Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners by Joan Bunning was my very first book on Tarot. It was quite helpful and I still reference it to this day. The only thing I didn't care for all that much about it is/was her insistence on using the Celtic Cross spread. As a beginner, for me, the Celtic Cross was just too much for me early on and when I tried, it just confused and frustrated me...too much info and processing all those meanings too soon, but that's just my experience, of course.
A Magical Course in Tarot by Michele Morgan was the second book I read and oh my, I absolutely loved it. It thinks a bit "out of the box" and it fit me like a glove. I reread it from time to time because I enjoy it so much.
Power Tarot by Trish Macgregor and Phyllis Vega was my next read. It is quite possibly my favorite Tarot book. It presents itself as a book on spreads but it goes beyond that with all the meanings of the cards included. It's wonderful.
Tarot Made Easy by Nancy Garen...fantastic book. I love that it gives meanings pertaining to different issues, such as: what a card means regarding love, career, spiritually, health, etc. for each card! Love this one as well!
I followed these with Rachel Pollack's 78 Degrees of Wisdom, and while she is superbly informative and very, very through, I just don't/didn't jive with her writing style as much as some of the others I've mentioned. Her writing style, for me, reads quite "scholarly" or something...She's brilliant and I appreciate her work, but I like an "easier" read. But again, this is just my opinion, others absolutely adore her work completely.