Corey,

You've picked a great message board to join. There is a ton of info on this site. If you follow the advice Tim gave, you will be able to more than prepare for getting your BP. As far as books, I personally have read "The Ball Python Manual" and it turned out to be a great resource for me. Another book I have seen mentioned on this site is "The Complete Ball Python" by Kevin McCurley. Owners of the book seem to like it and i'm probably gonna buy it in the future.

Good Luck and Welcome