It may actually be cooler without a book. Since, like the character in the game, you also have no idea what is going on. Just read the books that are actually in the game itself and ask a lot of questions. Try the forums at elderscrolls.com, they should be able to help. Be sure to patch the game with the patch available there.
Quick summary:
It's in first person, WASD are movement keys, F readies your weapon, R readies your spell. R-click to equip anything/ready spells or see a map. J gets your journal. Press F1 to assign items/spells to the numbers 1-9 for quick use. CTRL goes into sneak mode, hold it and wait for the little icon in the bottom left corner before you steal something. Press T to rest and gain magicka points back, or click on a bed. Spacebar to open doors/activate items. Oh, and press caps lock to toggle run/walk (or hold shift). Press Q to constantly move forward (don't have to hold W).
You can make potions using alchemy equipment, steal (or buy) a set, drag a piece of the equipment from your inventory and drop it on your character icon to bring up the interface. You only need a mortar and pestle and ingredients to make stuff but the other items make the potions better.
You can enchant clothing/weapons/armor with spells you know by casting soul trap on something and killing it while the spell is active. If you have a soul gem in your inventory that the soul can fit into, then it goes into the gem. Drop the gem onto your character and you get the interface, or you can pay an enchanter to do it for you (100% chance of success).
Talk to EVERYBODY, click on the 'little advice', 'latest rumors' etc stuff to see if they might activate a quest.
Practice the skills you want to become good at, i.e. use your long-sword a lot, your long-sword skill goes up. If any combo of major skill points go up by 5, you increase your level. Learn the minor and misc skills to affect the multipliers. (2 points bump the multiplier by 1).