I smile at you.
Get anything you can put your hands on but if you want to be like my fav Chef, then by all means go get his books.
I have almost all of his, that is, the ones that are more aimed at the more experienced cooks / pros instead of the "gordon ramsay makes it easy" or the like.
Like: chef secrets, gordon ramsay desserts, passion for fish/ seafood, *** chef, passion for flavour should get you started
That aside, read ANYTHING you can get your hands on from the big names, and also on techniques, and specific get your knowledge up to snuff.
I did michael roux, michael roux jr, raymond blanc, gordon ramsay, escoffier (of course!), jacques pepin (techniques!!), le cordon bleu.
Just some examples. Now going to be more specific for my own path.
Know what meat, what fish, what veg or fruit, and how to handle it. As much as possible.
Also been important to me personally, is learn to write dishes (I started with desserts, now do an occasional starter) and write out recipes.
When doing so, you have to think of so many things that it will be dazzling.....esp in the pro kitchen.
So, like, what components will be on the plate and do all the components on the plate add something to the dish. What will be the plate up (what will the plate look like when made up with this dish), what accompaniments do you need. How much time do you need to make all that and what are the food costs etc.....
BUT, its important to see where you want to go.
What kind of kitchen speaks to you? Do you want to do classical food, french, etc. Follow your heart.
If you've got the passion, you are on your way.