Learning chess principles - books/resources?

I recently bought a couple of chess books since all my chess knowledge is instinctual, learned when I was only a kid.

The thing is, I just don't get on well with them. They all focus on following games through and will say things like "white did A, thinking B C D E, but X Y Z would be better because black responds P Q R" and I struggle to hold this in my head.

I think I'd learn better understanding the principles and what I'm trying to achieve then figuring out moves, than looking at moves and figuring out why they did them - if that makes sense?

Are there any good books/etc out there which focus more on words and explaining than on going through games move-by-move?

Here's Heisman's book list.  There are a number of heavily annotated books which are probably what you're looking for.

http://danheisman.home.comcast.net/~danheisman/Events_Books/General_Book_Guide.htm#anthologies

Possibly helpful:

Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf

Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf

The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)

https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/

Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1949)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf

Discovering Chess Openings by GM Johm Emms (2006)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf

Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)

http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html

Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)

https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/

A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf

This is an excellent list, Mr. Blair, perfect for the intended student.  I would just add some tactics books to the mix.  Note: links are embedded

Checkmating Patterns

• The Art of Checkmate, 21st Century Edition by Georges Renaud  & Victor Kahn

Beginning Tactics

• Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman
• Chess Tactics for Champions by Susan Polgar

Intermediate to Advanced Tactics

• Improve Your Chess Tactics by Yakov Neishtadt

Best,
Bob