How much time did you need to read YDKJS book series?

I am just starting with this book series and I am interested how much time did you need to read it? And I mean deep reading.

I don’t know if there’s a meaningful answer to this question. Each person’s learning speed, and how deep each person studies a topic are all variables.

Why, yes, you can just “read” it like a Novel/Comicbook fast from start to end and finish it in record time, real fast.

Or you read a few pages or a section one at a time, fire up your browser console/codepen/editor and experiment/write code and truly understand what that few paragraphs of text is teaching you. Play with the code, “what-if” scenarios, change things/values around, re-arrange the code, etc. Once understood, read the next few pages … rinse and repeat.

Obviously, the latter will take a longer time but it will also more likely make the concepts/code/functions/methods you’ve learned stick to your brain more deeply than reading the book like a novel without any coding/experimentation.

As for my own benchmark, I’m learning ASP.NET Core MVC via a hardcopy book and I’ve read the first 150 pages, and reviewed it again a second time, in 36 days. This time also includes coding practice and building a similar site from the book’s sample, and also reading other related sites/pages on the net for the same topics – to get more in-depth information, or just get a different viewpoint and explanation. How do I know it’s 36 days exactly? Because I wrote in the book my start date, and dates/notes on the book’s margins as I begin a new section or concept :slight_smile:

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I see your point. Thank you for your answer. I just want to do some planning and also 1000 pages feels a bit intimidating :slight_smile:

It depends on too many factors - you experience, reading speed, whether or not you’re familiar with the concepts there etc etc. Too hard to predict.

I have my own question on “You don’t know JS” series. Sometimes I feel that it’s a bit hard for me. What would you advise to ease the understanding? Maybe author’s video course on Pluralsight? Or some additional materials? What do you think?

^ If YDKJS is too hard for you, sounds like you just need more exposure to JavaScript. I don’t really know of any good resources that are free, but if you’re not opposed to spending money (or least a trial period), then I do recommend “Introduction to JavaScript” on SitePoint by M. David Green, and “JavaScript Road Trip” (Parts 1-3) on Code School. I’m sure Udemy has some good courses as well (and they do have a $10 sale going on right now) but I don’t know of any. Maybe Anthony Alicea’s “JavaScript: Understanding the Weird Parts”? Haven’t taken that course myself but others have written good things about it.

Trying to understand the content that refers to lexing, parsing, and grammars will also likely be tricky, but I don’t know of any resources on the Internet to help with that. Most people learn that stuff through a computer science degree at a college/university. I did a quick Google search but everything was very academic and not that accessible for the average person. This would probably be your best bet to begin to understand those topics: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Introduction_to_Programming_Languages

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I think that if you really want to dig in, these 5 books have a lot more info than you think.

Also if you have made up your mind of reading it, don’t think about “how long does it take for me to finish” or “how many pages I have read today”

Focus on how many things you’ve learned each day,. And avoid burnt out.

I am on book 4 types and grammar right now and I have been studying these books for a long time.
Using the second method @owel mentioned above. I tried to understand every single snippet in these books and try to understand why.

Do I worry about I am learning too slow? Yes. 90% of the time I think I am going way too slow. But I dont let those thoughts stop me from learning. I am still doing it, that’s what counts.

Good luck! Also if you feel that a lot of the stuff you are reading are way too hard, you are on the right track. If you think it is too easy, that means you are not really thinking.

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