ak...I'm kinda a cheap old bug*(& so for my buck I would start reading and following the threads in some of the bulletin boards, such as this one. I was given a number of books but reading information from a wide variety of seasoned amateurs is not to be underestimated. You can read and ask questions in a number of different forums and get lots of opinions...some good, some bad and some stupid. Most are gentle to beginners...and you can learn lots.
I would also recomend getting alot of travel brochers and looking at pictures of exotic places..that you will likely never travel to after you start down this path
