Here's a topic I've been waiting for! In fact, I was thinking we should have a topic for book reviews.
Anyway, I have Beekeeping for Dummies, John (?) Vivian's Keeping Bees, and Richard Bonny's Hive Management.
One of the things I like about the first two is that the love of bees really shows through in the author's prose. Bonny's Hive Managemnet is more serious, but still a good read. Vivian's book came out apparently before varroa, because he doesn't seem to struggle with it, and it's such a huge topic today, but other than that, it's a great primer for a novice.