[rjsamson]

The best advice I can give is get to know Ruby well - don't just focus on Rails in the beginning. Eloquent Ruby by Russ Olsen is a great read and will give you a deeper understanding if you've got the basics down. Also, the PragProg book Metaprogramming in Ruby is a great intro to metaprogramming.

[tferris]

I can't recommend Eloquent Ruby at all: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3803016

[rjsamson]

Really? Eloquent Ruby is one of the best Ruby books I've read - Russ Olsen is one of the best and most well respected technical writers out there. Design Patterns in Ruby is also excellent.

[petercooper]

Agreed, Eloquent Ruby is a smashing book and I recommend it to all of my own Ruby students. I don't use it as an official textbook but I might as well do. Superb book.

[tferris]

I had this discussion already (see the link). Maybe it's a matter of taste but I think this book has some severe weaknesses and thus, I wouldn't recommend it.

[enko]

No offence but perhaps you bought the wrong book? Eloquent Ruby is about style and design patterns, it's almost about the philosophy of Ruby code, best practises, aesthetics and the author's experiences.

Books like that are fundamentally about taste and style and technique; they can't really be "wrong". You might disagree with the author and think you have a superior approach but to say that randomly googling the topic led you to a "better" explanation tells me that perhaps you were looking at the wrong book in the first place.

[tferris]

Again the same discussion. I did not buy the wrong book. I knew exactly what I wanted

Don't get me wrong, your reply is kind of abstract and philosophical. I explained why this book just failed and should not be recommended (mainly the style and really, really awkward, wacky examples) and I face abstract replies. Sometimes I think these comments and Amazon reviews are all faked by SEO/Webspam people driving the book's sale (no offence, but because of guys like you recommending a totally weak book over and over without the slightest criticism I bought this crappy book and it's a really bad and frustrating experience). And again: I am not dumb or do not know what I wanted or bought (btw this is bad discussion style to implicitly question the buyer intent or skills, it was very indirect but still there).

[enko]

Good grief, did you just accuse us all of being spambots?

Never mind that everyone here has been an HN member longer than you, but that is a very poor perspective to take. A rational person would note that a number of fairly successful programmers in their field are endorsing a book they had a bad opinion of and, at the least, go back and re-examine the foundations of that opinion. It's called humility and learning from those around you. But not you, oh no, you are absolutely right and everyone else is absolutely wrong and if they don't admit it they must be paid shills!

> Again the same discussion

The reason for that is that what you say is totally unconvincing, when it makes sense, which is not often. It is quite obvious, for example, that you bought the wrong kind of book, despite your inexplicable denials. You needed some kind of reference book or cookbook or something. You come across like this: "I bought Jamie Oliver's autobiography and it SUCKED! I needed a recipe for pancakes and I could find thousands on Google in seconds so why do I need that book!? That book is a stupid waste of money and anyone who says otherwise is a spammer! I did not buy the wrong book. I knew exactly what I wanted. I am not dumb"

> I am not dumb

The fact you feel the need to point this out doesn't speak well to how you come across in these discussions, does it?

You need to think about your attitude. Maybe instead of replying with some new inanity you should close the window, go outside, sit in the park or something, and think about some of the assumptions you are making when you cheerfully and thoughtlessly dismiss the advice and opinions of anyone who happens to disagree with yourself, especially the kind of talent who likes to hang out here. You might have an unpleasant realisation or two coming your way.

[dpritchett]

Don't know the author, have only moderate Ruby experience, and I loved the book.