books

I'm pretty new to chess and was wondering if there were any books I should read to improve my chess knowledge. Anything that can help. I'd prefer not to have books with chess puzzles. Thanks!

Logical Chess by Irving Chernev. It is a collection of GM games for beginners. Every move is annotated explaining the reasons behind the moves. They are logical easy to follow games selected to teach important principles and ideas. Look for a modern algebraic edition. Earlier editions use old notation. Can be nussiance but not big deal if it is all you can find.

Logical Chess is indeed an excellent book. Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur by Euwe and Meiden is along the same lines and also excellent, although a tad more advanced. The Amateur's Mind by Silman is also worth a look.

I'm just finishing Amateur's Mind and thought it was excellent. If you have major blunders largely under control, apply opening principles, know basic positional ideas like weak pawns, weak squares, open files, etc. and can get yourself into a middlegame but then find yourself stuck for a plan, shuffling pieces around waiting for a mistake, then you might like Amateur's Mind. It is a good introduction to planning and positional chess for beginner/intermediate, say 1200+.

Check this link. It will give you a lot of free chess books and all legally too. Most of them are openings but there are a few miscellaneous ones for endgame, certain players, etc

Definitely check out the great link that @EKAFC posted, but I would recommend you read a more basic book, one that explains basic tactical and positional principles, before checking those out. 

Some good examples would be

Simple Chess by Michael Stean 

Weapons of Chess by Bruce Pandolfini

Chess Fundamentals by Capablanca

Practical Chess Endings by Keres

Back to Basics Tactics by Dan Heisman (Although you said you don't want books with puzzles, this one is great and helped me improve a lot. Solving tactical puzzles is necessary to become a stronger player)

(All of the books mentioned above can be easily found on Amazon and Abebooks)

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell

I forgot to mention, a lot of the books I know about is because of your nice blog post

Thanks.  Hopefully my blog has helped you improve!

You may also be interested in Euwe's "The Road to Chess Mastery", prequel to "Chess Master vs Chess Amateur' but intended for less-advanced players. And don't forget Tarrasch's "The Game of Chess". He was not only the world's best player in his time but a well-respected educator. It starts with simple endgame positions ("If you can't handle a few pieces in a simple position, how can you expect to handle 32 pieces on a full board?") to illustrate the way to utilize the powers of the various pieces and then goes on to how to use these pieces in combination in more complex positions, explaining along the way the basics of positional play. A good book for a beginner.

https://www.amazon.com/Chess-Beginners-Comprehensive-Openings-GrandMaster/dp/B08PR92TND/ref=mp_s_a_1_23?keywords=chess+for+beginners&qid=1607690975&sprefix=chess+fo&sr=8-23 No chess puzzle and I’m almost sure this one is the best book to read for beginners. I hope it will help you

Logical Chess (Irving Chernev). Make sure to get algebraic edition.