Although the Electron owner might complain that he or she doesn't benefit from the stream of quality software that the BBC owner gets, no such complaint can be levelled about books.

By Eric Deeson. Published by Shiva. Price: £5.95.

If you are new to the world of Acorn jargon then Eric Deeson's Easy Programming For the Electron will guide you gently into programming, as long as you are willing to stick at it and type in numerous examples. It will also take you on to dabble in a bit of more advanced stuff.

There's the usual homage to sound and graphics but also lucid explanation and advice on how to program in a planned and structured manner. The programs themselves are not ambitious and lack originality but are solid examples for the beginner.

By Clive Williamson. Published by Penguin. Price: £6.95

If you wish to move on a stage, Clive Williamson has written an excellent guide to programming. Penguin have produced a very attractive book with some colour illustrations, explanatory diagrams and appendices. The programming style is not really suitable for the first timer but anyone who has gone through the manual and Start Programming will be able to tackle most of this book.

Getting The Most also has some handy sections on the Plus 1, future expansions (intelligent guessing!) and advice on the uses to which you can put your machine.

By John Scriven. Published by Sunshine. Price: £5.95

John Scriven with The Working Electron also has some ideas about how you should put your computer to work. Domestic database, graphics and character designers, business accounts, diary, graphs, a linear projections program, and the educational "Typist" and "Synth" all are listed and described. The author also goes into programming methods and his own are designed to encourage the reader to have a go with meaningful variables and procedures in constant use.

By R. A. and J. W. Penfold. Published by Bernard Babani. Price: £1.95.

Another handy book for potential programmers is the Penfolds' Introduction To Programming. This is not a comprehensive introduction but rather an extension to the manual. It's full of interesting examples of clever programming. You can't go wrong at the price and it also has a rare chapter on Electron interfacing.

Published by Phoenix Publishing. Price: £1.99.

If you want a quick reference guide other than the manual by your computer then why not try the Phoenix computer crib card. It's just the sort of thing Acorn should have included with the manual (Acornsoft's Logo and Pascal have similar cards). £1.99 strikes me as being a bit on the expensive side but if you need that forgotten parameter in a hurry...

By Professor Peter Morse and Brian Hancock. Published by Century. Price: £1.99.

Century's Electron Micro Guide supplies similar information in a hard cover. This is an important advantage for something that is likely to get considerable use as the programmer fumbles for the right page.