Chilton's and Hayne's manuals are availible at any auto part store for a particular car. Reading these books on every car I've ever worked on has given me a great deal of knowledge on how everything works. All cars are a little different but they all work on the same basic principals. Other than that, you can go to the library and look at Chilton's more general books on different areas of mechanics such as air conditioning, emissions systems, fuel management, etc. There are a lot of books out there but the best knowledge gained is when you work on different problems and use these books as a guide to help you along. I hope this helps you out a little.
