http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Seirawan
I studied books by Yasser Seirawan when I was little. Pawn structure, space, development, tactics, etc are all important basics and are all covered by Play Winning Chess.
http://www.joshwaitzkin.com/books.html
Attacking Chess
Josh is the guy that the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on.
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Chess.../dp/0385004648
My mom bought this book so she could keep up with me. She never finished it and I devoured it myself.
As for online stuff, give yourself a few days or more per turn, and work things out on a plastic chessboard at home. Play both sides and really try to beat yourself as your opponent, dont pretend your opponent will go easy on you.
Try your best to beat yourself, and perhaps your opponent will not be able to.
Bookmarks