Adobe Illustrator CS5

I have been making glass tile pendants for my Etsy store, and have recently begun making pocket mirrors, purse charms and magnets as well.  For the artwork on these items, I have been using a really old and no longer available graphics program called Microsoft Picture It.  Although it has been very easy to use, it's buggy and crashes a lot.  I have a friend who is letting me us his Adobe Illustrator CS5 and I am very excited to learn the program because it looks like I will be able to create far greater graphics than I have in the past.  I've decided to purchase a book to learn the program and if all goes well, possibly get the program for myself.  I'm looking at this book because I have another Digital Classroom book, and it is well written and easy to learn from.  I always love to learn new things, and with this economy, it won't hurt to have more skills, like the ones I learn from this book.