I would love to learn how to take better pictures and how to really use the manual features on my camera, so I'm wondering if anyone could suggest some books for beginners.

I'm sorry, but I didn't learn about manual features through a book, so I'm no help there. Maybe try one of those "photography for dummies" books or something along those lines. Usually the "....for dummies" is pretty good about breaking everything down from the very beginning. I would also suggest checking Amazon and checking "photography for beginners" or something along those lines, and check the ratings.
As far as "taking better pictures" what are you trying to photograph? What is your goal? Without knowing what you're trying to accomplish, it's hard to give you a direction in that sense. Is it lighting? Composition? Post production?

I just bought The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D Companion from amazon. It got good ratings. I think I am going to buy the one for dummies. lol Like KRushphoto mentioned it's pretty good about breaking everything down from the very beginning.

I've been shooting for about 10 years, and I never thought to take a class or read a text book as I thought I knew what I was doing; I was wrong. I bought "the Basic Book of Photography" off of amazon recently for .99 (and $4 shipping) and while there was a lot of information I was already aware of, there were a few aspects I new nothing about. I think ideally you should see if they are offering any classes at the Navy College, but if not, I'd recommend getting the book I named above, reading it, and then joining a local photography club. There are so many different aspects to photography, both film and digital. I was a slow adopter of digital and didn't get my first dSLR until 2008. When I did finally get my dSLR I was still trying to shoot as if I was using film. I finally started reading a lot of online articles and now I understand more about shooting in digital.

AdinaVerbena, did you have a type of camera in mind? Did you want digital or film; point and shoot or an SLR/dSLR?

Japan is the place to find good cheap used equipment to learn on, and from my experience, development of film is rather cheap (even for 120 film!)

I bought the DSLR for Dummies and LOVE IT... Learned a ton and it definitely assisted with my photography. Not about to go on tour or be shown in a gallery or anything, but I do a lot better job.

LOL Wilson! =)
I agree that you don't know photography until you are able to shoot film first. But if you're doing this as a hobby, there's no reason to go that route, unless you want to. Digital photography as well as post production tools can help you make most digital files "better."
I agree that no one just "knows" photography. Everyone assumes they know more than they do when they are starting out. You may have an eye for a great shot, but that's just the beginning.  I was fortunate to learn from photographers while working, and I'm eternally grateful for the opportunities.
Lisa has a great idea as well. Many cameras will have a book specific to it that goes into more detail. You can also try free online sites (photo.net is a good one) as well as some other free tutorial websites for basics.
Personally, I feel lighting is the most important thing, but that's just me. Light: Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver and Paul Fagua is an excellent book.

WHAT?!?! I am not an expert?!?! I am returning that book... When I bought it...the "Dummies" part of the title rang so true. Now it just humms the sound of truth.

=)
I REALLY love that whole series of books. I think it also makes the accusation "dummy" or "idiot" (from the "....for idiots series) much less offensive. I really should get it and take a look before I go promoting it any further, but I can't see how it would be any different than the other "dummies" books I've read. Very clear and starts you at the beginning.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I've got a Nikon D40, so I'm more concerned with digital photography. It is mostly lighting I want to figure out and some of composition, too. I'm mostly taking pictures of the kids, but obviously have been taking pictures of the sights here and would like to produce something decent enough that I wouldn't be embarrassed to display on my own walls.

Then I really recommend the book I mentioned earlier for lighting. Also, if you can fork out a few hundred for a better flash (sorry, I'm a Canon fan, so not sure if yours even has an on camera flash), it will make a huge difference as well. On camera flashes tend to flatten an image. Bounce flashes can help prevent that.

It does have an on camera flash, but I pretty much avoid using the camera if I don't have decent natural light, because I lack the flashy know-how to not get a craptastic picture (and I suspect on-camera flashes are pretty much useless). I think I will be looking for that book and a Dummies one. I've also heard there's a book called Understanding Exposure that's supposed to be helpful.

I agree with Krush. I don't know much about Nikon, but you should look for a flash that you can adjust the strobe in both the yaw and pitch axis (to bounce the flash off of walls and or ceiling). There are also diffusers that you can use when outside or in buildings with odd colored walls/ceilings or other citations where you cannot bounce the flash.

Once you get really into photography, you can start looking into the newer professional bodies that can take awesome photos in very low light due to their high ISO low noise sensors. It will open up different options that aren't present with a entry level dSLR

The library on base has a good selection of photography books. They are old though. lol But it's better then nothing.

Yes!!! Understanding Exposure is a good one as well!
Not to mention, practice, practice, PRACTICE!!! Shoot in the different modes and mess with your settings. "P" is very similar to automatic. Focus on an object, shoot, and take a look at what settings it selected. I generally shoot in "M" but I think it's because I do a lot of studio photography. I know a lot of people who use the "AV" setting. My suggestion is to stick with one ISO setting (400 since you're just playing around...or 100 or 200 if you are outside and there's enough light), and take turns just adjusting your apeture and your f stops. Look at the difference from one f stop to the next.
It's good to hear the library has a better selection. It really sucked when I first got here. I always keep all of my books. You never know when you might want to look back through them for new ideas or re-training.

The general concept hasn't changed from Film to digital; in fact, they still use "ISO" to describe the sensitivity of the sensor. Most of the information will apply, except processing of the film.

Something else I should mention, there are many post processing programs; Photoshop is expensive, but a really good program. If you don't have the money for Photoshop, look into "Gimp"; it started as a Linux based program similar to Photoshop, but is now available for other OSes such as windows and OS X.

Let me re-phrase that Cindy.

The library has a selection of Photography books. They seemed to have a few shelves full of books. They look very OLD. Maybe from the 80's haha

What I like (and hate) about film is you HAVE to do it right the first time. There's no post production to fix where you messed up. But there's nothing like the perfect film shot! =)
I use and love photoshop, but I've heard other people say they love Photomatix, but I've never ventured into that territory.  Most of the time I leave my photos unedited.
LMAO, Lisa!!!  Thanks for the clarification.  If it's the same books, I think they're from the 70's.  LOL!

I shoot in RAW exclusively so I need a program that will allow some post processing. I LOVE Photomatix for tone mapping and HDR, but I don't use it for much more. I agree with the assertion that you should work on the perfect shot the first time (You can't polish a turd).

LMAO!!! Well, it's good to know I'm not missing out on much.