Re: Chess books?
An excellent annotated games collection for a novice would be Chernev's "Logical Chess: Move by Move". He goes through 33 high-level games and explains the purpose behind every single move. I think going through this book would be an excellent (and very entertaining) way of improving your game.
To be a good player you will also need to learn how to play endings, as many games will come down to the ending. Purdy's "On the Endgame" is the most accessible endgame book I've ever come across. It's very informative, very easy to read, and will give you a solid grounding in the endgame. I also highly recommend Chernev's "Capablanca's Best Chess Endings" in which he annotates 100 of Capablanca's best endings (he annoates the whole game, but concentrates on the ending).
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