Woodland scenics do a range of great books on how to do scenery properly. Regardless of scale it's a good investment.
Although I don't know any titles, I'd say you'll want a book on weathering. Some really great effects can be produced with a minimum of skill if you just know the techniques.
Your local Hobby shop should have a couple beginers books available. Model railroader has several books geared towards people just getting into the hobby
Atlas have several inexpensive books on layouts and wiring which
would give you a good start on reading up. You can find them at
most hobby shops, I think!
Before you get a book, take a look around here...! There's a search tool (or you can use google) to search for just about anything you'd like to know about - chances are, someone's covered it at some point.
Tell us a bit more about what you have in mind, or at least what got you interested, and some more specific recommendations will undoubtedly surface.
announce1 hi parker44 - welcome to The Guage!
Atlas and woodland scenics have good beginner books (will have titles tomorrow). I am also new. Keep an eye out for train shows with seminars. I went to the Springfield, MA train show that had excellent seminars from doing scenary to building models and back drops.
More importantly, the people on this site, "The Guage", are the greatest :thumb: with a wealth of experience and knowledge. They are always ready to lend a comment and helping hand.