I read all of Machado’s Handbook although that was a few months before I ended up taking the written. I also used Sporty’s online test prep (the free version) to take a bunch of mock writtens. Once you do it on a regular basis, you pretty much know everything in the FAA test bank since it’s a limited set of questions.

As far as the FAR/AIM goes, I certainly read parts but I’ll admit to not spending too much time on the FAR side. Instead, I found other online resources (like another audio CD from Gold Seal and a printable guidebook, I think from them as well) that broke down the FARs you needed to know for the PPL. I still go back and read sections of the AIM from time to time – to me, that’s a much more interesting read. Say, Again Please is a great book – I reference that to this day on occasion to keep myself up on all the communication stuff.

Have you taken any of the ASF free online courses? They’re downright awesome – again, full multimedia on all sorts of topics. Plus, most count towards FAA Wings credit if you want to be a part of that program. They’re all online at http://www.aopa.org/asf/online_courses/. And speaking of Wings, there’s a whole boatload of online courses available directly thru the FAA as well at FAASafety.gov. Honestly, there’s all sorts of great online content available thru the ASF – I’d recommend browsing thru their site to see what suits you. From pilot stories to acccident reports to videos from seminars, it’s all on there.