Reddit reviews Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go (Beginner and Elementary Go Books)

This is a fantastic book, but probably not for complete beginners. Maybe from (approximatively) 12k up to 1 dan, altough I think weaker players can enjoy it too.
Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go

If you have an iPad, it might be a bit soon, but SmartGo Kifu has a ton of graded problems. And it's never too soon to look at pro games. You don't have to study them, but it's better to play through them then watch random games on IGS/KGS.

For a book about the core foundations of go, Kageyama's Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go.

I got a lot out of the following books:

Opening Theory Made Easy As its title suggests, this is limited to the opening but is still a great way to improve your game and easy for beginners to comprehend. I think I first read through this when I was around 17-18k and got a lot out of it. It's not about josekis but moreso principles to keep in mind in the beginning with a lot of great examples and explanations.

Second Book of Go This book was essentially tailor-made for people like you looking to proceed from elementary materials. The only problem is it seems to be out of print. I picked it up for about $20 2 years ago but I can't find it for under $100 on either Amazon or GoGameGuru.

Learn to Play Go Volume II This is part of a 5 book set that is pretty hit-or-miss for me. Volume I is good but probably covers the same materials as Go For Beginners. Volume II is a nice overview of the major extensions from stones (one point jump, knight's move, etc.) with a 20-25 assessment section at the end. Learn to Play Go Volume III isn't very good but I thought Volumes IV and V in the series were worth buying.

Go by Example This is the only book on my list written by a non-pro (well actually I don't think Richard Bozulich ever played professionally but the guy is responsible for the English translation of every go book ever and has written a fair share on his own so I'm guessing he's a decently strong player) and I think he's around an 8k or something, or at least was last time I checked. He plays online and has some specific insights for people playing online (such as not following the pace of your opponent) and reviews games he found on KGS. It has a bunch of examples and analysis and takes a different approach than the other older books I listed.

Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go You'll probably get more out of this once you're at around 16k or so but it's widely considered the best book on go. Plus Kageyama is a pretty entertaining (and very opinionated) writer. Covers all aspects of the game.

My favorite is "Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go", by far!

Other redditors have given some glorious suggestions. I think that they are all skipping an important step.

I would suggest that your next book be The Second Book of Go. It is a great overview of all of the different parts of the game that most other books will focus on. I didn't read it until I had dabbled in several other books.

After that, I would suggest Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go, or Tesuji.

Links below:

The Second Book of Go (Beginner and Elementary Go Books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/4906574319/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_XkoQwbJ8B07T7

Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go (Beginner and Elementary Go Books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/4906574289/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_DmoQwbJ9A9P2G

Tesuji https://www.amazon.com/dp/4906574122/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_knoQwbQAE1MKJ

Sorry, typo. I meant Kageyama

Link to the book on Amazon for those who care: https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Fundamentals-Beginner-Elementary-Books/dp/4906574289/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Lessons+in+the+Fundamentals+of+Go&qid=1564164912&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Very first thing - you need to be aware of ladders!

Kageyama says "If you want to capture stones, hold up two fingers and say to yourself: 'Can I capture with the net?' and 'Can I capture with the ladder?'"

Ladders are really easy - they're an unbranching sequence - so you should learn them and avoid embarrassment like the sequence starting at 16. You run into this repeatedly in the game - even if you don't see the ladder right off, you should recognize early that you're in one and stop and play somewhere else.

Even more important, you should always be thinking of trying to join your stones together. Time and again your opponent cuts you!

You also allow your opponent to control what's happening. If you're going to lose one or two stones, ignore them - play somewhere else that takes a lot of territory.

And play a lot of games!

Good luck...