Hi Ben,
Please refer
here to posts #13, #14 and #15.
It's such a long post of mine that it spanned three posts worth.
Kind of embarrassing really.
Some great info there including a bit of review I did on the Stars & Planets book- that book is a big thumbs up from me, I love it.
It's a terrific "all-rounder" companion by my side.
And as Liz said, please do read through this forum as far back as you can handle- there are lots of books that we've talked about that could help you.
For me, if I was to start from scratch and only get four things, my top four would be:-
1) Planisphere
2) Astronomy 2012
3) Stars & Planets book
4) Computer software.
And the build up from there.
All of the above is explained in detail in that link I've supplied you with.
To quote myself from that link...
Quote:
In summary (regarding books)...
I doubt that you'll find one book that will do it all. Like me, you'll probably find that you'll wind up with several books and maps. Some books cater for the brighter objects and are quite easy to read and navigate thru, others are intense, some books cater more for "observing", i.e. more a teaching guide on techniques and what to look for in objects (such as Stephen O'Meara's Deep Sky Objects- Messier Objects- fantastic book, and Hartung's), some books list the astrophysics and objects of interest better or clearer than others, etc. I have lots of books/maps- each used for different observations.
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Welcome to astronomy- your journey into opening the windows of the universe is just beginning- there is so much out there to explore, so much beauty, it's like escaping earth and taking a space ship out to the little explored beyond- the views are immersing and humbling. No doubt you are already finding this out for yourself as you begin....
Enjoy Ben!