Electronic Components Explained

[codywookman]

Hello,
I am fairly new to the electronics field, but have recently taken a lot of interest in designing some of my own projects. I often have difficulty in deciding what components to use in the circuits. Does anyone know of a good resource, preferrably a book, that would describe a large amount of these components in detail and describe what they do and how they work, maybe even some applications of the parts.
I'm thinking something like "Electronics Encylopedia" that gives more detail than a dictionary but not as much that it would need to be volumes upon volumes of books. I might be searching for a needle in a haystack, but I thought it was worth a shot. What does everyone else use to learn about all the new components in the electronics world?

Mainly i'm looking at components used with microcontrollers and programming with logic gates...but any reference would be great.

 

[Leadfree]

Anything i need to know i usually just google, then wade through all the crap till i find the cream. If after searching n reading i still cant find what im after, I ask on suitable forums.

 

[stevez]

I own two books that provide some of what you've described:
a. ARRL Handbook for Radio Amateurs
d. Practical Electronics for Inventors by Paul Scherz

I also have several of the old Radio Shack series books that actually have quite a bit of explanatory material.

I also have a number of books that relate to microcontrollers with lots of projects in them. Each of them seems to have varying degrees of explanations that you seek - presumably because many readers are interested but just learning about electronics.