Just to add my pennyworth: May I put in a word for Paint Shop Pro which costs a fraction of the price of Photoshop and will do everything you want to do. I have been using it for various purposes for several years.
Another magazine is Digital Photo which I have been taking regularly for nearly a year. A slip up on the part of my local newagent allowed me to make a single comparision with Digital Photography. It may not be a fair comparison but I preferred my regular magazine. However, even in Digital Photo, although some lip service is occasionally paid to the existence of PSP, its contributers are mainly Photoshop oriented.
Adobe seem to have the clout to push their product aggressively wherever possible and Photoshop certainly is regarded as the tops among professional photographers who can probably afford and justify the high price. But for the rest of us it is well worth a look at Paint Shop Pro. Version 7, currently available, costs £99, I think, and a trial version is downloadable. Version 8 is due out in June.
http://www.jasc.com/
I have also invested in Paint Shop Pro Photo Album which enables me to keep track of all my shots, both on the computer and on CD-ROM. That is also available as a trial version.
As for books on Paint Shop Pro, if you buy the packaged version it comes with a manual. SAMS do a 'Teach Yourself Paint Shop Pro 7 in 24 hours' by T.Michael Clark.
Oh! and there is a newsgroup:
comp.graphics.apps.paint-shop-pro for discussion and help.
Hm. Perhaps that's more than just a penn' th.