With "The Secret Life of Circuits", I aim for the middle ground between simplistic introductory books and academic texts such as "The Art of Electronics". You don't need to take calculus to understand what this book is about, but it also doesn't insult your intelligence with plumbing analogies.
There's plenty of beautiful, hobbyist-friendly paperbacks that teach about Ohm's law and explain how to use a breadboard. Not as many help you grasp op-amps or transistors. Heck, even capacitors sometimes remain shrouded in mystery. I'm trying to solve that.
Anyway, if you've ever read a book about electronics and then felt completely helpless when trying to design your own circuits, SLC might be just what you need.
Linkety-link: https://lcamtuf.coredump.cx/electronics/