This was a good short book on lucid dreaming, astral and/or OBE. I've read other books on the subject, but this would be a good one to begin with. The practical advice is concise and to the point. I've started practicing again recently and decided to read something to help me with the practice. I had similar experiences as the author, it was quite interesting to read.
The Basics:
Go to bed. Don't move until fully relaxed, at which point you'll go into a dream. At that point you need to basically keep consciousness on. To help transition into lucid dream state you can "roll out" of you physical body or imagine yourself falling or something else like that. When I imagine myself falling, I usually start by flying in a dream, which feels good.