Advanced Perl Programming
Object Oriented Perl
Perl Cookbook
Learning Perl
Programming Perl (1,2)
Programming the Perl DBI
Mastering Algorithms with Perl
The Coriolis Black Book
Perl 5 by Example (Que)
and while its not really a perl book per se,
Mastering Regular Expressions

Of all of them, first, the O'Reilly books really stand out. Theyre written at a level one would expect from the subject matter. Theyre written by knowledgeable authors in a very engaging tone, with few typos and many enjoyable examples.

The Coriolis book is, well, its kind of like a dictionary. You keep it around because its a good reference... but you dont ever actually sit down and read it.

The Que book is plain drek. I wouldnt even use it to mop up oil stains in my garage.

I suppose my favorites are Conway's book, OO Perl, or MAWP. There is just such a tremendous amount of material in both of them that I find I can come back to them with every project I undertake and not only learn something new but totally enjoy reading the book (Again!).

In the past I've really enjoyed reading the DBI book ... the subject matter is very light due to the fact that the perl DBI is so easy to work with, and the book is pretty thin. Sometimes you just want to sit down and soak your brain in some mild perl however, rather than really getting into the meat-n-potatoes of stuff.

Advanced Perl Programming, as well, is a fantastic book. Certainly well above beginner level however, and I find that I need to take a breather every few pages, go back, and cogitate on what it is I am proposing to learn (or study).

deprecated.
--
i am not cool enough to have a signature.

Hmm... Perl books that I own...

• Programming Perl (2nd & 3rd ed)
• Learning Perl (1st & 2nd ed)
• Advanced Perl Programming
• Mastering Algorithms with Perl
• Perl in a Nutshell
• Effective Perl Programming
• Perl: The Programmers Companion
• Perl 5 Descktop Reference (all 3 eds)
• Object Oriented Perl
• Elements of Programming with Perl
• CGI Programming with Perl (1st & 2nd ed)
• Perl Reference Kit (Unix version)
• The Perl Cookbook
• Graphics Programming with GNU Software and Perl
• The Official Guide to Programing wih CGI.pm
• Learning Perl/Tk
• Perl/Tk Pocket Reference

and probably a few more that I've forgotten.

As for how good Object Oriented Perl is, in my opinion it is the best-written and most useful book in my whole collection.

"Perl makes the fun jobs fun
and the boring jobs bearable" - me

We seem to have quite a number of collections out there. Just a reminder if you feel strongly about a book (good or bad), put a writeup in the review section, so monks of the future can easily find if it's good or bad.

=Blue
...you might be eaten by a grue...

a

I think that one of the best features of Perl is the presense of definitive texts, like the Camel and Cookbook. To me, Object Oriented Perl is the OOPerl book. If it were an O'Reilly book, I might be tempted to put a Two-Humped Camel on the cover. Or at the very least an alpaca...

And now there actually is an alpaca book!

-- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker
Be sure to read my standard disclaimer if this is a reply.

My list contains 11 books (Does camel2 & camel3 count as two?) most of which or on the bottom of Buy PerlMonks Gear and Books page.

In addition I have the

Corolis Perl Core Language (Little Black Book) for quick reference.

And one I DON'T reccomend Perl Annotated Archives

Data Munging with Perl

Effective Perl Programming: Writing Better Programs with Perl

And some quotes from Object Oriented Perl to get you by:

From 1.1.5 Polymorphism:
. . . we can observe that the way in which a particular person will respond to your messsage depends on the class of person they are. A ReceptivePerson will respond enthusiastically, a ShyPerson will respond tentatively, and a JustPlainWeirdPerson will probably respond in iambic pentameter. The original messagee is always the same; the response depends on the kind of person who recieves it.

From 2.1.5 References and referents
A reference is like the traditional Zen idea of the "finger pointing at the moon."

coreolyn Duct tape devotee

• camel 2
• mastering algorithms in perl
• perl cookbook (i consult this book at least 3 times a week)
• effective perl programming

another book that is not specifically about perl, but which i consider essential for any programming library is structure & interpretation of computer programs (or SICP as it's sometimes called).