This page is mostly to help me keep track of which books I've read and got
discouraged with, which ones I read once, and which ones I've read
more than once. If you get something out of it too, that's great.
Go for Beginners
This was my first go book. I guess it must have been pretty good, because
it was right around the time I read this book that I started getting
really interested in go. However, if I had it to do over again,
I might read the Kim/Soo-hyun series instead.
In the Beginning
This is a book about the opening. I've read it twice. I wish I had
read Opening Theory Made Easy one of those times instead though
(now I have read it).
38 Basic Joseki
I skimmed most of this book. I enjoy
looking up joseki,
but I don't like
sitting around memorizing ones I've never seen before.
Get Strong at Joseki, Volume I
Same as 38 Basic Joseki, except I didn't even skim this one all the way
through. Too much nitty-gritty detail for my taste, and many people say
that joseki is one of the last things to study as you get stronger.
Tesuji
This was a really good book. I went through it quickly once, and then
set about typing all of its problems into my computer. I finished this
project in March of 2003. I've just started winning a lot of games on
KGS (4 kyu) and my studying these problems more carefully may be why.
I've made this my "go problems at lunchtime" study lately.
Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Volume I
This was an extremely easy book at the time I read it. Unfortunately,
I don't recall what rank I was when I read it. I only made "one pass"
through it, because I only got two or three questions wrong.
Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Volume II
This book was more of a challenge for me. I was about IGS 14k* (or
maybe a little below that) when
I started reading it. I just redid the ones I found difficult again and
again until I could answer them quickly - on paper.
Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Volume III
Shelved. I've moved on to Volume IV without quite finishing this one.
Well before Thu Dec 11 18:47:33 PST 2003.
The Second Book of Go
This was a good book. I think the most valuable thing in it is the
taxonomy of the six kinds of capturing races, but there's more in it than
just that.
Attack and Defense
This was a good book. I think the most valuable thing in it is probably
the problems at the end. I'm still a little mystified about attacking and
defending, but I think the subject is just too big for one book to
really make the whole thing clear, and I do think the book helped me.
Life and Death
This is a hard book. I've heard that many of the problems assume
a dan-level reading ability, and I believe it. The first time through
this, I eventually wound up just
reading the theory and skipping the problems. It's still car reading,
but as I'm going through it again, I'm finding it a lot easier. I'm now
IGS 3k*, KGS 3k.
Thu Dec 11 18:46:49 PST 2003
Go Proverbs Illustrated
I was lucky to find a copy of this book - it's out of print.
There are no problems in it, just lots of miscellaneous theory. I've read it
one and a half times now. I used to pick it up and put it back down
again as I waited for new books to arrive in the mail. If you can't find
this one, you aren't missing that much - the new Proverbs mentioned
below is probably a better book anyway.
Learn to Play Go, Volume II
This was a bit remedial when I read it, but it's so well written... and
Kageyama was clear that one should make every effort to get a firm grip
on fundamentals... These books take on a difficult subject, and make it
really easy. I think I read this one in two days.
Learn to Play Go, Volume IV
This too was an easy read of a difficult subject. I know I read this one
in two evenings. It flies by. I'm eager to read Volume V.
Intermediate Level Power Builder
This was a good book. An amateur dan told me that some of what I learned
from the book was old-fashioned, but I really liked the book. I found this
one an easier read than most of the Elementary Go Series' material.
Handicap Go
I wound up feeling like I didn't get that much out of this book. There
were some valuable ideas in it, but you could learn those ideas in about
10 minutes if someone wrote a summary. I felt like it was far too many
words for the number of worthwhile ideas communicated. Or maybe it was just
over my head. Shrug. I borrowed this one from Dave, a guy in my
local go club, but I haven't seen him in ages. I now also have a
shrink wrapped new copy (2nd edition, I believe) that I may (re)read
someday.
Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go
This is a pretty good book. I've read it twice. I didn't put much
effort into the problems either time, but I've since worked on some
of the problems separately.
The Chinese Opening
This is a good book.
I don't think I'm going to retain all
those variations, but I'm enjoying remembering a few, and looking up the
others that come up in my games. I found the first four chapters really
great, but I didn't care for chapter 5 much. In chapter 6, I just read
the fusekis and skipped the rest. And that was the end of the book.
The Art of Go Series: Volume I -- Connecting Stones
I own a copy of this. It's a problem book. I was working my way through
this, but I've shelved it since discovering I can buy electronic problem
collections.
Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Volume 4
I sometimes do problems out of this before going to sleep now. I'm not
using a computer with it at all.
