Another book (which I frankly don't like as much since
it's so math-heavy: wouldn't electronics be so easy to
learn if all that goddamn math didn't get in the way?)...

I hope you're joking, because without that math, you can't
begin to truly /understand/ electronics. Mathematics is used
to model the physical world. When you understand the math,
you have a much better comprehension of the physics involved.

Hint: I don't use smiley faces.

Hint: I don't generally assume they're there, unless I see them. As an
extremely sarcastic person, I rarely fail to see sarcasm when it's present.
Don't complain that I missed something that wasn't there.


Of course math is essential to understanding electronics.
I'm OK with algebra and trig, but have problems with calculus,
even though I have a basic understanding of it (differentiation,
integration, etc).

Calculus is pretty simple -- if you have a good book. I can't recommend any,
because I don't know any off the top of my head. (Recommendations, anyone?)

I took calculus in high school 45 years ago, at a time when very, very few
high schools in the US offered it. We were given a book to study over the
summer, which carefully walked the reader through the basics of the
differential calculus. When we got to class in the fall, we a preliminary
understanding under our belts.

You also need to learn about Laplace transforms. They make it possible to
analyze circuits with simple algebra, rather than differential equations.
Very, very handy.