Library Books

Here is a list of books that my local library has to offer:

A Primer of Chess

The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings

The Winning Way

The Complete Chess Player

The Chess Doctors

Any advice as to which would be worth my time? I don't really care what the material is about, I just want to take advantage of the free read.

The only book I recognize from your list is The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings, and I think it's a pretty good book.

I've hear positive things about Reinfeld's Complete Chess Player. I haven't really heard much about Capablanca's A Primer of Chess. You usually hear about his book Chess Fundamentals. As Rubygabbi said, Fine's The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings is highly thought of.

I would look at the year and algabraic notation idea. Some don't mind if they don't have algabraic notation but I think its important to be fluent in a.n.

It is important to be fluent in algebraic notation. I don't think anyone is suggesting otherwise, but it is also very beneficial to be fluent in descriptive notation as there are many books that have never been updated to algebraic.

I think avoiding a book because it is in descriptive is a horrible mistake because it really isn't that hard to learn. Take something like Chernev's The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played and if you work through it, you should be just fine with descriptive when you are done.