Learning JavaScript from a Book + Virtual Flashcards

The best thing I can do with my time is learn a new language, I think. I’m going through hundreds if not over 1000 job ads every day; the #1 language I see among the ads I don’t qualify for is JavaScript. So that’s the one to learn. I’d been avoiding it up to this point, but it’s an increasingly common language in the backend these days and there’s no avoiding that.

The book I chose to learn from is Eloquent JavaScript by Marijn Haverbeke. I picked it out because all the negative reviews of it on Amazon were people exclaiming that it’s a terrible book for a beginner to learn programming from. Seemed like a good sign. I’m about 4 chapters in and it’s pretty good so far. Very information-dense.

Since I tend to have trouble with reading retention, this time as I read I’m taking notes. After each chapter I turn my notes into a flashcard deck with Anki (which I recommend), and review them once. I’ll be reviewing all cards in the deck each day I read until I finish the book. Since I know Anki flashcards are very effective for me, I expect to get a lot out of this book.

26 March 2023