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Yeah, in that case, it might be worth looking for an introductory course in Forestry or Natural Resource Management through an online school.

If you're interested in books, Introduction to Forests and Renewable Resources is the classic introductory textbook on the subject. The book is generally very accessible even without previous knowledge on the subject of forestry. The chapter on Silviculture is probably the most relevant to your interests.

There are several books on silviculture specifically (with the ones by Nyland and Smith being the most frequently used in college courses), but without a decent understanding in both Ecology and Mensuration they may be more overwhelming than useful.

Positive Impact Forestry is a good resource for landowners, and is written with the intent of being informative without being too technical. For someone without a forestry background that is looking to be better informed in making decisions about their land, this is probably the single best resource.

Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England is pretty neat if you're in New England. The book teaches you to recognize the signs of past management in order to make better current management decisions.

A New Tree Biology and Dictionary by Alex Shigo was used in 3 or 4 of my college classes. But it depends on what you want to learn about (e.g. Mensuration, Silviculture, log grading/scaling, etc). A New Tree Biology will at least give you a good basis for most things, and it's not too bad in terms of being a "dry" textbook. (For example, the first sentence of chapter 2 is "Trees are large, heavy plants that can kill you if they fall on you")

If you're looking for less technical information, and more stories then check out The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature by David George Haskell and A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (another book used numerous times while in college). If you want a bit of a mix The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate by Peter Wohlleben is fantastic. While they might not be all information, they do give you a lot to think about when considering ecosystems and provide interesting ethical perspectives.

https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Trees-Story-Passion-Daring/dp/0812975596

https://www.amazon.com/Redwood-Forest-History-Conservation-Redwoods/dp/1559637269/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=Redwood+ecology&qid=1566444550&s=gateway&sr=8-1

These two are pretty decent. I haven't read this one yet but it looks interesting as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Redwood-Logging-Conservation-Santa-Mountains/dp/0940283263

Forest Forensics: The field guide/follow up to this book which is also by the same author is really great as well

Get yourself a good field guide and / or dichotomous key with twig and bark characteristics. Twig features such as leaf scar arrangements, vascular bundle scars, buds, and pith can be key for IDing deciduous species in winter. What region are you in?

Edit:
This is the guide we used when I used to TA dendrology in grad school.

This is my favorite tree ID book overall.

Wildland firefighter here. I like to hike/walk my dog and/or run about 4-5 days a week all winter. I work out in the gym 2-3 days/week, focusing mostly on legs. Upper body is kinda 'meh' I just aim to be able to do like 15 pull ups. I'd suggest Daniel's Running Formula if you're starting totally from scratch.

Read this book
It explains how to figure out the history of a forest based on current subtle physical features. Might be neat to incorporate some of this CSI type of info into your book.

> Coast redwood: a natural and cultural history by cachuma press

https://www.amazon.com/Coast-Redwood-Natural-Cultural-History/dp/096285056X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Coast+redwood%3A+a+natural+and+cultural+history+by+cachuma+press&qid=1566451069&s=gateway&sr=8-1

This textbook is a collection of forest management plans from industry, state agencies, federal agencies and consulting foresters from the US and Canada. A lot of different management perspectives, landowner objectives and formats, all in one place.

Not cheap though.

For what?

This is generally the bible of forest measurements from my school and many others.

Here's your basic text: http://www.amazon.com/Forest-Mensuration-Bertram-Husch/dp/0471018503

Here's a place to start:

Ecological Forest Management by Franklin & Johnson

https://www.amazon.com/Ecological-Forest-Management-Jerry-Franklin-ebook/dp/B07BH3DZPY

https://www.amazon.com/Forest-Journey-Story-Wood-Civilization/dp/0881506761

A good starter on how important trees are to civilisations throughout history. Illustrates how forest degradation can initiate societal collapse.

Three main chapters; ancient, England and the transition to America to modern day. Well-sourced as the English have always kept good records.

I am mostly focused on central Texas. I just finished reading:
https://www.amazon.com/Southern-Forest-Chronicle-Laurence-Walker/dp/0292769504
and
https://www.amazon.com/Southern-Forest-Geography-Ecology-Silviculture-ebook/dp/B00UVBHD5I/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469751021&sr=1-4&keywords=the+southern+forest

Laurence Walker seems to think it was native american influence which caused the fire dependence seen in southern forests. Given the geography of the south it seems lightning strikes should have taken place when all fuel was too wet to burn, further if a fire did somehow ignite, there are enough rivers to prevent it from covering a significant area.

I'm just a landowner fascinated by best management practices, not a student, but I am halfway through what seems to be the standard university textbook:
https://www.amazon.com/Forest-Ecology-Foundation-Sustainable-Management/dp/0023640715/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469751108&sr=1-4&keywords=forest+ecology
Haven't reached the chapter on fire yet, but so far the book has referenced the mass volatilization of forest nutrient caused by fire, which isn't very desirable.