way Manning does this is pretty close to ideal. If you buy a physical copy of, say The Art of Unit Testing[1], or C# in Depth[2], either directly from them, Amazon, a bookstore, whatever, you get a code to download the ebook as well. Especially because it is usually only about $10 more expensive to buy the physical book + ebook combo, rather than just the ebook from them.

[1] http://amzn.to/29Rchjc

[2] http://amzn.to/29LASq7

C# the language is pretty simple, or at least it can be - you can produce some monstrosities if you really try, but some of the gnarliest bits of C++, like arbitrary operator overloading and template abuse, are pretty blunted. The difficulty lies in the extreme breadth of the ecosystem - just the libraries built into the .NET framework itself could take you years to acquire a healthy knowledge of, not to mention the couple dozen most-commonly-used libraries on NuGet.

Ultimately, I think the best thing to do is just jump in and start a project that you're interested in. Accept the fact that you'll be hitting StackOverflow all the time, and when you're there, pay attention if you see comments and answers from Jon Skeet, Eric Lippert, etc. There are some decent email link-dump newsletters that are good and have a .NET slant, like Morning Brew[1] and Morning Dew[2], which can help keep you up on what's new, and often link to articles explaining various nooks of the .NET world. Avoid CodeProject - most of that shit is old, poorly written, and as often as not incorrect. Once you have your bearings a bit, C# In Depth[3] is a great resource on the nittier, grittier details of C# and the .NET framework.

[1] http://themorningbrew.net/ [2] http://www.alvinashcraft.com/ [3] http://amzn.to/1fv0zNH

Maybe I'm getting jaded, but if you post a top books list and each book has an amazon referral code it makes me think you posted this to get money and not because it provides any value to people.

I guess the easiest test is to judge the list itself, and in my opinion money grab aside, the list fails on its own merits.

If you think about C# it has 3 good stories, its concurrency, Linq and the .net framework. This list doesn't even try to hit these areas. Instead it goes after tiered cliches like re-factoring and design patterns.

Has anyone read a re-factoring or design patterns book and got anything out of it? I've tried, heck I own a few of the books listed here and I wouldn't recommend it.

Its missing something on concurrency http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920030171.do

Jon Skeet's excellent book on C# http://www.amazon.ca/C-Depth-Jon-Skeet/dp/161729134X

The CLR via C# http://www.amazon.ca/CLR-via-C-4th-Edition/dp/0735667454

Linq in action http://www.amazon.com/LINQ-Action-Fabrice-Marguerie/dp/19339...