If you are looking for positional patterns, read Nimzo's "My System". Many modern books also cover this subject.
However, if you are looking for positional ideas, read Capablanca's "Chess Career" and use his "Chess Fundamentals" and "Last Lectures" as a supplement to better understand some of his notes.
Because its New Years Eve 2014, I would have to say ...the Kamasutra! haha srry
Added some more candidate books
Chess Secrets: The Giants of Strategy by Neil McDonald is very good.
I tried "Chess Secrets: The Giants of Strategy" but it seemed too advanced for me. It discussed concepts like prophylaxis, which I am not familiar with.
Well, My System would be what you're looking for, since it was Nimzowitsch who coined the term prophylaxis, along with some other terms. Personally, I found Nimzowitsch's writing to be difficult--I feel McDonald is much clearer--but some people swear by him, others swear at him. But don't toss Giants away just yet; it will help in the future, trust me.
http://www.newinchess.com/Techniques_of_Positional_Play-p-983.html
http://www.amazon.com/Techniques-Positional-Play-Practical-Methods/dp/9056914340
^ That's the book I was referring to by "Techniques of Positional Play by Bronznik"
Question is (1) whether to read it at all and (2) before or after Nimzowitsch/McDonald
The Art of Positional Play by Samuel Reshevesky
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Positional-Play-Chess/dp/4871874591/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388605395&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=the+art+of+positional+play+samuel+reshevesky
If you want to learn Positional Chess (slow build up) like the way Reshevesky and Karpov use to play when he was younger in the 70s this book can give you a very good guide and ideas how to play like them.
How Karpov wins by Edmar Mednis:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Karpov-Wins-Second-Enlarged/dp/0486278816/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388605819&sr=1-1&keywords=how+karpov+wins
This is excellent too it breaks down Younger Karpovs style you can learn alot from his approach (I did)
Of course everything involves effort and work but it's worth it.
What order should I read these books (i.e all the books mentioned above) in?
No idea, I find positional playing quite depressing and boring. We only live once so why not play interesting lines although it might cost some rating points but who cares. It is nicer to loose after interesting struggle than win after really boring 100 moves game. Chess is about fun after all. (Remember that this is only my opinion and I don't mean to offend anyone)
Bump with one more candidate book added. Please let me know which books I should read and in what order I should read them in.
The positional concepts and strategies in any one of those books will take years to master. And mastery of any one of them is ample for a lifetime.
If you already read and understood Silman, don't dilute that by taking up a second or third source of contradictory positional writing now. Re-read it, study it, practice it, implement it, and improve your understanding and use of it for the foreseeable future.
The way to improve at anything is to pick what you want to master and master it. Not to dabble here and there.
Has anyone ever worked through "Test Your Positional Play" http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3186451-test-your-positional-play
I have had it for a long time but just have never sat down to go through it. I have a couple of game collections I am trying to work through first. But flipping through it, seems like an interesting approach.
I have a copy of "Test your positional play" and have just got it out to start working through it. It was recommended by IM @pfren here on chess.com. The structure looks appealing, with a series of 30 tests, each having three choices of how to proceed, points for the right choices and a mapping of your score into an ELO rating assessment.
I know of, but haven't read, any of the original list of books.
There are many theories on learning and attempting to master chess (or any other complex discipline). Some advocate isolating topics and mastering each one individually (i.e. openings, middle game, positional play, pawn structure, attack, endgame, etc.). Others claim sticking with only one author and one system is less confusing so read only Yusupov or Silman or Dvoretsky or Aagard. Still others believe that by reading many authors and opinions on chess you aren't locked in to one style of play and analysis.
I suspect that it isn't so much a matter of which author you read (assuming you stick with reputable teachers) but how much time and effort you are willing to spend studying the game. My own feeling is that you gain insight from reading more than one viewpoint, and that each of the categories in chess literature are so interrelated that you cannot understand and master one without the others. If there was a single "best" method, it would have surfaced long ago. To that end, most teachers will tell you it just takes hard work, not shelves full of chess books.
I strongly recommend Ludek Pachman's Modern Chess Strategy. His book on endgames is also fine.
There are two ways to access Pachman. One is the original single volume "Modern Chess Strategy" published in 1963. I have the Russell translation into English which uses the older descriptive notation (if that matters).
The other way is to obtain the 3-volume set "Complete Chess Strategy" which was greatly expanded and published in 1975 which also uses descriptive notation.
I have both, and there is very little in common between the two as the newer version uses different examples and games.
My System by Nimzowitsch
Chess Puzzle Book 4: Mastering the Positional Principles by Muller
Techniques of Positional Play by Bronznik
Pawn Power by Kmoch
Grandmaster Positional Play by Jacob Aagaard
Grandmaster Strategic Play by Jacob Aagaard
Art of Positional Play by Reshevsky
My rating is around 1500. I have already read Silman's "How to Reassess Your Chess" and have found it very instructive.