Reddit mentions of CompTIA Network+ Study Guide: Exam N10-006 (Comptia Network + Study Guide Authorized Courseware)

Personal recommendation, don't shoot for certifications with only Messer's videos and quick notes/questions. You might be able to pass the exam like that but more than likely you're going to be under prepared. Especially important for Network+ and Security+, as if something goes wrong it can cost a lot of money to the company. The in depth books are boring and will take a while, but it will teach you a lot more than studying the questions will.


Personally, when i study I use the 2-2-2 method. 2 Books, 2 Supplemental sources (Videos, tutorials, labs), and 2 Practice tests. Two books to make sure that if one author didn't cover a subject in detail well enough, or if I don't understand them, the other one mostly likely will cover it well enough. The other 2 would be other sources to learn from. I would watch videos on Wardriving, networking centers, data centers, etc. to get an idea of how everything looks in a real world deployment. Network+ won't teach you what to really expect to see in a MDF/IDF. CBTNuggets gets recommended a lot, but I usually use pluralsight. And 2 Practice exams, which I have to constantly get over 80% on them.


Todd Lammle's Network+ book is amazing, highly recommended


Mike Meyer's Book is also a good read.


As far as Security+ goes...


Favorite Security+ Material I've read. Super in depth and organizes topics very well.


Better than nothing for Sec+. After reading this book I did not review it again until right before the exam. Barely touches on a lot of subjects and missed quite a bit compared to the other book.

Seconded on the Network+, I know you said you aren't interested in studying for a test but the Network+ materials that I've found have been excellent.
This book is excellent, written well and walks you through setting up labs and I learned a lot from it when it was used in a college class.

http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Study-Guide-Authorized/dp/1119021243/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1449789529&sr=8-2&keywords=network%2B

Alternatively, I find that Cisco does a really good job explaining high-concept advanced networking really well. So check out their textbooks for CCNA.

If you're more the video-tutorial type, check out the CBT nuggets for CCNA or Network+ because they do a good job as well.

Creating a home media server is a great way to learn networking because theres a ton of great tutorials out there and it teaches you a lot of things at once. Also, there's no underestimating simply going through whatever router you own and learning about whatever settings it has and learning what it can do and what everything is for.

I'm assuming I can post links:
CompTIA Network+ Study Guide: Exam N10-006 (Comptia Network + Study Guide Authorized Courseware) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119021243/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_457Fzb6X87J8P

I like the way that these guides are laid out. They have plenty of practice problems and I believe network+ has interactive labs. I am currently studying for CompTIA CASP from this publisher and it is very informative. This is just my reccomendation, I'm sure someone else will have a better recommendation.

O'Reilly books (the ones with the animals on the front cover) or Sybex are usually pretty good for ALL sorts of technical stuff, perhaps something that covers Comptia A+ or NETWORK+ exams? It gives the added bonus of perhaps improving your value at work if you deal with anything like that.

http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Study-Guide-Authorized/dp/1119021243 would for example give you everything you need to pass the NETWORK+ certification, or if you prefer just learn more about the topic in general, though if you're just looking for a general primer it most definitely goes FAR more into detail than some people might like.

You can search http://www.oreilly.com/ for books on a huge number of computer-related topics.

I have CompTIA Network +, Security +, and Apple OSx Certified Support Professional.

Best way to get them is just to study by purchasing the books.

[Network +] (https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Study-Guide-Authorized/dp/1119021243/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473465885&sr=1-2&keywords=network+%2B)

Security +

ACSP

You can schedule the CompTIA certifications here

You can schedule the Apple certifications [here] (http://training.apple.com/)

You only really need Security + to get a DoD job, however, the most certs you have, the better you look in the eyes of potential employers. Most people I've worked with have never touched a Mac, but support clientele that work on Macs, so having a Mac cert is a big plus, but not at all required.

If you get a Sec+, and have a decent understanding of computers and troubleshooting, you'll find a nice entry level job normally working Helpdesk.