EightOtwo,
There's no way out for certs to be added under your belt without going through books. Moreover, CCNA is highly technical -- it requires strong hands-on tricks and tactics, which can be achieved either through working with real Routers and Switches, or through getting SIMULATORS' aid.
BOSON provides excellent Simulators. Snoop around and see if you can get hold of some BOSON materials. They've got wealth of resources for CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, and more.
Also, SUBNETTING is a must -- which obviously needs playing with mathematics -- you've got to sit and do the calculations, and BOOK is the best accompanying resource for that !
I used following materials for the reference:
Sybex CCNA: Todd Lammle
BOSON Simulator
Official CCNA : CISCO Press
Network+ Guide to Networking : Tamara Dean (I think.. !!)
CCNA AudioWhiz -- Listen and Learn
Didn't go much into the depth of any of them, but did skim through all so as to get varied ideas, and did hard enough work -- it's a pretty tough cert !! Good Luck !
~@~
