The books of R A Penfold are ideal for beginners, topics range from simple projects to building your own test gear. Simple to follow , complete with veroboard layouts.
Or if one wishes to get really down to the nuts an volts of electronics
the works of H P Friedrichs make excellent reading for both newcomers
and those that love the smell of solder in the morning.
"Instruments of Amplification" gives details on how to actually build your own resistors, capacitors, vacuum tubes and transistors. Colour pictures of his creations can be found on the web.