Reddit reviews The Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds

I just realized no one has asked you where you live! All these answers are pretty much North America centric as I am assuming that is where you live.

Everyone has mentioned Sibley (who is pretty much my idol) but there a couple other books that might be interesting to you as well. I would definitely recommend his field guide over his full guide for you.

• The Birder's Handbook is an interesting browse-y sort of read; it has both essays and species info in it. There are so many interesting tidbits to pick up in there.
  
  
• Hope is the Thing with Feathers by Christopher Cokonis is a very interesting and sad read about recently extinct bird species of North America. It is somewhat painful to read--as a birder--because you will never be able to see any of those species in the field but it is a wonderful look at how we both see and have seen birds.
  
  
• Nat Geo's Birding Essentials is a good place to sort of "learn the language" of birding. I don't like their field guides as much as I like Sibley's but this book is quite good at covering a range of birding subjects for the beginner.
  
  Another good idea would be getting a hold of regional field guide or an American Bird Association (ABA) list for your area. It would help you to narrow down the species you are likely to be looking at. Using a field guide full of incidentals/rare/crosses/sub-species can be confusing for a new birder so a smaller list can help you pinpoint which species you should be flipping through your book to look at. You can often find these lists at state and county parks. Your state/local DNR site is a great place to find birding resources in your area!
  
  My favorite bird is the Ovenbird! They are fat and stripey and seriously loud for being sort of cagey undergrowth dwellers. I often log them on my bird lists without ever seeing one because their loud calls are unmistakable (and often unending). They aren't impressive or majestic but they are pretty cute with their stripey orange mohawks.
  

The Birder's Handbook is a great ornithology primer.