What is the best type of photoshop that is good for avatars and maybe book covers? Sort of like paint. I was just wondering because they are all expensive, and I wanted to get the right kind. Thanks

I'd suggest Photoshop Elements for a beginner. It'll get you comfortable with the controls and give you the basics you need. Plus it's only about $100. If you like it, the Standard version of CS3 is absoultely amazing. Based on what you said, I'd stay away from the Extended one because that gets into video and 3D.

I recommend the gimp if you cannot afford photoshop. It's free, open source and has many great features

http://www.gimp.org/