hope this isnt off topic but anyone know a good book you can buy for learning html & css?

No, because HTML and CSS are evolving entities and books merely capture a snapshot (and usually a dated slapshot at that.)

The best thing you can do is to read sites like this one, experiment, and ask when you get stuck. You'll learn a buttload more that way than you will with any book.

well im going on vacation for a month and im not going to have internet access

That could pose a bit of an issue.

I don't know...I haven't seen a book yet that really taught anything of value. Maybe others have, but I doubt it.

I think you might be better off using web sources to learn it. Its cheaper and they are typically updated regularly wc3schools.org.

Okay, I just read the rest of your post.

I think you would be better off printing information from web sources.Its cheaper and they are typically updated regularly wc3schools.org.

I'm a huge advocate of learning techinical related technologies with books because they are usually well put together, and the information is correct as where a lot of the resources on the Internet are 13 year olds who think they know what they're talking about. Although in the case of HTML, CSS, and even JavaScript (JavaScript really goes both ways I guess) you need learn it over the web.
You need to learn these languages over the web because first of all they're not even programming language. HTML is known as a markup-language. NOT a programming language. In other words it's too simple to learn in a book. HTML books always have a hard time filling a book with HTML because absolutely anyone can learn HTML in a few hours on a good tutorial site.
I learned HTML on http://www.htmlgoodies.com/ but most tags there aren't XHTML which is the new standard HTML (XML complaint) so http://www.w3schools.com/ is the most well-known web site to learn HTML and CSS. You may want to go to http://www.htmlgoodies.com/ for a few references though. I also recommend http://www.w3schools.com/ to learn JavaScript but you do need to go other places as well because they only teach you the code and not ways to apply it. This is usually good because you can think of your own new ideas but you do need some sort of stimulation to realize the power of functions in the first place. So just make sure to learn JavaScript in a few places.

i found this site to be very helpful for learning html and css.

www.w3schools.com

There's some book reviews at www.pcbookreview.com that cover CSS etc but it's a valid point that it's an evolving area and you'll need a few books and a lot of time on the web keeping up to date with it all.

I happen to disagree. I know of several VERY good books for learning the essentials of HTML and CSS and the FOUNDATIONS of both of these aren't changing. Learn the basics, then learn the new stuff from the on-line sources.

A couple of good ones:
http://www.sitepoint.com/books/html1/
http://www.sitepoint.com/books/css2/
CSS - both of Eric Myer's books

Im with ladynred on this one. Yes, you can learn A TON off of the web about HTML and CSS, but if you feel lost and need a starting place, a book is really good to have. I bought http://www.sitepoint.com/books/css2/ when I wanted to learn how to layout pages with CSS rather than tables. I learned so much from it and would highly recommend it. It gives you a good grasp of the basics of CSS. From there, you will have a better idea of what to look for on the web to expand your skills.

Ya, when I learned html and css and that stuff, I just searched the library for that stuff and found a nice CURRENT (make sure it was published very current) book

If your a cheapskate like me, use the library or print from web. I learned a lot through books (mostly computer maintenance) but that was before the net was fast enough at my house. Now I can learn practically anything through the web, though I would rarely read fiction/nonfiction online.

Although I use the web to learn new skills, I do recommend the following two books:

HTML Goodies (2nd Edition) ISBN:0789726114
Beyond HTML Goodies ISBN:0789727803

I used these to learn HTML a few years back when I was on dial up and my connection was limited.

If your looking for a website, www.w3schools.com is a good website. I would say read at least HTML Goodies to get the basics and then start using W3Schools to catch up on things.

The best thing you can do is to read sites like this one, experiment, and ask when you get stuck. You'll learn a buttload more that way than you will with any book.

My most used book is 'CSS Mastery' by Andy Budd.
This is an excellent book to learn CSS. Although this is best suited for intermediate/advanced users.
I've never bought a html book. I just used the net. But I know there is a HTML Mastery also by Andy Budd which is probably just as good.

There are many good web design books out there. They just need to be kept up to date, and they are pretty much all from Sitepoint.


Have a good look through here. They are all worth the money.