Help me figure out which of my books to start with? pleeeeeeeeease?

Hey all, I've recently started adding chess books to the games section of my library, but I have slightly 'compulsive collector' mentality: I keep adding to my books but don't really know where to start so that's where you (hopefully) come in.  Below is a list of my chess books (that pertain directly to study), as an 'E' where should I start?

I've overwhelmed myself and will continue to buy chess books with no end in sight unless I get some kind of direction >_<

Reassess your Chess 4th ed (Silman)

Silman's Complete Endgame Course (Silman)

The Amateur's Mind 2nd ed (Silman)

Complete book of Chess Strategy (Silman)

Reassess your Chess Workbook (Silman)

The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings (Fine)

The Game of Chess (Tarrasch, ed by Hays and Sewell)

Logical Chess (Chernev)

Back to Basics: Strategy (Beim)

Back to Basics: Tactics (Heisman)

Better Chess for Average Players (Harding)

Chess Tactics for Students (Bain)

Winning Chess Openings (Seirawan)

Tactics time 1&2 (Brennan & Carson)

Chess Openings for White, Explained 2nd ed (Alburt, Dzindzichashvili, Perelshteyn)

Chess Openings for Black, Explained 2nd ed (Alburt, Dzindzichashvili, Perelshteyn)

Thanks for any and all suggestions

(also, if there are any -must haves- that I should pick up, please let me know)

Sub

Silmans Complete Endgame Course.

Logical Chess move by move.

reassess your chess is for intermediate players say 1400ish+. Amateurs mind is advanced beginner say 1200-1400ish. Read amateurs mind before reassess your chess. Silman endgame course is aimed at all levels, the chapters are divided into ratings. Read the introduction for his advice on how to use it. Logical chess is for beginners and intermediate. chess tactics for students is beginners. I dont know the others. My suggestion based on your rating is start with Bains and Logical chess and get experience. Puck up Amateurs mind when you are 1300ish. Leave reassess until 1400++. enjoy.

and work through the chapters of Silman endgame course as per your rating. Follow his guidance in the introduction.

Chess Tactics for Students by Bain.  Don't just read it though.  Use it to hammer those tactics until the fabled Pattern Recognition kicks in and you can tell what to do with just a glance.  Why yes, that does mean going through it many times....

Oh and invest in Fundamental Chess Openings by Paul van der Sterren.  In some ways it's like an updated version of Fine's classic The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings.  You still need a database for the latest and greatest lines, but DBs don't explain and van der Sterren will often devote a paragraph to the "why" behind a single move.

You mean i cant just put a book under my pillow and absorb all of it???

@subculture just in case you didn't realise, 'reading' a chess book does mean setting up a board and playing through the positions. Taking logical chess for example, I play through a game 3 or 4 times. The first two are familiarisation, the 3rd to really think, and the 4th to play out the variations. Then I note down a couple of ideas that i want to try in my own games, or things that I should change or stop doing, that occurr to me. Good collection by the way. You dont need any more.

@Exploring it's a good approach. I started chess in january and I reckon I've spent the last 11 months learning how to learn how to play chess. I'll spend the next 12 doing some actual learning.

I have played chess on and off for 45 years.  I can honestly say i didn't learn how to properly study until about 5 years ago.

Whoa, thanks for the quick feedback!

I tend to favor information before heavy illustration:  tell me the why, the theory, the ideas behind things before a page and a half of notation.  I'll work through a game but I want to understand the rationale behind the moves.  I get that there's a ton of study and whatnot, I just like having a foundation to build on...  I looked at some of the pages for FCO and really prefer that kind of elucidation and clarification.

you might like logical chess then. every single move is explained, often repeatedly, as the same or similar themes occur in many of the games.

I truly think Mark brings up the most important aspect of chess study.  To actually STUDY.  Set up a real board, and pieces.  Get out the pen and paper.  Write down your thoughts, ideas, etc.  Also play solitaire chess.  Actually study a book.  DO NOT just read it once through.  Properly studying a chess book will take months.

I tried that once.  It just gave me knightmares...

As I'm on a role I'll mention another one. I find books work really well when you are ready for them, and by this I mean when they solve a problem for you. I'm a typical early intermediate, i can get out of the opening, have blunders more or less under control, and then get stuck in the middle game. Then I read Amateurs Mind and its brilliant. Why? because it is a tool kit for planning, positional chess and the middlegame, so it resonates. It solves a problem that I've been struggling with, and my chess is developed enough that I can successfully execute the ideas I learn and see the benefits immediately - I'm not hanging my queen while trying to build a textbook position. The general point is that I think some books you will plod through, it's not their time, other books will come along at the right time and propel you forward.

As you progress, you will start to understand how important those little ole pawns are.  They dictate your game.

They point me in the right direction. Like reading tea leaves.

my first reaction was "wow this guy has too many books" but then... "wait a minute , I own most of those books!" 

I would recommed to finish these two books first - Reassess your Chess 4th ed (Silman) and Silman's Complete Endgame Course (Silman)

Logical Chess by Chernev !!!!

The books get more complex/advanced roughly in the order that they appear in the following list (i.e., within their category - tactics, endgame, openings, positional concepts, strategy, middlegame, game collections, etc.)...

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...

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

Silman's "How To Reassess Your Chess" is definitely the most advanced book on your list!  I recommend that you wait until you have reached at least the 1500-1600 level before attempting it.

The easiest to begin with on your list are...

Chess Tactics for Students (Bain)

Tactics time 1&2 (Brennan & Carson)