HTML

The Ultimate HTML Reference
$44.95
I am taking a class in website building using HTML and CSS. I ordered the book after taking my 1st class, and have found it very helpful. It is very userfriendly with examples for every tag. I definitely recommend this to anyone.

HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide (6th Edition)
$49.99
I have purchased many O'Reily books in the past and have been very happy with them. In fact, I will purchase an O'Reily book above all others unless there is a bad review. Maybe I am just a OBC type person. Anyways, so far the book seems good as a reference, well laid out, comprehensive.

HTML and XHTML Pocket Reference (Pocket Reference (O'Reilly))
$12.99
I feel like I'm the only person who isn't nuts about the style of O'Reilly books, so take this review with a grain of salt.

This is a basic and dry dictionary of HTML and XHTML tags. It's really okay, although I can't really see the benefit of having this little book over googling the tag and seeing examples of its use etc.

Maybe, I could see having the ebook version and searching through that when you want to look up a tag.

Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to (X)HTML, StyleSheets, and Web Graphics
$44.99
I felt the need to express how well written this book is for the beginning web designer. The author doesn't bog the reader down with overly complex examples of code. I've been designing web pages using Dreamweaver for a few years now and never bothered with the code. I've always created my content in Photoshop and just dropped the images into the software. After reading through this book, I am not only able to simplify my web pages through code editing, but also, was able to optimize my graphics content.
Right now, I am now trudging through a book to learn JavaScript. I am getting through the book, but not nearly as easily as I did the Learning Web Design book. To be fair, the subject is a bit more complex, but the way that the JavaScript book is written causes me to have to constantly look up unexplained technical terms and syntax of the code examples to figure out why they work. I never had to do that with the Learning Web Design book.