I have the first ShaderX title which, I think, will give me a good foundation on the topic of shaders, but if I'm correct, it doesn't cover HLSL. Are there any titles in particular that would good for a beginner such as Yours Truly?

Steempipe had mentioned "Shaders for Game Programmers and Artists," which sounds appealing, though it's from 2004. That author has also written "The COMPLETE Effect and HLSL Guide" more recently (though from the user reviews, it's a bit more advanced -- one might even be inclined to say that it's COMPLETE). Then there's Wolfgang Engel's other book, "Programming Vertex & Pixel Shaders," also from 2004.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!