Piano lesson books have been around for awhile and new books are being released. Which ones will suit your needs? Let us check out a few of the piano books that make my list.
The Piano Handbook: A complete Guide for Mastering Piano by Carl Humphries. This covers just about everything you need to know about the piano. Fairly solid overall, but there is one drawback. The information is packed, so the pace is somewhat fast. With a somewhat basic grasp on the piano this could be valuable. For complete beginners however it may not be the best choice.
How to Play Popular Piano in 10 Easy Lessons: The Fastest, Easiest Way to Learn to Play from Sheet Music or by Ear by Norman Monath. This is fairly good for a beginner. It avoids the trap of being overly complicated. It covers the important areas including creating chords, melody, harmony, and a handful of other elements. This operates at a moderate pace, but does not get too detailed about the advanced areas of musical theory.
How to Play Piano: Everything You Need to Know to Play the Piano by Roger Evans. Playing the piano with both hands happens fairly fast in this book. This could make it a little difficult initially, but it can also work to your advantage to learn to use both hands early on. It focuses more on playing the piano itself, so some other critical areas are left out such as reading music. This may not be the best choice unless you have prior knowledge and the ability to read music. Other than that, the rest of the content is good basic stuff.
Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises: Complete by C.L. Hanon. This can be used in conjunction with other books. It is a little different from the others, but worth being on the list here. The highlight of this book is within the exercises. The exercises can help to strengthen the fingers that need it, get comfortable with the piano, and improve your overall ability playing the piano.
These books may be able to offer you a good start in regards to learning how to play the piano. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, and the last book mentioned makes for a good companion due to the exercises and benefits gained from them. Adequate practice and action is also necessary of course. Keep up with the necessary practice, and the results will begin to show and improve over time.