I don't want to come off as saying it's my way or the highway, but I'm hardly the type to be asked an opinion of and answer "use your intuition." I really can't recommend the Banzhaf, as I feel that there is a world of difference between simply using the deck and actually studying it. In many instances I found Banzhaf veers off into his own interpretations that make no sense in the context of the Thoth. A beginner can begin simply, and I'm not saying everyone should be an esoteric master before coming to the deck. I myself began simply and branched out. However, a book consisting mainly of keywords is, for the Thoth, utterly useless, as they do not give the greater context of what makes the Thoth unique.
You just can't say "Ooh I love the Thoth, so special, so unique, I can't wait to treat it like any other deck!" It really doesn't work that way, and I'm surprised experienced users would suggest that.
What I can recommend is the Duquette book, and this is for several reasons. Firstly, it gives an exhaustive background and context on many things necessary for approaching the deck. It explains the general vision of the deck, how it is structured, how it came to be about and what this means for the reader.
Secondly, it is invaluable as a kind of "table of contents" in terms of telling you what you don't know and what you should find out. I still use it sometimes, as it hints in passing at things I need to find out, and study. It is definitely incomplete, but you don't stay with beginners' books forever.
Thirdly, it was written with students in mind. In almost every paragraph you get the feeling (and I think he discusses this in the introduction) that he has a feel for a student's confusion, he asks and answers questions a student would ask (and did ask, I know I did).
It does not spoonfeed you keywords or meanings, but operates under the correct assumption that in order to "get" the Thoth, you have to know what it means. And that has nothing to do with joining an order or indeed any practical magickal work at all, but with understanding the deck itself. Keywords or understanding this or that sigil is to take it apart, but it loses much in the process, even if you find out what that sigil is, it is still meaningless unless interpreted within the realm of the Thelemic symbolic language the Thoth uses. Taking apart a tapestry into threads gives you nothing but a handful of yarn.
You don't even have to be a Thelemite to study the Thoth. Most people use the RWS despite its strong Christian overtones. It never ceases to amuse me that the RWS is the "default" and people find nothing wrong with it, when it is actually the Thoth that is more fitting to modern times. Symbolically, the RWS about a thousand years old, and as prudish as anything.