The Solar Home: How to Design and Build a House You Heat With the Sun

I am a first-time DIY owner-builder, presently in the early planning stages of my house project. I picked this book up at Borders as my first book on homebuilding, and was glad that I did.
It was a quick and easy read, and its friendly, informal, confident style makes the first-time homebuilder feel that perhaps doing it yourself is not so daunting a task after all. The book contains enough detailed explanations and drawings to give one a feel for what kind of work is involved in all the various stages of a typical passive solar homebuilding project, while remaining brief enough as to not be too intimidating.

Fine Homebuilding 25 Years of Great: 215 Great Building Tips

Lot of good tips for a handyman. Step-by-step advice - decks, porches, painting & prep, drywall, carpentry, cabinets.