What book is good for CCENT?

I'm currently going for my Security+ which I plan on taking very soon, but I like to start preparing for future exams quickly and I will be preparing the CCENT ICND1 exam right after. The "How to study for the CCENT / CCNA" says to use Odom's or Lammle's CCNA books but I just wanna focus on the CCENT for now. I know Lammle also has a CCENT book but it dates back to 2008. I was leaning towards Lammle. Anyone have any suggestions? Is Lammle's book still good to study for CCENT or should I just get the Odom library since it already has a book for ICND1? Thank you.

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Comments

kurosaki00

Lammle CCNA book is 2011
just read the chapters that cover the ccent

sizeon

I prefer Todd lammle over Wendle odom. The cisco book is wayyy too boring. Get the CCNA 7th edition book and for the ICND1 read chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16

jdballinger

The Cisco book CAN be a little dry, but you will really get a good understanding of why things work, not just how they work. I recommend reading both though, you can never have too many resources.

mikeybikes

I personally enjoy Odom's books.

dpjackal89

People seem to say its dry. What do you think about it?

mikeybikes wrote: »

I personally enjoy Odom's books.

mikeybikes

It's a text book. I half expected it to be dry.

Odom does a good job explaining how things work.

dpjackal89

I was just going through older threads on Techexams and someone mentioned the CCENT exam prep by Jeremy Cioara. Anyone know anything about this book?

TehToG

Are you sure it's a book? Jeremy Cioara is the guy that does CBT nuggets and as far as i know he only does videos.
edit: he did do an exam questions book but i think thats it.

I'm seconding the lammle CCNA book. The CCENT book is the same but with chapters removed. The odom books are VERY good but they're a bit more dry reading. Same for the Cisco press books.

dpjackal89

I think I'm going to go with Todd Lammle. Thanks for the info guys. I guess I can use the CCNA book for both CCENT/CCNA so that was a plus.

TehToG

The other thing that some people lose sight of is that ICND1s topics form the basis of ICND2s topics. When you have them in a single book it seems to reinforce that.

Illumanati

dpjackal89 wrote: »

I'm currently going for my Security+ which I plan on taking very soon, but I like to start preparing for future exams quickly and I will be preparing the CCENT ICND1 exam right after. The "How to study for the CCENT / CCNA" says to use Odom's or Lammle's CCNA books but I just wanna focus on the CCENT for now. I know Lammle also has a CCENT book but it dates back to 2008. I was leaning towards Lammle. Anyone have any suggestions? Is Lammle's book still good to study for CCENT or should I just get the Odom library since it already has a book for ICND1? Thank you.

odom book: Imo, the books introduce things too fast without really making sure you are getting it. Imo, you should use the books LAST for the most details around the time you do Boson or other test questions. imo, i like online training like testout.com where you have short videos and quizzes which includes command-line Cisco IOS command line interface practice where you get you up and running quick, similar to what CBT nuggets videos do.

another prob is it is DRY which means you might give up due to lack of "exam readiness". if you are one of those people that can go through 600+pages of DRY stuff a COUPLE of times WITH UNDERSTANDING then you are a reader and can get through it else you will need LOTS of patience and practice(end of chapter+labs) to get through it with understanding to pass hard questions that are not in the book but on boson cd.

keep in mind, imo, there has been more failures using these books solely(do a search for "failed" here) then I have seen passes on this site as well as on cisco.com. it all depends on how good a self studier you are if you're using books solely where no motivation or inspiration or structure provided. cbtnuggets or testout.com then "graduate" to a packet tracer/simulator or actual equipment then you can use a book at the end when you do test questions and NEED more details. You do some test questions and then go back to a book for the FULL details!.

The books, to me, too many things too fast without accountability of student's understanding!

here is the order i recommend (for non readers of DRY ODOM)

cbt nuggets and/or testout.com FIRST, packet tracer labs second, test questions + books last for details for exam prep. if you need "a book" initially, use from a variety of free resources online like free condensed/summarized study guides or sites like this or cisco.com. (check the 'documents' section)

another words, my understanding is you have to start small and have small successes then intermediate and then finally you can digest everything in a BOOK. if you disagree, i humbly defer to what best suits you!

