All the Thom books are worth getting but for the PPL you could ignore Radio Navigation & Instrument Flying
That's true. You can also forget about the R/T book (book 7?), and get a copy of CAP413 instead, which is better and more definitive. And book 1 is very useful for the flying, but not relevant to the exams.
Memorise the PPL confuser and you won't go far wrong
That has to be some of the worst advice possible. The Confuser exams are great
after you've studied, to check that you're ready for the real exam. As you say, Johnny, anyone who "studies" this way won't have a good understanding of the subjects, and when it comes to things like Met, or Navigation, this could have serious implications on your flying (like getting you lost or killed). It's bad enough advice for a private pilot, but since this post is in the commercial training forums, the majority of the posters will be going on to do ATPL exams, which will be even harder than they need to be without a good understanding of the PPL subjects.
(Besides which, someone - BEagle, I think? - said very recently that the PPL exams are in the process of being replaced, and it's too soon to know if the Confuser exams are still representative of the new exams. So even learning the answers from the Confuser won't guarantee you a pass right now.)
FFF
--------------