Reddit mentions of Hal Leonard Pocket Music Theory: A Comprehensive and Convenient Source for All Musicians

I've done it in the past just to assess the course. As a teacher and music theorist in training, as well as a practicing musician, I had a number of complaints about the methodology and ideas presented in the course. Like many non-peer reviewed publications, it goes off the rails as soon as they bring up modes. What could have been a fruitful and focused study of music geared toward the beginner and intermediate musician alike becomes mired by the inclusion of a controversial topic that is never given adequate explanation. This was a couple of years ago, so it may have changed since then.

Aside from private lessons (with someone who actually knows what they're doing; a more difficult proposition than you might think), I'd recommend going through the materials on http://www.musictheory.net, Hal Leonard's Pocket Music Theory, or if you really have stamina and the discipline for self-teaching, Miguel Roig-Francoli's Harmony in Context.

Hal Leonards Pocket Music Theory & Pocket Music Dictionary both live in my teaching bag for when something slips my mind. Great little texts and theyre cheap as chips.

I've been in a similar boat for years, just now breaking free from it. Stuff that's helped me the most:

1. Memorize all the notes on the guitar. I just went fret by fret for a few weeks (maybe there's a better way to memorize) but that helped me identify notes and chords infinitely better.
   
2. I got this book and it has been a great help understanding basic music theory https://www.amazon.com/Leonard-Pocket-Music-Theory-Comprehensive/dp/063404771X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1499725981&sr=8-2&keywords=hal+leonard+music+theory
   
3. mattwarnockguitar.com -- This site has a ton of great stuff and it's where i'm primarily learning from now. There's great sections on drop-2 chords, drop-3 chords, major scale, arpeggios, etc

I'm glad I could help.

I've been reading this book, and it's really helping me learn a lot. There are were one or two parts that I didn't like in the beginning, but I'm finding it to be a great resource, especially for the price.