See, the problem is that while you may abstain at this point from telling people to buy things, that doesn't mean other people (not necessarily in this thread - everywhere on the internet and in the world in general) won't be doing the same. Everyone has a greasy little salesman inside of them that just wants people to make their purchase decisions based on their advice. I'm not different. The only difference is that having grown up without money and without making a whole lot of it, I've had to do things the free way for most of my life and have learned how beneficial it can be.
Spend thousands of rands on ****ty (yes, ****ty) courses and books now or use an internet connection you already have available to you to get exactly the same thing in far greater quantities for cross-referencing. The biggest joke is that, again, not everyone's advice is going to be 'the best'. Everyone is going to be giving false information somewhere or teaching bad habits elsewhere. Having available to you free resources as opposed to a limited scope of paid resources allows you to compare the information available to you and determine for yourself which is the most sound, however.
Which is why I keep suggesting that before someone who doesn't necessarily know how to use their new camera from a hardware perspective goes out and buys books teaching them how to use something kinda-sorta-related to it, they should instead be focusing on how to use that specific tool and then learning about techniques they can apply to their use of that tool.
Tom Ang - Digital Photography Masterclass
101 Great Things to do with your Digital Camera
How to Photograph Absolutely Everything
I have as example these three books. They were paid for - not by me, by a friend and family - and given to me as presents.
I have read through all three of them. Tom Ang is or was a washout photographer - he doesn't seem to understand about white-balance in the least.
The other book is great if you've got a compact or bridge camera and want to learn how to take holiday snapshots that won't come out black or white from extreme under or over exposure because of not understanding the most basic concepts of metering and limitations of image capture qualities. Otherwise, also a useless book.
I feel sorry for those that bought these books for me. I really appreciated the gesture since they wanted to buy me photography related books, but had I known they would misinterpret when I said 'photo books such as those with work by Ansel Adams or William Eggleston', I'd have been able to save them money while still appreciating their gesture. Now instead I have three books lying here that I would not want anyone starting out with any kind of camera to read, because they're damaging books.
This is why I find the notion of suggesting someone go out and buy books and, worse, 'review magazines', to be wasteful and the adherence to the concept stubborn. Free resources and a capable head on one's shoulders will always have the potential to be more valuable and useful.
*edit* Looks like Tom Ang still is a washout 'photographer'. I've seen kids 5-8 years old that don't know anything about 'photography' take better photos more consistently than him - and people like him are publishing 'best-selling' books that will 'teach' you how to 'take better photos' (read: take photos like theirs, which are terrible)