5 Best Books to Learn Core Java for Beginners in 2024

Hello guys, . if you want to learn core Java in 2024 and looking for best resources like online courses, books, and tutorials then you have come to the right place. Earlier, I have shared best Java courses and best spring framework courses, today, I am going to share best books you can read to learn Core Java.

Since Java is one of the most popular programming languages and very useful for getting a job as a Software developer, it has become a choice of programming language to start learning coding and application development, it makes sense to start well with core Java.

In this article, I have shared best books that will teach you how to code using the Java programming language. In the gone by era, when C and C++ ruled the academics and also the first language Engineers and Programmers used to learn how to code, we usually have some good recommendations to start with, like?The C Programming Language by Dennis Ritchie himself.

The Head First Java book serves the same purpose for many years for Java programmers, but does it still relevant now? Particularly in the era of Java 21? Well, we'll find about that in this article shortly.

More importantly, I have shared 5 of the best core Java books for beginners. I have chosen these books on three parameters, first readability, second examples, and third content.

These books are great for someone who is new to Java but also good for someone who has 1 to 2 years of Java experience and wants to fill the gaps in his learning.

I also suggest you combine one of these books with an online course like?Java 17 Masterclass: Start Coding in 2024, this works really great to not only understand important concepts quickly but also learn them in-depth and these days, online courses are also less costly than books.

5 Best Core Java Books for Beginners in 2024

Without any further ado, here is my collection of some of the best books to learn core Java, especially for beginners who have no or very little experience in programming and Java.

These books will not only teach you fundamentals of Java programming language, but also many important classes from Java API, like String, Java Collection Framework, Thread, Java Executor Framework, Java IO, Java Networking, etc.

This list of books is also useful for anyone who has only learned Java in school and colleges or have a couple of experience in programming. These will help you to fill the gaps in your understanding of Java language, and it's rich API.

1.?Head First Java 3rd Edition

Whenever I mention Head First Java, the first question that comes to anyone's mind is whether this book was still relevant today or not, but that's not the case any more as the new version of book, Head First Java 3rd Edition, covers changes from Java 8 to Java 17.

Until last year, since the book was not updated for Java SE 8, it was clearly not the most up-to-date Java book for beginners, but when it comes to choosing books for beginners, the learning style plays an important role, and Head First books score big there.

Another thing, which works in favor of Head First Java is that Java fundamentals haven't been changed a lot in the last decade or two. So, once you build the fundamentals, you can always update yourself by reading any decent Java 8 books or joining a course like What's New in Java 8 on Pluralsight.

Even though the book was great it has got even better because the new version of Head First Java is available, which is quite-up-to-date. Trisha Gee has also joined Barry Bert's and Kathy sierra to make this the best Java book for beginners.

You can also combine this book with the Learn JAVA Programming - Beginner to Master course from Udemy for active learning.

Here is the link to get this book - Head First Java 3rd Edition

2.?Java How to Program, Early Objects (Deitel: How to Program)

The "Java How to Program, Early Objects (Deitel: How to Program)" is another great core Java book for beginners. It effectively combined what Cay S. Horstmann has done in two volumes of Core Java, which we have discussed in the last section. I love this book for its examples, programming error warning messages, and easy to understand languages.?

It is also one of the most comprehensive books written in Java, covering even advanced topics like?JDBC, AWT, Swing, etc. The 11th edition of books covers all the new features of Java 8 like lambda expression, Stream API, Optional API, Date and Time API, and language enhancements like default methods, static methods on the interface, etc.

It also covers new features introduced in Java 9 like static factory methods in Collections, List, Set, and other interfaces, HTTP 2, JVM improvements, and others.?

Here is the link to get this book - Java How to Program, Early Objects (Deitel: How to Program)"

If you are curious about more new features introduced in Java 12, and Java 13 now,? take a look at this?Java Programming for Complete Beginners? course on Udemy. It covers all important new features a Core Java developer should learn.

