Reddit mentions of Field Guide to Geometrical Optics (SPIE Vol. FG01)

Hi, I'm very pleased to hear that you are interested in lens design and optics. Although I think I'd be able to help you out more if I knew your motivation and end goals, here are a few suggestions:

For books, I recommend two. First, Field Guide to Lens Design by Bently/Olson if you're just starting out, it is not math heavy and cheaper than most textbooks.
https://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Design-Press-Guides/dp/0819491640/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487712393&sr=8-1&keywords=field+guide+to+lens+design

Another book, Field Guide to Geometrical Optics by Greivenkamp if you're willing to put in the math and learn the theory. It's still a simple book though, I'm a lens designer and I use the book regularly because it is a great reference.
https://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Geometrical-Optics-SPIE/dp/0819452947/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487712411&sr=8-1&keywords=field+guide+to+geometrical+optics

If you want Videos, the Youtube channel Optics Realm are thorough. Skip the Zemax tutorial and go to the Optics tutorials.
https://www.youtube.com/user/opticsrealm

And finally, there is a great set of slides at slideshare. However, some things may be lost if you don't have Dave speaking to you.
http://www.slideshare.net/operacrazy/camera-lens-talk

Good luck learning, and don't hesitate to ask me for follow-up. Like I said at the beginning, I think I can help you out more if you can tell me: why did get interested in lens design? And what's your end goal after learning?

You know the ray trace equations? here is a class website that covers raytracing by hand, you should look over the homework solutions. http://www.optics.arizona.edu/ot/opti502/
Im sure once you can do it by hand, you can easily write a program to do it. Ive done it in excel before when i was a lazy undergrad and i didnt want to do my homework.
This book is the most useful optics book ever written. It is short and sweet and covers the most important stuff in geometrical optics. It is really easy to understand and only costs $30.
http://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Geometrical-Optics-SPIE/dp/0819452947