Some years ago, if you wanted to learn about trading options from books, your alternatives were limited. Luckily, there were a few excellent books available and some of the earlier texts continue to populate the best-seller lists and remain classics. Two such books are:

• Options as a Strategic Investment by Lawrence McMillan
• Option Volatility & Pricing by Sheldon Natenberg

Find links to these books here.


These two books are excellent -- but they were not written for the options rookie. McMillan's book works best as your 2nd book, to be read after you understand the basic option concepts. Natenberg's book is for intermediate to advanced traders.

e-Books
Today, there are a great number of e-Books devoted to options, and the quantity is increasing rapidly. As expected, the quality varies. Some are good, a few are outstanding, and (unfortunately) some are pretty bad. The good news is that they are inexpensive, and reading several allows you to study and compare the ideas of several authors. That is beneficial for you because it provides an opportunity for you to consider a number of ways to approach a specific trading strategy -- and to choose those which appeal to your way of thinking.

Book Ideas
Two useful links: 

• Current option best-sellers at amazon.com is a decent place to begin your search for books that may suit your needs.
• A list of my books.

Option trading is not governed by a set of mandatory rules.

 Therefore evaluating a variety of ideas on how to approach trading can only make you a better trader. When adopting ideas that seem reasonable and abandoning suggestions that feel illogical, you will find yourself using ideas that feel comfortable. That is far better than blindly following rules that you do not really understand.

 

Promises
Please be wary when any author tells you that trading options leads to instant riches or that making money with options is so easy that everyone can do it - in their spare time. My suggestion is to get educated. There are free/inexpensive seminars offered by your broker, the options exchanges, and the Options Industry Council (OIC). the abundance of eBooks gives you an opportunity to gain insight from some very qualified (and some very unqualified) authors. 

The truth is that any business that involves money, such as trading/investing, attracts people who want to separate you from your money. Many of the people and companies that provide costly lessons are vastly overpriced and provide little of value. Of course, there are great teachers and courses available, so do some research before making a choice.

There are newsletters and advisory services. In general, I disapprove of them, but there are nuggets among the trash. Some services are worse than terrible because they charge a stiff fee and provide lousy (i.e., money-losing) returns. Before trusting any such service, be sure to ask for a detailed and audited record of past performance.

Conclusion
There are many sources for investors/traders who want to learn to use options. Take your time getting that education. Begin with free/inexpensive material. For most traders, those materials are more than enough to get them started on the right path. If you are someone who prefers to pay for professional guidance, please choose your mentor carefully.