Well, the easiest thing to do is test your components in another pc. That is what I find to work best. But if that is not possible, strip your system to the cpu, ram, mobo, vid card, and obviously a monitor. Power the system on, and if it goes, then you have a bad hd, or card that is giving you grief... If it does not start you could have a bad video card, but that is unlikely if you have not been oc'ing it. If you get beeps, that means there is a little sign of life, if you get constant beeps then you might have a bigger problem, and if nothing happens at all, then test your Power supply by having it power up another system (a pain in the ass!) If you can hear the HD's power up when you press the button that means that the power supply is fine.
As far as books go, I would consider a simple A+ certification book, or some intro to computer repair book.
Good luck.