Daniel Holbach maintains a daily builds PPA for a project called "Ubuntu Packaging Guide" which aims to provide a set of articles for working with debian packages and Launchpad, uploading your GPG key to Launchpad (required to create a PPA), fixing bugs, getting the code via BZR, working with a PPA and so on.

Here are 4 Linux books which are ideal for a beginner:

1. A Newbie’s Initiation To Linux – Download (1.90MB)
2. Introduction to Linux – A hands on guide – Download (1.52MB)

Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference

Alexandria is an application for Linux allows you to sort and track your book collection. It makes it easy to manage your collection by allowing you to sort items into multiple libraries (for example, books at your office, in your home, or elsewhere), and adding books is as simple as entering its ISBN. Once you've setup your collection, you can even export it to an HTML file, to share with other users over the web.