Hello ds101,
I will try to help you out.
I think I’m safe when I say you won’t find a general modeling book, but there are many APPLICATION SPECIFIC books related to mainly character modeling or modeling for games and the like.
One thing to remember is that theory and technique can be applied to any app you use, but application specific knowledge will do you no good when going between apps.
The key is once you learn theory on how to use bevel, lathe, extrude, loft, subdivide, and smooth to model what you want, it then becomes a matter of finding these tools in the application of your choice. But what good are the tools without knowing how they can help you reach your goals?
Okay enough preaching! Here are some of the better references I’ve found on the net. None are Blender specific.
General References
3-D Animation Workshop
An older, but very informative and relevant set of lessons on the world of 3D.
Professor Giulio Porta’s Home Page
I stumbeled upon this one day. This page has several College Courses that can be followed ranging from drawing and art techniques, to 3D modeling and animation. There is some good beginner reference material here. He uses several apps in his courses, but the concepts can be carried over in most cases. This is key because as you may already know, no two apps are exactly alike.
I highly recommend you check out the Syllabi, Tutorials and Course Information. Each course has assignments you can follow.
Digital Sculpture Techniques
How to Apply the Principles of Traditional Sculpture to Make Stunning 3D Characters by Bay Raitt and Greg Minter
In a nutshell, modeling for subdivision surfaces. A must read! Save the PDF!
Other free tools
Wings 3D
Grab a copy of Wings 3D. This is freeware. It is regularly updated and released by its developer. It makes organic modeling easier to handle. You can manipulate edges, faces and verticies easier than any commercial or freeware app I’ve seen or read about. (This will go hand in hand with the Digital Sculpture Techniques PDF)
Be sure to visit the Community links on the Wings 3D home page. There is an Official development forum and many other forums devoted to Wings 3D inlcuding one on CGTalk.
Wings 3D tutorials, notes and general information
Amapi v4.15
Also, grab a free commercial copy of Amapi 4.15. You might find it easier to make non-organic models. It has an incredible set of modeling tools and can export to many file formats (including DXF which can be opned in Blender).
Amapi 4.15 specific tutorials
An excellent Amapi Resource.
I listed these tools because they have modeling capabilties which Blender currently does not have. However, they can be used to create models, which can be imported into Blender. Notice I’m not taking Blender out of the equation! Blender has numerous features that the afore mentioned apps do not. Using them together can prove to be powerful.
Modeling Tutorials
Lightwave Modeling Tutorials.
I listed this because there are a number of modeling tutorials here for everyday objects. Once you learn theory you may be able to take these and replicate them using the tools in Blender, Wings 3D or Amapi.
Interviews
3D Modleing and animation has such a huge learning curve. Its crazy. But the pros will tell you it can take years to be any good at just one aspect!
3D Total Artist Interviews
Inside CG Artist Interviews
(see roughly the middle of the page).
I hope this helps you out in some way. Practice, make mistakes, learn. Good luck.