“SQL, Lisp and Haskell are the only Programming Languages that I’ve seen where one spends more Time in Thinking than Typing” - Philip Greenspun
SQL stands for Structured Query Language. It is the conventional language for dealing with relational databases. SQL serves as a programming language whose prime objective is to search, delete, insert and update database records. Think of it in this way. Your activity on social media, like a post which you might have uploaded, is stored in a virtual space, aka, database. In order to communicate with that database, SQL comes to our rescue. While there is no dearth of resources on this topic, getting hold of the best SQL books can be immensely beneficial in acquiring in-depth understanding of the subject. These are some of the best books to learn SQL from and they can certainly be your dependable companions.
In this blog, we have prepared a carefully curated list of 10 best books for learning SQL. This list of SQL books is by no means comprehensive, but does in include some of the best SQL books for beginners as well as best SQL books for those at the intermediate and advanced level.
Top 10 Books to Learn SQL
Getting Started with SQL
- Author: Thomas Field
- This is considered to be one of the useful SQL books for beginners, especially if you are looking for a text which can provide you with a basic grounding in the discipline.
- It s true that the book is relatively short and may not take you for a detailed tour of the subject matter; however, it does help its readers to understand the fundamental concepts.
- Unlike some of the difficult-to-comprehend SQL books, this one is written in lucid languages, loaded with useful explanations and easy examples, which render the task of understanding easier.
- In terms of guiding you on acquiring practical experience, the book provides a detailed explanation on the procedure for setting up a practice environment at home through SQLite.
- While this is definitely one of the beginner focussed books to learn SQL, the concluding parts of the text does give you a sneak-peak into more advanced topics.

SQL All-in-One for Dummies
- Author: Allen G. Taylor
- This is one of the bestselling, most popular and best SQL books for beginners. In fact, it is considered by many to be a must-read for anyone working with databases.
- Besides helping its readers to understand SQL basics, it helps them to make sense of how to use it for building relational databases.
- The book is a weighty and an extensive read which covers a broad range of topics, such as data security, importance of RDBMS, performance tuning, JSON and XML, implementing a database design and consequently retrieving information from a database.
- The book is available in paperback as well as in Kindle and comes with code downloads made available by the publisher.

Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes
- Author: Ben Fort
- This is one of those rare gems among SQL books which is counted among the best SQL books for beginners as well as is quite often laid hands on by programmers and professional engineers.
- Filled with full color code examples, the book helps you get a sense of how SQL statements are structured.
- As one of the best SQL books, it covers important topics like retrieval, sorting and formatting of database content; usage of SQL statements; insertion, modification and deletion of data; joining of multiple related tables and so on.
- The book provides different examples in various databases, which includes Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, DB2 on Cloud, Postgre SQL.
- The book is well structured, comprehensible and is written in simple language.
