A vast number of Go books are available for study, with about 200 in English. Although the BGA Bookshop no longer operates, the most recent BGA price list [2] gives an indication of the level a book is suitable - beginner, intermediate or advanced. There are books on many subjects from the opening, through tesuji and middle game, to the end game.
For complete beginners the most thorough book is "Teach Yourself Go" by Charles Matthews of Cambridge Go Club.
There have also been some novels about Go and the cartoon series Hikaru No Go [3].
We have a list of recent publications [4] (to December 2010) and book reviews from the BGJ can be seen here [5]. David Carlton maintains a Go Bibliography [6] (off-site) with reviews of many of the books and there is another Go Bibliography [7] (off-site) which has a list showing all the covers of the books. Alternative reviews can often be found on Sensei's Library [8] (off-site) or on Amazon or the publishers' websites.
There are various Go terms that have come into common use, mostly from Japanese, but these are usually defined in a book and should not scare the beginner from reading as the 25 or so commonest are soon learnt. In case there is no glossary, then our extensive list of Japanese Go Terminology [9] definitions may be useful.
There are many Go sets [10] available. They include mat and wooden boards of various sizes (9, 13 or 19 lines) and stones of plastic or glass. Some are magnetic for travel purposes.
It is best to start playing on smaller boards before moving up to the large 19x19 one. Recommended is the 1B set, that has a plywood 13x13 and 9x9 board in it, and the 9x9 magnetic FridgeGo set.
There is a page showing some of the Go sets [11] that have been sold in the UK.
As an alternative to purchasing a set it is of course possible to make your own [12].
The BGA Book Shop no longer operates (as of 18th December 2010), but the most recent price list [13] for the books and equipment indicates what it sold.
The BGA still sells to members subscriptions for four issues of Go World [14] magazine.
In addition the BGA sells back numbers of Go World [15].
The BGA also sells back numbers of the BGJ [16].
There are a number of suppliers [17] of mail order books and equipment, in this country, Europe and America, that will make sales to the UK. For the UK we recommend Pentangle Puzzles and Games. Our list of suppliers includes publishers, shops and mail order companies. There are various good games shops around the country, that you can visit in person, that sell Go books and equipment. If there are any you know that are not listed then please tell us.
Links:
[1] http://www.britgo.org/books/index.html
[2] http://www.britgo.org/bgabooks/bgaprices.html#books
[3] http://www.britgo.org/youth/hikaru.html
[4] http://www.britgo.org/history/books.html#recent
[5] http://www.britgo.org/bookreviews.html
[6] http://www.gobooks.info/
[7] http://gobooks.nemir.org/
[8] http://senseis.xmp.net
[9] http://www.britgo.org/general/definitions
[10] http://www.britgo.org/bgabooks/bgaprices.html#equipment
[11] http://www.britgo.org/history/gosets
[12] http://www.britgo.org/learners/make.html
[13] http://www.britgo.org/bgabooks/bgaprices.html
[14] http://www.britgo.org/bgabooks/bgaprices#goworld
[15] http://www.britgo.org/bgabooks/goworld.html
[16] http://www.britgo.org/bgj/backnumbers.html
[17] http://www.britgo.org/bgabooks/supplier.html