Hi and best of luck to you on your new Paleo adventure. There's tons of information out there and good books that you can probably find at a local library.

1. I would appreciate suggestions on good reads to educate myself.
- You mention pain, swelling, nausea, etc. so you might want to consider a specific version of paleo that is referred to as the auto-immune protocol. In addition to eliminating the typical non-paleo items it goes one step further and removes items that are essentially paleo but have been shown to cause issues in some people. Here is a good brief overview of the paleo in general - http://whole9life.com/2012/08/the-whole30-program/ (note that there is another thread of people who are recently starting a whole 30)

And here are further clarification of the auto-immune modifications: http://autoimmune-paleo.com/?p=66

2. Why no legumes?
- Take a look at this: http://www.thepaleomom.com/2012/03/how-do-grains-legumes-and-dairy-cause.html

It Starts with Food is a great book for getting started. http://www.amazon.com/Starts-Food-Discover-Whole30-Unexpected/dp/1936608898/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371641270&sr=1-1&keywords=it+starts+with+food

It is done by the folks at whole9/whole30 http://whole9life.com/
Their website and forums are pretty good as well, although the forums are quite strict about Whole 30.

The book contains good scientific explanations, but doesn't go heavy on the ancestral side of things. They do advocate a 30 day strict plan, but you could go Paleo/Primal without being quite as strict, if you wanted.

Take a look into the primal blueprint by mark sisson. It well written and is what got me into the paleo lifestyle. feel free to add me

I'm working on compiling a list of recommended books and websites (with a few cookbooks/sites thrown in).

You can find it here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/995689-recommended-reading