Hi,
I got a book voucher for my birthday and want to get hold of some useful web development books. Now, I know that Sitepoint do some excellent books (I have the PHP/MySQL book and it is completely excellent!) but they’re too pricey with the retailer I have a voucher for.
However, I could pick up two or three of the “Sams Teach Yourself…” books so I wondered if anyone had any feedback on these - are they any use? clear, well written? up-to-date? etc
Also, any suggestions on which volumes might be best for someone who is basically just a CSS/HTML novice and an absolute MySQL/PHP beginner (haven’t got very far with Kevin Yanks book yet!!)
Thanks 
I haven’t seen the Sams books in a couple of years, so I can’t speak with any current knowledge, but for basic how-tos, they are quite well done.
Thanks Max. I’ve been reading some reviews and don’t really know what to go for! More research needed I guess…
If you don’t mind me making an in-house recommendation, I always tell people to start with Ian Lloyd’s Build Your Own Web Site The Right Way. My only caveat is that Ian teaches XHTML instead of HTML, but that’s very minor. It’s an excellent way to jump in. If you don’t want to buy it from SP, I’m sure there are used copies floating around.
I very nearly went for that actually, but looking through the table of contents I felt it was going to be going over stuff that I have a handle on already (albeit a sloppy badly coded handle!).
I’ve decided to grab this:
Learning PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Dynamic Websites: Amazon.co.uk: Robin Nixon: Books
Although I’m aware I need to brush up on the basics I want to keep moving forward a little too. I’m not really doing any commercial work as yet so I can foist my rubbishy code on unsuspecting wellwishers! I think I might go for Ian Lloyd’s book to up my game shortly tho 
I am about half way through Sams Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML and CSS in One Hour a Day: Includes New HTML5 Coverage (6th Edition)
It seems a pretty good basic book to me. I’ve got it from the library so there is no investment there. When possible, I like to try a book from the library to see if it is one I want to keep for reference.