Thu Dec 11 18:44:11 PST 2003 The problems aren't all that difficult
anymore. I'm IGS 3k*, KGS 3k.
Basic Techniques of Go
When I first started reading this, I suddenly dropped two stones in strength.
I shelved it for a while...
The Endgame
I got bored with this one pretty fast. I've shelved it for a while (at
least).
Appreciating Famous Games
I heard it was a good idea to read this one
before Invincible, and eventually I want to read that, so... Anyway,
I started making this one my bedtime reading, but the variations were
just sophisticated enough that I wanted to go through them on a board - which
is impractical in bed. :) I hate long variations in books; I don't
mind them in SGF really.
Get Strong at Invading
This was a decent book, a problem book. I wouldn't say I know everything
about invading now, but since reading it I feel a lot more comfortable
just trying various things and seeing what works and what doesn't.
The Power of the Star Point
This was a good book about the sanrensei opening. It's another "lucky to find
it" book, because it's out of print. I think this would be a really good
one for some publisher to print again (though I feel less strongly about
that now that Fuseki is available).
The Direction of Play
I'm not sure I got that much out of this one.
Proverbs
This was a pretty good book I think. A bunch of miscellaneous proverbs.
EZ-GO: Oriental Strategy in a Nutshell
I read it. It was decent. The best thing was the "skip with five"
rule.
Positional Judgement
I read about half of this, and started to feel I was getting diminishing
returns on my effort. I may resume it someday though.
Cho Chikun's Encyclopedia of Life and Death
No, this isn't a go book. It is, however, an excellent
collection of Life and Death problems on diskette, and it was the
center of my go study for months. There are some errors in it, but I
still really like it. There are 923 Elementary, 935 Intermediate and
792 Advanced
problems; I was still working on the elementary problems when I moved on
to Tesuji. As
of July 7, 2002, I've answered 543 of the Elementary problems correctly
twice in a row, and have 380 to answer correctly once or twice more in a
row.
Tesuji Made Easy
This isn't a go book either; it's go software with lots of problems.
I'm quite puzzled as to how to tell the good illustrations from the
bad ones in this software. I've mostly given up on this program.
The Middle Game of Go
Finished Sun May 18 13:11:57 PDT 2003. It was decent. I want to reread
the 3-4 shimari invasion stuff someday. I'm IGS 2k*, KGS 4k as I write
this.
Whole Board Thinking in Joseki
Two volumes. I think this
doesn't make very good bedtime reading; it's more of a sit down and
study kind of book. This only covers 3-4 joseki, but fortunately,
those are some of my favorites. I think I'm going to have to do this
partially with a computer. Recently, I
just read through maybe a third of the first volume. It's changed the
way I look at the board a bit. Sat Jan 3 08:18:11 PST 2004
Go Problems for Kyu Level Players
I did this as a KGS 3/4/5 kyu and IGS 2 kyu (unstarred, post
adjustment). I got every one of the problems right but one - that one I
recognized as a two-stone edge squeeze (the book calls it something
else), but I didn't read out the entire sequence correctly. Frankly, I
didn't think this was that good a book - there just aren't enough
problems in it; there are only 44 pages, and those pages are pretty
tiny.
Fuseki
Excellent. I don't
expect to retain all of what I read in this book the first time through
it, but the coverage is so good that
I learned a few things about, EG, san ren sei and the Chinese opening,
despite having read books solely devoted to each. I started this before
I injured my arm, but finished it on the bus.
Monkey Jump Workshop
This is way more complicated than I thought it would be. A good book.
One of the books I finished while I was reading a lot on the bus.
Improve your Intuition, Volume 1: Intuition in the Opening
One of the books I finished on the bus while my arm was too messed up to
ride my bike to work. Worth reading, even if it's only 35 pages.
Cross-Cut Workshop
Another of the books I finished on the bus. A good book. It changed
the way I think in complicated situations.
Tricks in Joseki
Another of the books I finished on the bus. A good book. Even more
than Cross Cut Workshop, this book gave me more idea
how to read in a complicated-but-not-life-and-death situation. I
didn't get that many of the problems right this first time through it,
but it was worth the time.
A Way of Play for the 21st Century
I've really just started on this book. This was "backpack" reading,
but I drifted off into other books. It didn't feel that helpful.
Thu Dec 11 18:39:31 PST 2003
Strategic Concepts of Go
I finally read the theory portion of this book. I guess it might've
been a little bit helpful. At the time of reading, I was IGS 3k* (post
adjustment) and KGS 4k. I didn't do the problems. I'm happy with my
life and death software study for problems, for now.
Life and Death: Intermediate Level Problems
Haven't read it, haven't started it. It's on my bookshelf waiting.
