<p>I'm currently a sophomore at Virginia Tech and my current major is Computer Science. I took an introductory circuits course ( KVL, KCL, Ohm's Law, Nodal and Mesh Analysis, etc.) and didn't really care for it. There were some parts I enjoyed and some parts where I just wished I was programming. </p>
<p>But I've recently caught inspiration to try and get an education in both hardware and software classes. The beauty of Virginia Tech's CpE program is that I can take plenty of CS courses while still getting a strong hardware foundation. I would like to give this course of study a shot.</p>
<p>I've spoken to some of my upperclassmen EE/CpE friends and most of them say circuits was the most boring part of their curriculum and the upper level stuff is more interesting. I'm contemplating enrolling in electronics 1 next semester, but I want to get a good feel for what I'll be learning. </p>
<p>The difficulty isn't what concerns me, I just want to make sure I'll enjoy it before I waste time and credits that could be spent better elsewhere. I started reading from one of my friend's textbooks and its just awful. She says she gets most of her information from the lectures, but I'm not in the lectures and I still need to get a good grasp of this information. Can anyone recommend a good introductory Electronics book? </p>
<p>The current book we use is this one: Microelectronic</a> Circuit Design: Richard Jaeger,Travis Blalock: 9780073380452: Amazon.com: Books</p>
<p>But its just awful. The reviews tell the story as well. The course outline is here: VT</a> ECE 2204 Electronics (3C)</p>
<p>Maximum money I'm willing to spend is $80 but I'll pay a little more if its a highly rated book. Thanks guys.</p>