Patel128

Like the others have said I think I would stick with Odom and/or Lammle for books. For all of the "I passed" threads I normally see either of them or both. I personally would do both books.

JeanM

You can't go wrong with either one, the Todd Lammle guide or CiscoPress icnd1/icnd2 kit. I think personally people that fail after reading these most likely did not apply what they've read (ie. lab) or really understood the chapters/objectives.

To say that "lots of people" failed using these books (as Illumanati said above) is unfair, you don't hear about the people that pass using these. you usually hear more bad reviews than good as saying goes. After all, these are EXAM GUIDEs, they aren't FHM/Maxim to get your attention...

FloOz

Odom's Official Cert Library comes with both his ICND1 and ICND2 book. You can also buy the books separately.
I have been reading his ICND1 book for the past 2 weeks and am really enjoying it. I don't think it is "dry" as others have said.

Illumanati

FloOz wrote: »

Odom's Official Cert Library comes with both his ICND1 and ICND2 book. You can also buy the books separately.
I have been reading his ICND1 book for the past 2 weeks and am really enjoying it. I don't think it is "dry" as others have said.

Oh, don't get me wrong, i am not averse to reading odom and not by a longshot and infact I have his most recent and have read the first 5 chapters before in the second version. i actually read the first 5 chapters and they were good and I was raving about this book. He starts to fall apart after Chapter 5. This is just my opinion and that was back in 2009. Who knows, the third version might have improved from chapter 6 to end.

Patel128 wrote: »

Like the others have said I think I would stick with Odom and/or Lammle for books. For all of the "I passed" threads I normally see either of them or both. I personally would do both books.

To each his own. No way I would do both if I can pass with just LAmmel but again, just my opinion. Some people might want to pass in a reasonable amount of time and some might have infinite amount of time. Btw, neither is wrong and sometimes I FEEL like I'm INFINITE!! (slimsdy)

I was just trying to offer a different possibly more productive point of view as opposed to the infinite amount of recommendation for ODom as found here on the how to study tutorial:

You'll need to:
1) Buy & Read a book.
- This is a requirement. Yes, I know it's thick, it's heavy and boring with A lot of word-things.
2) Enter commands.
- Type in commands for the equipment. See the Output. Make it work

Additional Goodies
3) Practice Exams
4) Videos
5) Motivation
6) Additional Tips, Tricks, Experience.

X2.1) You'll need to pickup a book!
Yes. I said it. Run for the hills, lock your windows, bar your doors. You heard me. You will need to read something. It's going to be dry. It's going to be boring.

First the books: These are the most-often recommended books members at Tech-Exams gravitate towards:
- Todd Lammle. CCBA Study Guide. 1 Book.
- Wendell Odom. CCNA Offical Cert Library. 2 Books
I prefer the hardcover for a couple reasons: 1) Depth of material 2) Looks great on the shelf 3) Lasts longer 4) I can study for the CCENT

Blackout

I used Lammle's book and CBT nuggets for CCENT

someasiandude

Good thread! I currently reading Odom's book CCENT ICND1 .. its pretty ok hehe.. loving the new material --- 1 chapter a day!

Illumanati

I take what I said back about Odom's Cisco press books. I do think he explains things better and it is not too long if you dont understand it. I like Odom's ICND2 book for composite test study as it covers almost all of the composite in itself.

RouteMyPacket

I think Odom's ICND1 and ICND2 are pretty good. I also like the idea of having one book for each test instead of skipping around the Lammle CCNA study guide

TurK-FX

someasiandude wrote: »

Good thread! I currently reading Odom's book CCENT ICND1 .. its pretty ok hehe.. loving the new material --- 1 chapter a day!

Listen to me bro. Take notes, or use highlighter. That will help you a lot when you review those highlighted notes before the exam.

someasiandude

TurK-FX wrote: »

Listen to me bro. Take notes, or use highlighter. That will help you a lot when you review those highlighted notes before the exam.

Thanks, I am writing down notes bro!