The Best Golang Books in 2026
Source: Dev.to
Boring Go! 🥇
The most up‑to‑date book for modern Go
If you read one Go book in 2026, make it this one. Boring Go! focuses explicitly on modern Go as it’s written today: real projects, real tooling, and real‑world decisions. It’s structured like a curriculum rather than a random set of chapters, which makes it ideal both for self‑study and for experienced developers moving to Go.
Why it stands out
- Actively maintained and up to date
- Focused on idiomatic, production‑style Go
- Covers advanced and practical topics without being academic
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Learning Go (2nd Edition) 🥈
Best single‑volume Go book
The 2nd edition (2024) reflects modern Go features and idioms much better than older classics. It works both as a book you can read end‑to‑end and as a reference you’ll keep coming back to.
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The Deeper Love of Go 🥉
Best for true beginners
This calm, clear, confidence‑building book is an excellent starting point if Go is your first serious programming language or if you prefer a slower, more thoughtful introduction that prioritizes understanding.
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The Power of Go: Tools
Best for CLIs and everyday programs
Focuses on building:
- Command‑line tools
- Utilities and automation
- File, config, and data‑processing programs
Real‑world Go patterns you’ll actually use at work.
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Know Go
Best for modern language features (generics included)
A concise, modern book aimed at developers who already know Go basics and want to:
- Properly understand generics
- Write cleaner, more expressive Go
- Learn newer language features without noise
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Let’s Go
Best for server‑rendered web applications
Walks through building a professional, server‑rendered web application with solid project structure and best practices baked in.
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Let’s Go Further!
Best for JSON APIs and production concerns
A follow‑up to Let’s Go that focuses on:
- JSON APIs
- Authentication & middleware
- API‑first backend design
- Deployment‑ready patterns
Excellent for backend and API developers.
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100 Go Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Best for sharpening judgment
A multiplier that focuses on common mistakes, subtle bugs, and poor design decisions — explaining why they happen and how to avoid them. Highly recommended once you’re past the beginner stage.
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Concurrency in Go
Best deep dive on concurrency patterns
Even though it’s older, the concurrency principles in this book have aged extremely well. If you need to reason clearly about goroutines, channels, and concurrency design, this remains one of the best resources available.
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The Go Programming Language
Classic, but no longer “modern Go‑first”
The original classic Go book is still valuable for fundamentals and clarity. In 2026 it lacks modern context (modules, newer tooling, evolving idioms), but it’s still worth reading at some point.
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How to Choose (quick guide) 🧭
Brand new to Go
- The Deeper Love of Go → Learning Go (2nd ed.)
Experienced developer, new to Go
- Learning Go (2nd ed.) → Boring Go!
Web & backend focus
- Let’s Go → Let’s Go Further!
Want to get really good
- Add 100 Go Mistakes + Concurrency in Go
Bonus: One List to Rule Them All
If you want a continuously updated, community‑maintained list of Go books (and related resources), check out Awesome Go Books. It’s a great bookmark to keep as the Go ecosystem keeps evolving.