Reddit mentions of Introduction to Mineralogy

Thirding the suggestion for Nesse. I have this version, but the old text we keep in the lab has also been incredibly helpful, although it's nice to have coloured charts and more detailed diagrams. A new edition's supposed to come out soon from what I understand, but I could be wrong. Probably isn't going to be too different, though.

Are you looking for a textbook? I like "Introduction to Mineralogy" by William Nesse. It's pretty comprehensive on mineral ID and info, including occurrence, alteration, uses, cleavage, etc.

A mineralogy textbook would be a good start, this is the one we used when I took the class (https://www.amazon.com/Manual-Mineral-Science-Cornelis-Klein/dp/0471721573). Or maybe this (https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Mineralogy-William-Nesse/dp/0199827389), although I haven't read it myself.

Reflected light microscopy is a bit of a lost art. I was never taught it formally, and had to learn it later. You'll want to look for old used books, but for most silicates reflected light isn't the way to go. Are you looking at ore samples? Because that is really when it becomes useful.

This is my go-to book for mineral identification:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0199827389/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944687462&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0199846278&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=JH49Y9MM8HG4CQ9X8A0G