I don’t really know much about socialism, but I want to learn more. I also don’t really know what kind of book I’m looking for, but I’m not really looking to read Marx at this point and I also don’t want to read a pop economy book like Freakonomics. I want something a little more legit, or academic, I guess. I’m cool with classics, too, if there is a story out there that explores these themes.
Sorry if that’s not much to go by, I’m having trouble articulating what it is I want to read
For a basic intro, I would recommend “Principles of Communism” by Engels. It’s a super quick read, and it’s organized in a FAQ format.
Beyond that, it really depends on what in particular you’re interested in. For economics, I can highly recommend “23 things they don’t tell you about Capitalism” by Ha-joon Chang (although it’s more about capitalism than socialism). For learning about the state, nothing compares to “The state and revolution” by Lenin.