Aren't we being a bit negative and snobbish here?
Does spending lots of money really make you a good pilot?
A big, shiny over priced flight bag full of the latest goodies isn't going to stop you from crashing!
The Thom books can be a useful reference but there are plenty of online resources these days which will answer most of your questions....Pprune being one of the best IMHO.
If you can't borrow a set (as it seems most posters here appear to have kept theirs), you can pick up the books (and all the other essentials) cheaply on ebay....that's where I sold mine...Watch out for the Air Law volume....as those laws do change...the laws of physics, however, do not!!
Happy flying