Go with what you're going to want in the long run. It'll save ourself some trouble and hassle later on down the road.
As for books, I was referenced to this one a long time ago on this board. I have checked out the book, and it is pretty good for a beginning welder. Its less than $15 too
![Yup yup :yupyup:](https://board.marlincrawler.com/Smileys/marlin/yupyup.gif)
![](http://www.speednation.com/store/media/weldingbookBG.jpg)