Hi There, I know what you mean.  Have you got any of Dan Reeders books?   He has a new one about making dragons on his web site, (http://www.monster-man.com/home.html) and an older one called Simple Screamers.  I can vouch for the Dragon booklet as I have it and it is very informative, and the Screamers seems to be the papier mache "bible" to a lot of great PM'ers on the net.  If you can get a hold of either of these you will be inspired and learn heaps.  I don't know where you are located but the Screamers book is hard to get in Australia but readily available in US, if you are prepared to pay the rather high price for it as it is now a collectors item. (I can afford the book but not the postage as well)  Hope this helps.
                               Lesley

Yes, there are quite a few books out there that are quite "basic", for lack of a better word. Like PM is limited to bowls.

I would second Juliet Bawden's book. She isn't a craftsperson, she just makes nice books with good photos. But the books are mostly inspirational, rather than instructive. The basics may be there, but the book is most valuable to stimulate your imagination.

Sue