3. Core Java For the Impatient 3rd Edition

One thing which I have found about beginners is that they are slightly impatient, i.e. they want to learn things quickly. Even myself, when I start with something absolutely new, like playing a new musical instrument, I want to learn scales, chords quickly to play full songs.

That's why I put the Core Java for the Impatient 3rd Edition at the high place when it comes to recommending a core Java book to beginners. As the name suggests, it explains essential core Java concepts, leaving out less important details and including more recent details, like Java 17 features

In the era of Java 20, this was probably the best Java book for beginners, but if you want comprehensive coverage, Core Java Volume 1 and 2 by the same author provides that.?

And, If you want, combine this book with my favorite?The Complete Java Development Bootcamp course from Udemy to get the best of both worlds.

Here is the link to get this book - Core Java for the Impatient 3rd Edition

4.?Core Java, Volume 1 and 2 , 12th Edition by Cay S. Horstmann

The great Cay S. Horstmann is one of my favorite authors for Java books. I really love the way Cay explains things and put so much content in so little word. He not just explains concepts but also explains what to do and what not to do.

If you are coming from C and C++ background, then this book has an additional incentive for you. It explains and compares C++ features with relevant Java features, like constructors, templates, and generics, etc.

The latest edition of this book, Core Java: Fundamentals, Volume 1 12th Edition is fully updated to cover Java SE 17, which means you will learn all important new features like lambda expression, Stream API, Optional, Date and Time API from Java 8, Factory methods on Collections from Java 9, var for local variable from Java 10, Records, Sealed Classes, CompletableFuture and many more.

The Volume 2 of this book is also updated for Java SE 17 and the 12th Edition covers advanced Java features like Java I/O APIs, object serialization, and regular expressions. If you need course, join Java from Zero to First Job, Practical Guide, 2000+ examples to go along with this book.

Here is the link to get this book -Core Java: Fundamentals, Volume 1 12th Edition

In case, you already know Java and curious to learn only new features of Java, you can check my list of courses to learn New Features from Java 9 to Java 12.? This book also contains relevant notes all around about similar C++ features, this makes it perhaps the?best core Java books for C/C++ programmers.

5. Java: The Complete Reference, Thirteenth Edition (Covers Java SE 21)

If you are absolutely new to the world of programming and learn how to code by using Java programming language, then this is the book you should choose. The book starts at zero and then builds from there.

You will find lots of easy to follow examples accompanied by solid theory and explanation. In short, It is a straightforward and fantastic book for programmers with no coding experience.

The best part of the book is that it has been kept up-to-date, the latest edition of this book, Java: A Beginner's Guide, 13th Edition covers up to Java SE 21, which makes it the most up-to-date Java book on internet.

When you purchase the book, make sure you buy paperback and eBook, this will give you the PDF version of the book, which you can read while traveling.

The Kindle version is also available. I also recommend combining this book with a comprehensive Java course like?The Complete Java Masterclass to learn better. The course helps with some active learning and the book provides an in-depth explanation.

Here is the link to get this book - Java: A Beginner's Guide, 13th Edition

That's all about some of the best core Java books for beginners. If you are starting with Java programming, then this book will help you to understand the fundamental of core Java better.

I strongly suggest to pick one of the books from the list and complete it twice to get most of them. Once you have gone through a book twice, you understand all the basics of Java and its brilliant API.

After that, you can choose more books to enhance your Java language and API knowledge, you don't need to read them word for word, you can skim chapters and details which you already know.

Since Java is vast and it's not enough to just know the basics, once you went through fundamentals and understand Java, you can explore the following list of books to truly become an expert Java programmer.

Each list contains books to make you an expert in that particular area, like Concurrency, JVM internals, and Performance tuning, Unit testing, Spring, Hibernate, etc.

This list is particularly useful for experienced and intermediate Java programmers with a couple of years of real-world coding experience in Java.

Thanks for reading this article, if you have any suggestions, feel free to drop comments. If you like this article and recommended books, please share it with your friends and colleagues.

P. S. - If you are looking for some free online courses to kick-start your Core Java journey, you can also check out this list of free Core Java courses for beginners on Medium.