grokking algorithms is very nice
December 2, 2025
I just finished reading the book Grokking Algorithms by Aditya Bhargava and I was genuinely surprised. Several concepts that slipped past me in college, or that were never very clear, suddenly made perfect sense here.
But first, let me introduce myself: my name is Enrico, I’m a software engineer, and this is my blog. This is my very first post, so welcome. I’ve never been much of a reader—except for that phase between ages 12 and 14 when I devoured young adult books—but lately I’ve been trying to get back into the habit.
(some of the books I bougth for studying this year)
In a world where AI dominates and we rely less and less on physical sources of knowledge (like books), I’m trying to acquire more knowledge through these pieces of paper that hold such valuable information. You might ask me: “But Enrico, with so much information on the internet, videos, and LLMs available, why spend your time buying books to study?” And I answer in a few parts:
1. Books contain verified and validated knowledge.
2. Their teaching quality is often far superior to videos or LLMs.
Of course, just reading isn’t enough—you have to practice what you’ve learned. That’s why I created a GitHub repository where I implemented some of the algorithms and concepts from the book. Working through them was essential for truly understanding and solidifying these ideas. Here’s the GitHub repository if you’d like to take a look: https://github.com/enricoblanco/grokking-algorithms
Back to the book in question, Grokking Algorithms: what an incredible introduction to the world of programming. I really wish someone had recommended this book to me back in college; it would have made my life much easier. Besides teaching you various concepts and techniques, it actually makes you want to understand what you’re learning (remember what I said about didactics?). It’s a fantastic entry point into algorithms and data structures.
I did miss content about trees, but I saw that this topic is covered in the second edition—maybe I’ll buy it someday.
Anyway, I highly recommend the book. It’s absolutely worth reading for anyone who wants to learn more about programming, or even for those who already know the basics but want to review or reinforce important concepts, like I did.
10/10.