Go Problems for Kyu Level Players Volume 4: Whole-Board
Problems
Haven't read it, haven't started it. It's on my bookshelf waiting.
Go Problems for Kyu Level Players Volume 3: Whole-Board
Opening Problems
Haven't read it, haven't started it. It's on my bookshelf waiting.
Go Problems for Kyu Level Players Volume 2: Uplifting
exercises
Haven't read it, haven't started it. It's on my bookshelf waiting.
Come up to Shodan
I started it, and got distracted with other books. I don't recall if it
was feeling helpful or not.
The ABC's of Attack and Defense
Haven't read it, haven't started it. It's on my bookshelf waiting.
How to Play Handicap Go
Haven't read it, haven't started it. It's on my bookshelf waiting.
Improve your Intuition Volume 3: Intuition in the Middle
Game, Part 2: How to Reduce a Moyo
Haven't read it, haven't started it. It's on my bookshelf waiting. I'm
eager to read it.
Understanding how to Play Go
Haven't read it, haven't started it. It's on my bookshelf waiting.
Keshi and Uchikomi Reduction and Invasion in Go
Started it. I have my doubts about whether it's the best thing for me
to read right now, but I'm continuing.
Reducing Territorial Frameworks
Haven't read it, haven't started it. It's on my bookshelf waiting.
The 3-3 Point Modern Opening Strategy
Haven't read it, haven't started it. It's on my bookshelf waiting.
After examining the back of the book, I've decided it's about more than
just 3-3 openings, so I may give it some time soon.
Sat Jan 3 08:23:38 PST 2004
Opening Theory Made Easy Twenty Strategic Principles to
Improve Your Opening Game
Finished it Tue Feb 25 17:41:27 PST 2003. It was good. Someone told me
it would be too basic for me, but it was well worth reading IMO.
Making Good Shape Mastering the Basics, Volume 3
This was a beneficial book, as an IGS 2k*/3k* and KGS 3k/4k. I read
chapters 1 and 2 (the theory chapters), and left chapter 3 (the problem
chapter) for later. Wed Mar 5 15:32:36 PST 2003
Improve your Intuition Volume 2: Intuition in the Middle
Game, Part 1, Attack and Defense
It was good. It doesn't provide any deeply meaningful theory, but it
does cover some interesting specific situations that I'm happy to have
seen.
Star Point Joseki Volume three
I started to read this, and got a case of "wow, reading joseki books
is boring". I left it on my shelf, bookmark in place. It may become
reference-only.
Beyond Forcing Moves
I picked this one up used at the 2nd Cotsen tournament.
I think it's out of print. It's in pretty bad condition -
water damage I think. The guy I got it from said it would be suitable
for my level (IGS 2k*, KGS 4k), and that it's good for snapping you out
of playing simple moves all the time. I finished it about 2 or 3 weeks
ago (Sat Jun 7 12:33:18 PDT 2003). Mostly, it said "don't play forcing
moves that you can get your opponent to force you into playing" I think.
Intermediate Level Power Builder Vol 2
It's about fighting, but the best part so
far was a section on attacking a two space extension, two two space
extensions, and a two space extension with a keima from one stone. Very
nice. Finished Sun Nov 23 14:37:36 PST 2003. The treatment of common
handicap positions was nice.
Breakthrough to Shodan
I finally located an almost-reasonably priced copy of this one.
I'd wanted to read this for a long time.
I heard one person went up 4 stones from reading it. It's out of print.
My copy arrived Nov 22, 2003. I finished out (except the 17 problems in
the back) on my vacation to Florida.
It was helpful I think, but the comment that it's really intended for
help you hit pro 1 dan may be true. I can already see how it's changed
my approach to certain corner situations. Sat Dec 27 06:09:38 PST 2003
Learn to Play Go: Volume V
It's arrived. I'm reading through it. It's great. :) Pithy but
light. So far, the section on shape was great, the section on the
opening was a reasonable review, and the section on jungsuk (joseki)
is nice. It's mostly review (which
doesn't hurt), but there
are some bits I'm not that familiar with, which IMO is just right.
Finally, the section on the endgame was reasonable. I got all the
opening problems right, and all the endgame problems but the last one.
Get Strong at Tesuji
I've had a copy of this for a long time. I dug it out and started doing
problems from it while I was waiting for Learn to Play Go: Volume
V to arrive. I'm finding the problems far easier than I used to.
Surprisingly, I'm often finding *** problems easier than * problems. I
think I need to spend on this in the near future.
Sat Jan 3 08:23:32 PST 2004