Type and Typography

Im currently reading this book and although it's quite a slow start, it is very useful for anyone that wants to get into typography. It gives plenty of examples when distinguishing the differences between the typefaces aswell go through the influences from where they came from. 

The only criticism I can give the book is that the writing style is very formal, which I tend to find harder to read.

Styles, Schools and Movements

This is a really good reference book for most of the art movements through the past couple of centuries. Ignoring the name of the book (because it sounds rather childish), it has some really useful information for each movement as well as giving examples of the different artists that used those techniques.