Seriously Bart, that BASIC compiler manual is ALL that you need (and the datasheet for your chosen PIC). You probably could do with a board with an LCD on it. You can then program, bit manipulate and display the results to SEE what you achieved. It's really the ONLY and BEST way to learn. If you're going to be playing with MeLabs compilers, then go chose an MeLabs board to play with... There's tons of code now floating about (eg on MeLabs website) to strip apart and see how it works.

Geting a project done (like your current one) is also a good way to go... you'll stumble and curse and pull hair out, but at the end of it you WILL have succeeded and have learnt a great deal in the process.

At the end of the day, books are a great cure for insomnia... why burden yourself with any more than you have to. You've already got (documentation wise) all that I use every day.