I'm working on a project that requires knowledge of the workings of castles and the lives of lords, kings, knights, etc., and I was hoping one of you could point me in the direction of something I could read to get an idea.
It would help if you could define a period (by mentioning knights you place yourself at some point beyond c.900 AD; but the experience of life was very different between 900 and 1200, as an example chivalry had begun development and the tournament was in full swing), geographical scope (a Welsh or Hungarian ruler had a very different intellectual and physical milieu than a French or German one), and what type of sources you are looking for (primary - and what languages you can read) secondary (biographies, overviews, catalogues, etc.).
What kind of project is this? Professional, schoolwork, personal? Do you have background in history? Are you capable of dealing with high-level academic theory (such as Abigail Wheatley, The Idea of the Castle in Medieval England, York, 2004) or would you prefer popular history (such as Tuchman's A Distant Mirror) which, while it may be inaccurate and rather misleading in places, will be much more accessible?
Barbara Tuchman "A distant mirror" is classic for the Late Medieval era and narrates mainly French and English history of the late 14th century using the timeline span of a French nobleman. I think you won't be disappointed.