Reddit mentions of The Complete Guide to the Tarot: Determine Your Destiny! Predict Your Own Future!

Any deck is fine, you can even use a standard deck of cards as a stand-in if you're saving up for a particularly nice deck. I'd advise you to pick a couple of different decks you like, try a few readings with each, choose which one you like best.

I have a really nifty Tarot book that I find very useful, but I'm having no luck finding it on Amazon. It's kind of old. I like it because it's well-organized, clear, and somewhat in-depth. Here it is. Please pardon the !! very exciting promises!! in the subtitle, heh. It's a good resource.

Here are some different spreads you can use. The only one I have memorized is the Celtic Cross, as it's the first one I learned, ages ago, and it makes sense to me. Otherwise I do single-card readings or three-card "interpretation" readings.

Some of the nice card sets you'll find for sale come with their own interpretations of the cards themselves. This is neat but I think there's value and meaning in the original design of the cards, their symbols, their numbers, etc. So be careful when buying decks -- they may have a custom setup with meaning that doesn't match the standard tarot.

I enjoy Tarot and other divination 'magics' because they give me some sense of control or knowledge over what is otherwise totally beyond my control or knowledge. It's entertaining. It keeps my mind flexible. I like all the symbolism. I like looking back -- I write down all my divinations so I can check them later -- and seeing what parts were 'right' and which didn't happen.

Well there are two that I recommend. Since you are going with the Raider-Waite-Smith deck, you could actually get Aurtor Waite's book on his deck. Him and Pamela Coleman Smith worked on very specific meaning and symbols and while she drew the pictures he wrote the book on what he felt that they meant. It's called "The Pictorial Keyto the Tarot" -- There's actually a really nice commemorative set meant to honor Pamela Coleman Smith that has his book included. I bought it as a gift and it was beautiful you can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Pamela-Colman-Smith-Commemorative-Set/dp/1572816392/

The second book I would recommend is The Complete Guide to the Tarot by Eden Gray found here: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Tarot-Eden-Gray/dp/0553277529/ -- This is my favorite book on tarot and is the one I still use to teach my students.