If i wanted to move from asembly to C, what would be the best way to start, ie books etc
Shop for a good beginners C (not C++) reference book or two. These are pretty old, but I started out programming PC's with:
Programming In C - Stephen G. Kochan
--- Hayden Book Company - ISBN 0-8104-6261-3
C Made Easy - Herbert Schildt
--- Osborne McGraw-Hill - ISBN 0-07-881178-3
Got this one more recently. I haven't even looked at it.
Mastering Standard C - Rex Jaeschke
--- CBM Books - ISBN 1-878956-55-8
This one is good. I don't own it, but O'Reilly books are always good. I've read sections of it.
There are lots of online tutorials and books too.
I recommend
SourceBoost BoostC. The free demo is very good, and when you hit the limits on the demo, a full license is only around $75. Dirt cheap, as compiler prices go. It comes with both 16F and 18F compilers and will program some 12F's too.