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pythonreading-listprogramming-educationidiomatic-python

Abstraction: Curated ordered reading list for mastering Python idioms and best practices

Key points:

Ordered reading list: Zen of Python → Python Tutorial → Library Reference → Reference Manual → Python Cookbook → Idiomatic Python (Goodger) → Functional Programming HOWTO → itertools → library source code → What's New
Zen of Python (Tim Peters, import this) encapsulates Python philosophy: explicit, simple, readable, one obvious way
Python Cookbook (O'Reilly, ~600 pp) is the only book called essential — teaches idiomatic Python by example with multiple approaches per recipe
itertools module is called "the epitome of elegance and power" and used daily by the author
A. M. Kuchling's Functional Programming HOWTO is a must-read; features like list comprehensions, generators, and decorators draw from FP
Staying current via "What's New" release notes is important as Python updates yearly with backwards-compatible changes

Connections: Thomas Guest · Python · Programming Education · Functional Programming