hi,

I taugfht myself to play and I am goin on 9 months. I agree with everyone else. Lessons are a very good suggestion, but if you don't take them, DEFINITELY find som,ebody to play with. Not only to you feed off each other, but you can play songs together. My friend and I always played songs by bands with multiple guitarists and we'd switch between rythm and lead guitar that way we both new it all. The greatest advantage to having other people around is they know different songs and unless they're complete buttholes they'll be more than willing to teach them to you. I suggest any chord book, and be sure to learn to read music whether you take lessons or not. I didn't learn to read it till about a month ago and I am telling you it has helped me immensly. Another thing is as time goes by and you learn how chords sound, try to catalog what everything sounds like that way you can hear a song and pick out what chords or notes they're playing. Don't rely strictly on tabs, you can in the very beginning, but try to tab it out for yourself before you go to tabcrawler or whatever site you like. Just don't give up! anyone can play, with a little time, dedication and a love for it you'll learn. if you don't love it, you may as well hang it up. I can't ever get enough of it, everytime I am supposed to be doing som,ething I am playing my guitar insteasd, the amplifier is on more often than the tv, and I never go more than a day or two without playing. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Have fun and good luck!